Vitamins & Minerals

Vitamins and minerals are essential to the health of birds as they are to all animals. They should be added to a bird’s diet as supplements on a regular basis. Some of the most important vitamins and minerals for birds are:

Calcium -- Birds use this mineral to build bones, feathers and healthy eggs. There are only low amounts of calcium in the seeds and fruits that birds eat, so they must obtain calcium from eating cuttlebone or ground shells. If a bird does not accept these products, calcium can be added to the diet through a dietary supplement.

Iodine -- This mineral is critical to the functioning of the thyroid gland in birds, just as it is in people. Give birds iodine blocks, or place some rock salt in the grit dish.

Vitamin A and Vitamin D -- These are the two important vitamins that pet birds tend to be most deficient in. Supplying a bird with fresh greens will increase its intake of vitamin A, but the level of vitamin D will remain basically unchanged. Birds cannot utilize the vitamin D source found in greens. In nature they synthesize vitamin D from sunlight, but since caged birds are not exposed to this level of sunlight, they must receive vitamin D through dietary supplements.