Bird supplements - which is best? In water or on food?
For a supplement to work well for your birds once mixed into the drinking water, it is important that all the ingredients in it are water soluble so they dissolve and spread evenly throughout the liquid. If the ingredients are not water soluble, they will settle out at the bottom and the birds will not gain any benefit from them. Expensive for you and no value to your bird!
But not all the useful ingredients come in nice soluble forms. Or sometimes they can be obtained in soluble form but at a cost many times the price of the non-soluble version, a cost many customers do not want to pay. In these cases, a non-soluble product which gets mixed into food may be better. Methionine, which is great at speeding up moults, dissolves in water but often smells disgusting like rotting cabbage therefore we put this in our on-food version.
Another consideration is that birds eating lots of moist foods obtain most of their liquid needs this way and so have little desire to drink water. Think parrots eating chopped fruits. So if you put supplements in the water, it is again expensive for you and no value to the birds. The answer is to mix 'on-food' supplements into their finely chopped fruit, soaked seed or eggfood.
For budgerigars in stock flights it is often good to put supplements in the eggfood AND in the water, as the less dominant birds will not get too much of the eggfood, but will manage to drink at some point.
Keeping your birds in tip-top condition
Recommended products to go into the drinking water:
Water soluble multi-vitamins and minerals for cage and aviary birds. Contains 13 vitamins and 9 trace minerals balanced specifically for your birds.
Dissolves easily into water and ideal for birds that are consuming just a dry seed mixture. Promotes good health and condition all year round. Suitable for young and older birds.
Calcivet liquid (CalciBoost in the USA)
A liquid calcium supplement for birds with added vitamin D3 for addition into drinking water.
Ideal for breeding and growing birds. Promotes healthy egg production and has proven to be very effective as an emergency product for egg-bound hens. Calcium is involved in brain and nerve function and can improve behavioural problems such as feather plucking or chewing.
Recommended products for pet birds to go onto food such as chopped fruit, soaked seed or eggfoods:
EasyBird Complete Pet Supplement
A comprehensive all in one product which makes supplementation easier for busy bird keepers. This product contains calcium, vitamins and minerals, protein and a powdered probiotic and is suitable for on food use.
EasyBird Complete Pet Supplement combines the ingredients from Daily Essentials3 (vitamins & minerals), Calcivet Powder (calcium), BioPlus (probiotics) and a small amount of protein from ProBoost Super Max.
Recommended products for collections of birds to go onto food such as chopped fruit, soaked seed or eggfoods:
On food multi-vitamins and minerals for cage and aviary birds. Add to eggfood or fruit. Contains 13 different vitamins, minerals and amino acids.
Mixes easily into moist foods. For all year round use and suitable for young and older birds. Promotes good health, condition and can aid with feathering and moulting problems.
Calcivet Powder (CalciBoost Powder in the USA)
Calcium powder supplement for birds with added vitamin D3 for application onto soft food or fresh foods. This fine flowing powder allows for easier and more even distribution once applied onto moist food sources.
Ideal for breeding and growing birds. Promotes healthy egg production and has proven to be very effective as an emergency product for egg-bound hens. Calcium is involved in brain and nerve function and can improve behavioural problems such as feather plucking or chewing.
OR for a complete all in one solution...
A combination of a number of Birdcare products in one easy to use supplement.
Ideal for moulting, show birds or birds outside the breeding season. Combines the ingredients from Daily Essentials3 (vitamins & minerals), Calcivet Powder (calcium), BioPlus (probiotics) and a small amount of protein from ProBoost Supermax.