molting and palm oil?

[Andromeda]

I give my bird's Harrison's Power Treats which contain organic red palm oil. They only get a couple but they obviously like it because it's the first thing they eat when I give them their food in the morning.

I have used Harrison's Sunshine Factor in the past which is also organic red palm oil.

After seeing this thread I am reconsidering this but for those of you saying palm oil is not healthy I am wondering why?

Harrison's says theirs comes from the red palm fruit (as opposed to the kernel which does not yield beneficial oils) and they say it's a whole food source of carotenoids, a source of 6 forms of vitamin E, a rich source of CoQ10, and has a high antioxidant content.

Regarding ethical concerns their red palm oil is Fair Trade, grown on farms in Brazil as opposed to harvested from the rain forest and is RSPO Certified which is a program that promotes the use of sustainable oil palm products as opposed to practices that use forest-clearing.

I don't know, what do you guys think?

[marie83]

I've no idea about if its healthy or not hence why I only really mentioned that they do make it for parrots. I doubt there would be anything really bad by feeding it as it is heavily marketed in the parrot industry.

I've no idea about the whole fairtrade thing, I did read an article a while ago about it lulling people into thinking they did more than they actually do and it isn't so "fair" after all but I've forgotton the points now as I never researched it further.
I like that they are putting the plantations on existing farm land but my worry is they will still be destroying the forests to make more land for other crops. Hmmm.

[Pralina]

I agree with Andromeda on this.

I feed palm oil and coconut oil to my birds. The palm oil I get is organic red palm oil is formulated for parrots, AviGlo.
Organic red palm oil is a great way to feed naturally some betacarotene to your birds (that gets transformed into vitamin A by the body). My vet recommended it to me as a replacement for peanut butter on toast for instance for my big birds, perhaps a couple of times per week. Also it definitely helps internal tissues and lubricates the mucosas, as the mouth and nose and ears... For instance, for a lovebird that had recurring sinus infections, my vet had prescribed 0.03 cc of palm oil daily and it really really helped curing him!!!

By the way, we are not talking here about the same palm oil that is refined and used in human food.
You should not buy palm oil for your bird from any grocery store!

[hnhobu]

Most people doesn't consume red organic palm oil or even know that it exists, so whenever I hear about palm oil I always assume they're talking about the typical stuff that we find in grocery stores which isn't healthy or us or the environment. I don't really know much about if red organic palm oil is environmentally friendly or health friendly, but I do know that the hydrogenated, processed, stuff sold in grocery stores is not, and here is why.

Assuming that the stuff in grocery stores is not the same as organic red palm oil, most people aren't going to know that and they're going to settle for whatever is most convenient, and because of that I think it's safest to suggest other kinds of oils that are typically more healthy.

I'll have to look into this though. Cassette will be molting soon.

[Pralina]

Here are my findings after a simple search on red palm oil for veterinary use in birds (I am mostly quoting the websites here):

Dende red palm oil is the one we are talking about here, it is the one obtained from the flesh of the fruit of a palm tree found in South America, notably Brazil - the same palm nuts your parrots would eat in nature.
Therefore it is not the same oil that is produced in Africa or Asia and no trees are burnt!

Many notable veterinarians use it worldwide as a nutritional supplement for parrots, notably Dr. Jan Hooimeijer from The Netherlands ( I have read many articles on his website and I think his avian practice is very interesting, different... maybe someday would be seen as revolutionary?).
Google search Kliniek voor Vogels for various articles including this one:
http://www.kliniekvoorvogels.nl/publica ... 20Problems

It is a great source for beta-carotene that is converted into vitamin A by the body, so instead of giving your bird whatever multi-vitamin supplement that can create an overdose, if you supply with palm oil the body will transform whatever it needs into vitamin A and evacuate the excess... just as with eating carrots, or squash, or sweet potatoes, or whatever else.

It is
considered one of the richest natural
sources of carotenoids, containing 700-
1000 parts per million (30 times that
found in carrots). In addition to the betacarotenes
found in traditional foods, red
palm oil also contains alpha-carotene,
which is considered to have anti-cancer
properties in human medicine.

It is not hydrogenated or processed and
there are no trans-fatty acids.

Red Palm Oil in Veterinary Medicine
• In conjunction with full diagnostic
workups, we use red palm oil as adjunct
therapy for cases involving the skin,
heart, eyes, conjunctiva, bladder, inadequate
nutritional situations, immune
system weakness and prevention of neoplasia.
• We also found that it decreases the need
for nonsteroidals, such as in birds that
may be on meloxicam for chronic
arthritic changes in the feet or other
dermatologic conditions.
• When red palm oil is used with antihistamines,
we seem to get an improved
antipruritic effect over other oils used in
combination with antihistamines.
• We actually saw return of vision in two
35-year-old Amazons with very mature
cataracts.
• I am applying it in small mammals preventively
for the inhibition of the
growth of breast cancer cells, because of
the use in humans as a cancer preventive
drug. It also helps with improved
immune function for the prevention of
respiratory diseases.

source: http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/avmed ... s/ae28.pdf

Here is the Sunshine Factor palm oil by Harrison bird foods:
http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/Sunsh ... oducts/52/
Harrison's also have other products containing the same red palm oil, the Booster and the Power Treats:
http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/Power ... roducts/5/

Not all Red Palm Oil is the same.

AVIx Sunshine Factor is a sustainable agriculture grown in Brazil (in accordance with USDA Certified Organic Standards), not harvested from other locations like the rain forest in Malaysia (from where cheaper, less effective versions come). AVIx Sunshine Factor comes from the red palm fruit. Each red palm tree yields more palm kernel oil than actual fruit oil, which makes the fruit oil much more valuable. Many lesser red palm oils (not red palm fruit oil) are diluted with the lesser quality red palm kernel oil. Palm kernel oils do not have the same beneficial properties and will not yield the same results in added health to pets as red palm fruit oil.

Harrison's imports certified organic red palm fruit oil from Brazil in compliance with human quality consumption importation standards (the very highest standards). This oil is thoroughly tested for rancidity and purity and shipped to our USDA approved certified organic facility where it is bottled into glass containers in accordance with the USDA organic bottling standards.

And this is a trial that was done with a human-grade palm oil back in 2003 (I know, 10 years ago!) on a few birds. Still the results might be of interest!
http://www.holisticbirds.com/pages/palm ... ls0803.htm

I have 2 rescue birds that are pluckers. Ok I cannot say that I have seen a progress in their feathers (not as much as since eating sprouts every day!!! ) but I do agree that keratin and feet do look healthier... and as I noted I did use it on a bird with chronic sinus infection and mucosa problems too!
I don't give them palm oil every day, oh no... maybe once-twice a week? they love it mixed with almond oil on a piece of toast or drizzled on a chunk of birdie bread! they DO eat it and nowadays when they see the orange jar coming out of the fridge they get all wiggly and excited, they know what it is!

[spiral71]

thank you for all your help

[marie83]

Out of interest is this more or less the same as the Harrisons? Apparently its made from the fruit, organic etc anyone know if its sourced more ethically like the harrisons?



http://www.northernparrots.com/avix-ome ... -prod6592/

[Pralina]

I would use the Harrisons palm oils:
Booster or Sunshine factor
http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/products/avix.html

or Avitechs palm oil:
Aviglo
http://www.avitec.com/product-p/agl.htm

these are the only 2 I have ever used on my birds and they are both organic, from the same source as explained above

[marie83]

Ok my link randomly disappeared lol. It was defo there before cuz I always check they are working.

[spiral71]

please look at this link about sustainable palm oil. and london zoo. http://www.grenenpalm.org/