Over the years, I have tried different types of bird supplements for my birds. I think it’s smart to add a vitamin supplement to a bird’s diet. Even though my Greys have a very nutritious daily menu, I still sprinkle their food with a vitamin supplement a couple of times a week. I do it because “I want to make sure I get the corners when I’m cleaning the window.”
It certainly won’t hurt them, and it might offer their little feathered keesters a mineral or an amino acid I may have missed when I was preparing their food.
I’ve switched back and forth between supplements, but I’ve finally settled on one that I like: Prime by Hagen.
And I use it for one damn good reason: Parker, Pepper and Nyla will actually eat whatever it is I’ve sprinkled it on.
Now this sounds like a strange reason to select a particular supplement. But if you think about it, what good is buying a supplement if your birds won’t eat it? There are other reasons I selected Prime, but that’s the primary one. I’ve tried other brands and the birds won’t touch the food it’s sprinkled on.
First of all, it also doesn’t smell like a bad chemistry experiment; in fact it smells pretty good. I never knew why until I began looking at what Prime offers. Or in this case, what it doesn’t offer. According to HARI, “Some other supplements use yeast as a carrier. Yeast has a strong smell which many birds try to avoid.” I’ve always wondered what that smell was in other supplements. Yeast.
And yes, I actually tried it. It’s pretty tasty stuff. It’s tangy and it tastes like a crushed Sweetart. It also doesn’t stiffen up and turn into a cement-like consistency in the Florida humidity. And at that point, you simply have to toss the bag because, well, ewww! And here’s why the other supplements turn into a brick after time: It comes down to sugar; or rather, the lack of it. This subject of sugar according to HARI:
Nutrient Carrier vs. Sugar
Several supplements use sugar as a carrier. They try to cover this up by using technical descriptions of the sugars such as glucose, dextrose or fructose on the product label. These sugars tend to cake up over time making accurate measuring of dosages difficult. Another problem with sugar bases is that they provide an excellent food source for unwanted micro-organisms in the drinking water. These harmful bacteria may cause an imbalance in the normal gut flora – exactly what Prime is trying to correct.
Prime uses a required nutrient ingredient as a carrier, namely calcium gluconate.
Of course, I had no idea what calcium gluconate is. And of course, because this is a full-service blog, I saved you the trip to Google:
“Calcium Gluconate is the calcium salt of gluconic acid, an oxidation product of glucose, and contains 9.3% calcium.”
I’ve purchased different brands of vitamins, but this is the only one I’ve found that doesn’t stink to high heaven, doesn’t turn into a brick in the bag and actually makes its way into my birds.
But wait! There’s more! According to HARI, (The Hagen Avian Research Institute):
“The result of our research is a unique formulation in the form of a water soluble concentrated powder of 14 vitamins, 9 minerals and 2 limiting amino acids which birds cannot manufacture themselves. Additionally over other supplements beneficial bacteria, acids, electrolytes and enzymes were included in the formulation. Prime however is not a dumping ground for every nutrient known to man – ingredients and their quantities were selected on the basis of need.”
In other words, Hagen didn’t just throw a bunch of vitamins in there; they thought about what was necessary to the bird. Here’s another fact. Not all supplements contain vitamins, minerals and amino acids. But Prime has all three. For more information on Prime, Just click on Parker:
July 17, 2011 at 1:33 pm
“Calcium Gluconate is the calcium salt of gluconic acid, an oxidation product of glucose, and contains 9.3% calcium.”
What does this mean? It appears as though they are just using oxidized glucose, which would be sugar, right? I may be wrong, it just seems like double talk to me.
I’d be curious to find out exactly what the carrier is as it’s base.
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July 17, 2011 at 1:43 pm
Kim,
I’ll get Melanie Allen of Hagen over here to answer your question. That crossed my mind too, but I just assumed I didn’t understand the difference. However, I do know the stuff doesn’t turn to cement.
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July 17, 2011 at 1:56 pm
Interesting. I always like it when someone I trust does the research for me. I’m telling Mom to put this on her next Foster Smith order.
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July 17, 2011 at 2:22 pm
Love your metaphor on using supplements Patricia…. I do it because “I want to make sure I get the corners when I’m cleaning the window.”
