harrisons power treats

[littleredhen77]

Hello! so, ive been feeding my bird avix sunshine factor mixed in his food. every time i make fresh batches of chop i weigh it out and spoon in the amount it calls for on the bottle ((1Tbs per lb. of food)) and with the fresh batch of chop i just finished mixing up, ive used the last of my bottle.

im wondering, would it be just as beneficial to swicth to harrisons power treats which are made with the same sunshine factor? i imagine it would be easier to feed him a couple treats a day instead of weighing chop, 'melting' the oil and mixing it. it also seems to leave alot on the sides of my mixing bowl and i that looks wasteful

do any of you guys feed either the sunshine factor oil or the power treats to your birds? is there any reason for one to be better than the other? also, since he does chew his feathers sometimes, is it best for me to just feed this all the time or am i overdoing it?

 

[DexMom]

It is my understanding that due to the Eclectus parrot's unique digestive system, vitamin fortified foods should be avoided. It seems like both of the products you are asking about are vitamin supplements, therefore they go against that basic principle. If your Ekkie is in good health and eats a varied fresh food diet with non-fortified pellets available as a back-up, a supplemental vitamin or mineral formula should not be necessary.

That being said, I am not an expert in avian nutrition, I just googled the heck out of it when we decided to adopt Dexter. So, my knowledge comes from research only, not practical long-term experience. If you have a feeding routine that keeps your bird happy and healthy, then by all means continue what you are doing!

 

[Anansi]

I agree wholeheartedly with DexMom. I feed my ekkies a varied diet of fruits, veggies, legumes, oats, grains and sprouts. When you manage to get them on a varied diet with all the right nutrients, supplements and such are unnecessary.

Don't get me wrong. Supplements are not inherently evil in and of themselves. Rather, the danger is in over-supplementation.

So what's the big deal, you may ask. Just don't give too much, right?

Well, the dividing line as to where beneficial supplementation ends and harmful overdosing begins is rather thin and terribly uncertain when it comes to ekkies, specifically due to the previously mentioned nature of their digestive system.

Eclectus have longer digestive tracts than other parrots, which allows for the extraction of more nutrients from their food. Because of this, the level of vitamin supplemented food that would be perfectly fine for a another type of parrot would be far too rich for an ekkie.

As a result, ekkies just tend to be more sensitive by far to the dangers of over-supplementation than other parrots. Some adverse effects commonly seen in eclectus parrots who overdose on these supplements are toe-tapping, wing-flipping, plucking, screaming, overall irritability and increased aggressiveness.

Now, some parronts do claim to have found a balance that works for their birds, and I won't gainsay their declared results. But personally, I figure if I can provide balanced and complete nutrition for my birds with an all-natural diet, why risk supplements?

 

[littleredhen77]

here is a link to the stuff im talking about:
Avian Nutrition Bird Supplements: Harrison's Sunshine Factor Daily Bird Supplement
if you click the 'more information' tab under the picture it shows a list of what it has for nutrients.

my understanding had been that red palm oil was beneficial during feather problems of any kind, but you are right in saying that he does get all of these things listed in the chop i feed him. now that the bottle i had is gone i will not be buying any more.

he does get as varied of a diet as i can provide, which i feel like im doing a pretty good job at. his chop hes eating right now is cauliflower, corn, kidney beans, chick peas, kale, sweet potato, pomegranate, celery, broccoli, red/yellow/orange bell peppers, jalepenos, carrots both raw and some are slightly roasted to soften them, and peas. i give him equal amounts of this chop and fresh sprouts twice a day. he also gets a pinch of pumpkin seeds and one almond as a night time snack.

i own chickens as well and i therefore eat alooootttt of eggs, i share a small 'curd' i guess youd call it, just like a little chunk of plain scrambled egg the size of my thumb nail maybe twice a week. very small pieces. he gets a millet spray about once a week as well. but even with all of this im worried there might be something he is not getting and the last thing i want is to do any harm to my bird by not providing something he needs.

is there anything more that i could be doing food wise to keep his feathers healthy? mostly he chews the ends off of his wing feathers so keeping them healthy is more of an entertainment thing than a feeding thing. well, except for his entertainment is food based as im training him to have to work harder for his treats and forage them out of toilet paper tubes.

there is so much to learn i feel like im still unable to care for him the way i should be, even with all that i am doing! i want to be the very best at everything i do and this is no exception, all my animals are my babies and i fret over them prolly more than i should. :/ i realize that when he came to me he had already been a feather chewer. his old owner told me that he had molted his wing and tail feathers out and that they should be growing back in. that is why he had him on the sunshine factor in the first place. but the entire time ive had him i have not seen him molt one feather out. the ones i find are clearley chewed right in half with the exception of his tail feathers of which there is NOTHING left. im not sure if he plucked them out whole and the follicles are damaged or what..it been a couple months and i still cant see any pin feathers coming in. its kind of hard to check though because he wont let me lift the shorter lower back feathers to see, he keeps turning around and climbing on my hand instead lol at least hes very friendly and tolerates me touching him just about anywhere without biting, he just wants to climb on me and thats what makes it somewhat difficult.

im sorry for all these long, questioning posts but i have more faith in this forum than other sources, after all, you guys are all living with these birds too and your tips are from experiencing it yourself i thank you all for every post on here, i read almost everything that gets posted in the eclectus forum youre all so helpful even if its just asking questions of your own, since the answers that follow help too!

 

[Aquila]

From what I understand, Sunshine Factor is just red palm oil, but whatever is added may not be listed on there.

I'm not an Ekkie specialist or avian nutritionist, but over-supplementation could be causing your bird's feather destruction, as Anansi pointed out. I'd suggest doing a little more reading into Ekkie diets, but lots of fresh veggies and fruits, sprouted seeds and some grains give your bird a better chance to eat what they need, rather than what's being supplemented.

A little plain, natural palm oil or coconut oil used sparingly, maybe once or twice a week should be more than enough. I'm doing some study into their specialized digestive tracts, and there's a lot we still don't know, so it's best to do some research yourself, with others here and talk to your vet.