Vitamin's

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ryelle
Posts: 367
Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2008 7:25 am
Location: N.E England

Vitamin's

Post by ryelle »

So i did some research. Donna posted http://www.parrotsociety.org.au/articles/art_021.htm#Vitamin%20K in a previous post regarding Vitamin's. It has a good table of nutritional requirements but i couldn't find where each came from. So here i go:

Vitamins are normally divided into two groups: Fat soluble vitamins (i.e A, D, E and K), and water-soluble vitamins (i.e B and C vitamins). Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the body, while water-soluble vitamins must
be provided on a daily basis.


Vitamin C: Only fruit eating birds such as Willow Ptarmigan and Red Vented Bulbul require essential Vitamin C intake.

Vitamin A: An essential vitamin for overall health body function, playing an important role in the health of the skin, vision, skeletal development, disease resistance and reproduction.
Foods high in Vitamin A include greens, dark vegetables, sweetcorn, carrot, fish-liver oil, liver, eggs and dried milk.
The liver stores Vitamin A and contains approx. 90% of the body’s Vitamin A. Excess Carotenoids in the diet do not cause toxicity as they are not converted to Vitamin A unless more is required, however, too much may cause the skin and fat to turn yellow.
Deficiency in Vitamin A is the most common Vitamin deficiency we see as dry seed is low in this vital vitamin. Birds on a high dry seed diet must be supplemented with Vitamin A or Carotenoids.



Vitamin D: Ingested vitamin D precursors (e.g ergocalciferol) are converted to active D3 by ultraviolet light. Vitamin D3 is vital for normal calcium metabolism.
Foods rich in Vitamin D include fish-liver oil, eggs and dried milk.


Vitamin E: This antioxidant is particularly important for male fertility, and for brain and nerve function.
Foods high in Vitamin E include vegetable oils, sunflower, saffron and wheat germ.

Vitamin K: Synthesised by bacteria in the gut, vitamin K helps the blood to clot.
This is the first of the water soluble Vitamins and is required for blood clotting. It is found in green plants and is also produced by bacteria in the bowel. Natural deficiencies have not been seen.

Vitamin B1 (Thiamine): Required for normal nerve transmission.
Thaimine is found in ALL vegetables but not in meat. This is freely available in most foods and requires constant uptake and is not stored in the body. Preservatives in foods e.g. Sulphides and Nitrates can cause a deficiency of vitamin B1.

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin): Important for feather colouration, as well as growth, skin health and intestinal health. Occurs in plant and animal tissue especially eggs.

Vitamin B6 (Niacin and Pyridoxine): Important for normal nerve function. Occurs in all foods but is poorly absorbed from plants. Very high in animal products. No storage of this vitamin occurs in the body.

Vitamin B12 (Cyancobalamin): Essential for protein, fat and carbohydrate synthesis. This vitamin is produced by bacterial activity, and there is very efficient storage in the liver and muscle tissue.

Choline: Responsible for metabolism, cartilage production, and prevention of fatty build-up in the liver. Choline is wide-spread in most foods.

Folic Acid
: Important for carbon metabolism and uric acid synthesis.
Foods rich in folic acid include cereals and yeast products.

Pantothenic acid and biotin: Essential for normal metabolism, liver function, and beak and feather growth.
Egg yolk and yeats products contain both pantothetic acid and biotin.


Vitamin Deficiencies and Toxicosis


Vitamin deficincies and toxicosis are very common among pet birds, and are normally caused by poor diet.
As water-soluble vitamins are not stored in the body, it is often one of these vitamins in which a bird becomes deficient. as fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the body they can quickly rise to toxic levels in the event of oversupplementation.

Signs: Clinical signs vary, depending on which vitamin is deficient or being stored in excessive levels. However, the following are common signs - loss of appetite, poor growth, weakness, diarrhoea, skin problems, anaemia, skin and bone lesions, poor feathering / coloration, failure of eggs to hatch, signs of nervous disease, kidney disease, or liver disease and, in some casesm the sudden and apparently unexplained death of the bird.
Causes: In the vast majority of cases, a poor diet is responsible. Some rare conditions, or an imbalance in bacteria living in the guy, may also cause problems.
Treatment: Attention must be paid to the birds diet, and your veterinarian will be happy to advise you about this. In some cases it may be necessary to add vitamin supplements to your birds diet. Dont choose vitamin supplements over veterinarian advice if your bird appears unwell.


Information taken from http://www.parrotsociety.org.au/articles/art_021.htm#Pantothenic%20Acid and the book 'Parrotlopaedia: A complete guide to Parrot care' by Annette De Saulles and Neil Forbes.
Linde
Posts: 25
Joined: Thu Jul 24, 2008 12:32 pm

Post by Linde »

That's nice info! Thanks.
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