Written by Laurella Desbrough, all rights reserved
(First Appeared on RARS List).
Dear Listers,
I would be extremely cautious about giving any eclectus parrot a capsule of
vitamin A that is composed of man-made components. If an eclectus needs vitamin
A, it should be given in its natural beta carotene form in the foods provided to
the bird.
There are sufficient vegetables that have a high vitamin A content that the bird
can obtain what it needs and flush the rest. With man-made Vitamin A, the bird
is forced to keep the excess Vitamin A in its body, stored in the liver.
We do not know that man-made Vitamin A capsules contain all the chemical
nutrients that the bird needs. We do know that the fresh foods do contain what
the bird needs, can use and then can flush the rest from its system.
Because in the early days, (seventies), Rosemary Low wrote about the need for
vitamin A in eclectus parrots, every other veterinarian and breeder is still
harping on that old message. In the seventies the British fed an extremely poor
diet to eclectus...as witnessed by the fact the female chicks exited the nest
with orange feathers instead of red. It was so prevalent that the British
thought that it was natural for young eclectus females to be orange.Now they and
we know better. When eclectus do not have access to sufficient vitamins and
minerals during the feather development stage, they cannot make red feathers.
The most recent developments in regard to adding man-made vitamins to parrot
foods is that toxicity is of great concern. Harrison has written it up in the
vet journals.
Eclectus parrots, in my opinion, are more sensitive to dietary mistakes on the
part of the managing person than, say, amazons or grays. I would always
recommend that an eclectus parrot be given natural foods without added vitamins
UNLESS the bird had a complete physical work up, including all the blood panels,
and then a recommendation for additional vitamins was made on the basis of the
results of the blood panels.
I would never give an eclectus parrot man-made vitamins on the basis of just a
physical exam without any diagnostic work ups. Vitamin A can even be toxic for
humans...causes itching and skin rashes.
In addition, plucking in eclectus can be caused by disease, emotional distress,
physical pain, as in sore or inflamed feet, toenails cut too short, etc. heart
problems. So, vitamin A may not be the answer to a plucking problem.
Laurella Desborough
Eclectus Parrot breeder