When Miss Scarlet my female Solomon Island Eclectus arrived from Dallas, TX to my Florida home 15 months ago, I was looking for some very experienced Eclectus diet advice. Who better than a couple who raise all sub-species of Eclectus since 1990? Jane & Scott live in Atlanta and have given me great dietary advice. I buy there custom organic pellet that Scarlet loves. Seems all birdies love these pellets…
I also buy three supplements, PET POWER “Avian Trio” bee product supplement, Organic Spirulina powder and organic virgin Red Palm Oil:
https://picasaweb.google.com/jaimeejackdad/20101216?authkey=Gv1sRgCOPcue3R3_noYA#5630394522993823298
Bottom line is that Miss Scarlet eats it all…
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July 17, 2011 at 3:29 pm
See I feel this is why I have not used a supplement on my birds food is because of the smell and how they never touched the food it was on and thank you I thought I was crazy and imagining things when that happened . I will however try this particular one .
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July 17, 2011 at 3:55 pm
I use that brand for my finches. The finches actually like peanut butter and broccoli and they’ll eat either if it has some prime on it. I give them broccoli or peanut butter with some prime on it a couple times a week.
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July 17, 2011 at 5:24 pm
I’ve never felt the need to add supplements as I have researched bird nutrition to the nth degree. My birds eat a well balanced diet in my opinion. I raised my African Grey from 3 1/2 weeks old and he will eat anything I hand him. I will look into the Prime. Never to old to learn something.
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July 17, 2011 at 11:30 pm
I always had a question for Hagen: I get oyster shell grit for my society finches (I had a female with no feathers and the iodine in the oyster shell helped her body grow them back), and the brand is definitely Hagen. However, the box has a picture of a parakeet on it. I always wondered why they would advertise giving grit to parrots (no, no, no!)…? Well, you know SOMEONE who hasn’t done any research WOULD give the grit to their parrot.
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July 18, 2011 at 7:25 am
Hello to All!
Hopefully I can help answer some of these comments!
We use Calcuim gluconate as carrier for nutrients. Calcium gluconate serves dual purpose in that 1. it a very absorbable and often recommended source of calcium by leading exotic animal veterinarians. 2. it is a superior “escort delivery” ingredient for other nutrients in supplement. Many powder vitamin supplements use a sugar for this purpose. Too much sugar in a parrot’s diet can actually lead to chronic candidas albicons (yeast) infection.
Oyster shell Grit is a very controversial item for passerines and for psittacines. Some folks give the grit to their birds as calcium supplement and as a digestive aid. A little bit is ok. But, too much grit, whether it be for finches or for parrots, can cause crop inpactions. Before you hit the panic button, please note that all animals, especially birds, will instinctively overconsume a substance (pica behavior) when challenged with discomfort. The discomfort can be a nutrient deficiency, parasite, physical ailment, or even disease. This is a sign that the bird might need to see a avian veterinarian.
Our Hagen line of bird products is tiered in many levels. Some products are general. The highest quality bird products we offer will have earned and display the “HARI Approved” symbol. HARI Approved products, such as Prime, have been developed and researched at our Hagen Avicultural Research Institute and are deemed the best that can be offered to our companion birds. We encourage avian enthusiast that share their life with a bird to visit our sites for information. http://www.hagen.com/hari or http://www.hari.ca for blog.
Warmest Regards,
Melanie Allen
Avian Product Specialist (USA) Corp.
melanie.allen@rchagen.com
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July 18, 2011 at 9:31 am
I’m going to have to find a small bit & give it a try. Chief (U2) is a PAIN when it comes to putting supplements in & on his food. If it’s not what he wants to eat, it goes on the floor. If you bury it in his food, he STILL finds it & pitches it out. He used to LOVE flax seed..now, out it goes. Flax oil…everything it touched, out. Clay-Cal?? Bye..there it goes. He is SUCH a naughty man. LOL
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July 18, 2011 at 10:15 am
I had to laugh at Robin’s U2 Comment! You’re describing a typical Cockatoo! They might like something like crazy one day and the next….as you said, it’s on the floor! All I can suggest is keep trying….and I would really like to refer you (and other frustrated parrot folks) to my favorite children’s book: “Green Eggs & Ham” by Dr. Seuss! Our parrots may not like “it” one way and you just gotta keep on trying until you find the way they like “it”!
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