We have had a lot of questions on what is in our pellet so we thought it would be good to write a blog post on every ingredient and why we added each of the ingredients.
First of all, our food is formulated by an Avian Vet with over 40 years’ experience and this for formula has been tested, tweaked and improved over the years.
We also test our food regularly and make changes that best suits the needs of our feathered friends. These changes are made with the utmost care to ensure that our chirpy friends get only the best.
Our Avian Complete forms the basis of all our of food products. We add dried fruits and vegetables for the Avian Deluxe and dried veggies, micronized maize and barley for the Avian Wholegrain. For our smaller friends we don’t pellet Avian Complete’s ingredients, we keep it in a meal form to get Avian Softgrain.
The ingredients of our Avian Complete pellets are Maize, Soya, Bran, Apple Concentrate, Vitamins, Limestone, Rooibos Leaves, Kinofos, Blanched Giant Peanuts, Zeolite and Methionine.
Lets have a look as to why we added each of these ingredients:
· Maize
Maize/Corn or Mielies it’s rich in fiber and many vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants it is primarily composed of carbs, yes carbs! Carbs are very important for birds as their digestive system needs sufficient carbs to support their bodily functions. Carbs provide the majority of the energy that is needed to keep their hearts beating, lungs/air sacks breathing and digestive system working.
· Soya
Soya is a great source of plant-based protein and protein is exceptionally important for your feathered friend. Protein = energy = living, its easy. Your bird needs energy to live. Our soya is heat-treated which is the safest and most beneficial protein source. Soya is not a “gap filler” and most definitely not a cheap ingredient. You are running a very big risk if your bird does not get sufficient protein, it would be malnourished.
· Bran
This is used as a source of dietary fiber which is great for the optimal functioning of the digestive system. Wheat bran is also rich in prebiotics, which are non-digestible fibers that act as a source of food for your healthy gut bacteria, increasing their numbers, which, in turn, promotes bowel health.
· Apple Concentrate
We use Apple Concentrate as a binding agent and also to make the pellet a bit sweeter. We do not add any sugars (sucrose) as sugars cannot be digested by parrots.
· Limestone
Limestone is a natural product scientifically called calcium carbonate and is thus abundantly rich in calcium. Calcium is important for strong bones and beaks, it also reduces inflammation in the joints that could be caused by a vitamin D deficiency. The increase of calcium in a diet increases the levels of gastric juices that helps in the process of digestion.
· Rooibos Leaves
All South Africans love Rooibos and we know your feathered friend does too. It is rich in anti-oxidants, antioxidants are molecules that fight free radicals in your body.
Free radicals are compounds that can cause harm if their levels become too high in your body. They’re linked to multiple illnesses, including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.
· Kinofos
This natural product which is also known as Phosphorus, which comes from phosphate rock, is an essential nutrient required for growth, maintenance and repair of body tissues. Like calcium, phosphorus is used by bodies to help make DNA, strengthen cells and form bone and beaks.
· Blanched Giant Peanuts,
There is a general misunderstanding the peanuts are not good for birds and this is partly true. Peanuts with its skin on (not shell) are more likely to have harmful bacteria as they grow under the peanut’s skin. We use blanched peanuts which means the peanuts’s skin is removed during a heat process. Peanuts are an excellent source of fat and protein. Our peanuts are tested and certified as micro toxin free.
· Zeolite
Zeolite is one of nature’s gifts and its one of our favourite ingredients which we also use it in our own (human) diet. Zeolite is a mineral that is anti-inflammatory, an antioxidant, and helpful for clearing pores. First formed more than 300 million years ago, zeolite is a mineral mostly made up of silica (the third most abundant trace element in the human body) and alumina tetrahedra.
Zeolite is unique in that its honeycomb, microporous cellular structure is one of nature’s few negatively charged minerals, which means it’s able to attract positively charged contaminants. So, in other words, its a “cleaning agent” and cleans the body from the inside out. We use the Zeolite from our factory but it also available from your local pharmacy or Dischem.
· Methionine.
Methionine is also an antioxidant and also amino acid. It may help protect the body from damage caused by ionizing radiation. It may detoxify harmful substances in the body, such as heavy metals (when your feathered friend nibbles on its cage).
· Vitamins,
Our vitamin mix has specifically been formulated for birds by an avian vet and its one of the most (if not the most) important ingredients in our food. Birds in die wild get their nutrients and vitamins from different sources – trees, plants, the ground and eating insects (yes, insects!). Caged and pet birds cannot get the same vitamins from a home-made mix. The list of our vitamins are very long and we will do a separate blog entry on this.
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There you have it, some of our ingredients are self-explanatory but some of them we had to explain so that you are aware of the benefits of the ingredients in your special friend’s food.
We recommend that your bird eats a well-balanced diet that consists of fresh fruit, veggies and formulated pellets. But at the same time we do want to stress that its exceptionally important for them to have a pellet formulated by an avian health professional.
Its dangerous to follow the advice of the “I have heard’s”, from Dr Google or the lady on the street corner, trust the experienced and qualified professionals and your feathered friend will have a healthy and happy life.