african grey parrot?

Question

hi could any1 help me i need to know what the symptoms are for calcium deficiency in african grey parrots.
thanks.

Answer 1

Hi Tom,,
Ms Oddball gave you a very good answer,she's absolutely correct.
Prof Grey did also,,very good info.

The symptoms they described are just about the Only outward and obvious symptoms that a person can readily discern.

Realize that those symptoms dont appear immediately,,but after some period of time.
If your bird does have the symptoms,,,or has had them for a while,,
I think I'd seek professional advice,,or a trip to a good Bird Dr.

Here's an article you may find useful

http://www.africangreys.com/articles/nutrition/calcium.htm

Note the mention about LIGHT in the article.
That's an important factor.

Those birds evolved near the earth's equator,,,LONG Days year round==Lots of Light

In Winter,,,Many folks move their birds away from Windows,
Or Cover their cages for warmth,,,
and daylight is shorter,,,plus it's a different bandwidth/Color of light.
etc,etc,etc.

It all totals up to make for Less Light availble to the birds,,
and usually a lesser "quality",,,and less hours per day.

They're as sensitive to Lighting for proper health and nutrition as PLANTS are.
It may sound goofy,,,,but LIGHT can practically be considered "food,,vitamins,,nutrition" itself.

And as such,,,that means Amount & "quality">Color,
are Important Issues.

To the Birds,,,"Light is NOT "Just Light",,,and any light will do"

It's actually a Specific Requirement for the Bird's Good Health.

Myself,,Frankly,,I know very little about Parrots and am not a big fan .

But my Mom has raised parrots for over 30yrs.
I've always helped her with various projects,,,and in caring for the birds.
And doing research before she learned how to use the computer.

We used to have Congo's.
DUMB me,,,,I beleived they were just "Grey Amazons".
They looked like just a different color of Same Bird.

If ever they Were,,somewhere back in their beginnings in History,,they Sure are NOT now.
They're VERY different and have their own Unique requirements

For Lighting,,,for all the birds,,Mostly Amazons,Macaws and Greys...and a few small miscellaneous parrots,
we use plain old "Shop Light" fixture.
2- 48" 40watt tubes,,,,
1 tube is "Daylight"
1 tube is Sylvania "GroLux" full spectrum PLANT Gro Light

GroLux's also come in 2foot 20watt size

I also have each fixture on a Cheapie Plug-in-the-wall Timer,,$5 from Walmart,,,LOL
I reset them a few times per year to keep up with seasonal Changes in Sunrise/Sunset.

We've had good results with that setup for a long time.

I CANNOT recommend that,,,because I'm not an "authority" on the subject.
And I can offer No actual research that supports any facts that it's Correct

It's VERY possible that "it only Coincidentally works HERE and for us" because of the local climate,,seasonal length of daylight,,,and amount of natural light the birds get.
Plus,,,the diet we have the birds on is also a factor .

So,,,It Cannot be a reccomendation that ,,"THIS WORKS,,or THIS is CORRECT"

Just saying,,it works OK for us.

You may be aware of all that already,,
I'm just passing along the little I know.


I hope there's no serious probs with your Grey,,
and that he's doing fine very soon!

*******************

PS:,,I almost hate to say this,,,and most Bird Owners know it.
Always make Certain that your Bird's Dr is a BIRD SPECIALIST.
They're sorta scarce.
If you've gotta drive 100miles to one,,,it's worth the trip.

Thats NO Bash/Slam against Vet's in general,,,overall I'd rank Vets among the Most Competent & Caring proffesionals.

Birds,,,ESPECIALLY Parrots,,,are very unique creatures and demand a special level of expertise.
It's one of those things you really DONT wanna learn the hard way.

Answer 2

Calcium is required for proper muscle function, and when blood levels are low, we see signs ranging from slight muscle weakness, so that the bird has difficulty climbing around its cage, progressing through more marked inco-ordination and loss of balance, and culminating in fits or seizures of an epileptic nature.

The usual reason for the occurrence of Hypocalcaemia is a chronic deficiency in the dietary intake.
Classically, the condition is seen in parrots that eat a diet consisting of sunflower seed and peanuts, with little else.
African Greys particularly can become addicted to sunflower seed, and can be very difficult to persuade to eat alternatives.
Calcium-rich foods include the dark greens such as broccoli, spinach, kale and the like; and dairy products such as cheese, milk and yoghurt.
Calcium is usually offered in the form of cuttlefish bone, mineral blocks, or oystershell grit, but these products have some disadvantages.
Many birds will not touch them, or if they do, tend just to destroy the substance without ingesting it.
Even if they do eat cuttlefish bone, the form of Calcium available is poorly digested - perhaps only 2% of that taken in is absorbed into the bloodstream.

The dairy products are much more efficiently digested, and milk can be a very useful means of providing Calcium quickly in an emergency.
Their disadvantage is that the fat content and the lactose sugar are not easily digested, so long term administration can produce diarrhoea.

Answer 3

Hey Tom 90. all very good answers. Good sources of calcium are oranges, broccoli, dark leafy greens, crushed egg shell and canned salmon with the bones, oysters. The deficiency not only affects muscles causing weakness, but also the cardiac muscle causing disrythmias and cardiac arrest. Variety of foods really helps. There is no standard for bird diets yet, but they are getting close. Vitamin D is needed to absorb the calcium. So sunshine or grow lights are a great idea.Personally, I feed mine corn bread mix with crushed egg shells (done in the blender) added and dried fruits and veggies. Have a tweet year.

Answer 4

One of the symptoms is that they can start twitching....pardon the pun, but twitching and shaking is something to look out for. Always ensure you use calcium drops in the water and access to cuttle fish is a good idea. Greys really do need their calcium, like all other birds. It's just that Greys are more susceptible to lacking in it.

You should not give MORE calcium than necessary, however, because too much is as dangerous as too little.

Dark leafy green veg. is a good natural way of giving calcium, again, not too much.

Answer 5

go on web and get care sheet,