Red palm oil

[Andromeda]

She has taken well to the Harrisons Power Treats with red palm oil. We'll see how it goes!

Thanks,

Jacquie

Good to hear! My birds love them, too.

[Shelby]

I feel kind of silly for not knowing, but what exactly does red palm oil do?

[Andromeda]

I feel kind of silly for not knowing, but what exactly does red palm oil do?

It's a good source of vitamin E and CoQ10 (as well as other antioxidants).

It's good for their skin and feathers, too.

[Shelby]

Thanks! Good to know!

[TheBirdMan]

I make cream of wheat mixed with oats along with a drop of Aviglow red palm oil (http://www.avitec.com/product-p/agl.htm) for my flock. Red palm oil is the most natural diet for the Grey. It has the calcium and A for the diet along with the a number of essential fatty acids including omega 3 and omega 6. All of mine love this cooked meal and it is easy to make.

[spiral71]

I feel kind of silly for not knowing, but what exactly does red palm oil do?

It's a good source of vitamin E and CoQ10 (as well as other antioxidants).

It's good for their skin and feathers, too.

how long do you keep the power treats before you discard any unused treats i have a bag that was opend just over a month a go thats half full as i only have one bird they dont smell rancid but i am abit nervous to feed them as the bag is for week old.

its now the 13 may and the bag was opend on the 11 april then stored in the frige what are your thoughts.

thanks andromeda

harrisons said they are designed to last between four to six weeks

[Pajarita]

Cage cleaner is correct. You can't bake RPO at high temperatures, they need to be low and this doesn't quite work with bread.

I don't use any supplement high in betacarotene. For one thing, my birds eat carrots and sweet potatoes every day in their soft food so they don't really need it and, for another, although we used to think that it was only large quantities of vit A that damaged the liver, a link between large quantities of betacarotene and cancer has been found.

Be careful with the Power treats. The label on them says:
"Can be used as the only food source to aid in weaning, changing a bird’s diet from seeds to Harrison’s Bird Foods or as a supplement for birds already fed Harrison’s Bird Foods that need extra energy following an illness"
They are not for everyday feeding, too rich and too high in protein.

[janetafloat]

I just got some Sunshine Factor and today mixed it in with a new bag of Harrison's but Alfie won't touch it. Curses! I wish I'd tried it on a small amount first. Now I have to buy a whole bag of Harrison's, what a waste.

That's worth knowing about the beta carotene Pajarita, I give Alfie a sweet potato, carrot & quinoa mash every day, it's his favourite veg.

[Eric&Rebecca]

I would say red palm oil is more of a once per month, week or something thing- frequencies not really my expertise as I don't use it. From the research I've been looking at its meant more as a boost than a specific dietary requirement (I know this is different for certain birds such as greys to to their different nutritional needs as I've found on several African Grey forums). If you can get this into the diet naturally then that's great but some birds just won't eat these things (luckily mine do).

Sick and neglected birds may need this more or ones who have been on a poor diet. I don't think its so much that its too rich or high in vitamins but its about when and how frequently its offered and under what circumstances (species, health of bird). If you gave your bird too much of anything it would be too rich in something.. The same goes for the bee pollen thing, if my birds ate bird pollen constantly all day, yes that would be too much, but as neither of them do and only eat occassionally there's no problem.

This also goes for the pellet causing kidney disease theory. IMO and that of an avian nutritionist I contacted through another website. Pellets that cause kidney disease are a remnant of what first DID happen with certain pellets when they first came out. Pellets now, although they have other issues such as artificial preservatives and colourings in SOME brands of pellets, most cold pressed and organic pellets are fine. The issue comes when pellets are fed as the sole food with no addition of fruits, veggies, etc, this can cause kidney disease in smaller birds like cockatiels, budgies, and smaller parakeets but in some cases, it also strongly suggested from the cases studied that the birds were clincically predisposed to kidney problems from the start, often a result from bad breeding or interbreeding (results were based on necropsy research she performed). Ideally all parrot owners would love to follow the raw diet with no pellets or vitamin supplements but not everyone has the knowledge, access to good sources or provisions to do this not to mention that some birds just plain old dont like certain things.. Additionally, evidence from the nutritionist suggests that smaller birds require less quantities of pellets providing they are given fresh foods and pulses like soaking mix or sprouted seeds along with plenty of fresh air, non direct sunlight and exercise. This is just one opinion but something to consider in a long line of debate about pellets and raw diet and general diet opinions. Personally, I think a balanced diet with some of everything surely can't be bad... everything in moderation.

I think its all about balance feeding some of everything (of which is safe and bird friendly of course).

[Pajarita]

Actually, the worst thing about pellets is their dryness. That is what causes their kidneys to malfunction because parrots are not hard-wired for drinking a lot of water (same as cats which we now know not to feed dry kibble or they will end up with bad kidneys). If you watch them, you would see that most of them take three of four big gulps of water in the morning and, maybe, again in the pm. This is because the natural diet of parrots is plant material which varies from 80 (branches) to 95% (fruit) water content. The pellets dryness, combined with the high protein (nobody really knows the exact amount of protein in bird pellets because -and correct me if I am wrong- they all list the protein content as 'no less than' so even though you might see a 17%, the actual content can be 40 for all you know) makes for high uric acid. Uric acid is a by-product of protein and it requires a lot of water to 'wash' it off. High protein + not enough water = kidney malfunction. And the little ones get it worse because they are not big eaters of fruits and leafy greens. It's as simple as that.