Spirulina: How do you use it?
Gen Jacobs
(and/or wheat grass) in your birdies' diets. How much per serving per
day/week? How do you deliver it? Powdered on vegies, flake, crystal?
Best source for good quality yet good price? How do you know if it's
working?
Yes, I did see the article in the newest Bird Breeder, and I have been
feeding spirulina in a desultory fashion, wishing it didn't cost so much.
The instructions on the package I bought from Pet Vision says to "use as
5% of dry diet." Hmmm.
It also suggests baking it in bird bread, but I assume that there would be
loss of nutrients during the baking.
Looking forward to your many good advices....
Genny Jacobs
Gen's Jardines
Virginia Beach, Va.
JSKD
>Hi folks. I would love input on whether and/or how you all use spirulina
>(and/or wheat grass) in your birdies' diets.
I'm curious, too. I read somewhere that the spirulina loses a lot (all?)
of its nutritional benefit within 30 days after the container is opened.
Does anyone know more about that? Even with four parrots and buying the
smallest container, I can't use the stuff up that quickly, and it's so
expensive that I hate to throw it away after one month.
Judy D in WV
Bruce & Alicia McWatters
writes:
>Hi folks. I would love input on whether and/or how you all use
spirulina
>day/week? How do you deliver it? Powdered on vegies, flake, crystal?
>Best source for good quality yet good price? How do you know if it's
>working?
>
Hi Gen,
Well, we started out using Spirulina, however we switched to Super
Blue Green Algae. (Spirulina is also a blue-green algae.) After
researching the differences i.e. the way each is grown, nutrient
content, etc. we chose to use the SBGA. SBGA is grown in the Upper
Klamath Lake in Oregon and is harvested from nature, whereas Spirulina
is man-made in concrete tanks in an artificially controlled
environment. Now Spirulina is a very good product, we just wanted to go
with a naturally-made product. What we suggest is to try them each for
a minimum of two months and see the differences for yourself.
From a financial perspective, it's not necessary to use more than a
pinch per pair(a light sprinkling)over the fresh food. Algae is a
nutrient-dense whole food and we needn't offer too much. In other
words, less is required to gain positive results. The results we've
observed so far is an increase in activity level(playfulness), while
also a calmness in some of our birds which were more stress-prone, and
brilliantly colored feathers.
We grow wheatgrass in large rectangular windowbox style planters.
This stuff is incredible, so easy to grow and it grows sooo fast! We
clip small portions of this grass for our birds as a treat, offered
about 2-3 times per week. Our cats have their own personal wheatgrass
planter!! Everyone loves it! Oh, and they enjoy the fresh grown millet
sprays, peppermint, catnip, valerian and more!!!
--
Alicia & Bruce McWatters Organically raised parrots
Pionus Plus Aviaries 6 Species Pionus Parrots
Edgewood, New Mexico Congo & Timneh African Greys
E-Mail; pio...@ix.netcom.com DYH Amazons
Ph (505)281-5168 9am-5pm MDT African Red Bellied Parrots
Fax (505)281-0751 anytime
Bobbi Brinker
I put a teaspoon in each large batch of birdie bread. According to
Ron Henson of Earthrise, Spirulina stands up to baking. I sprinkle
half of a quarter teaspoon of Wheatgrass per dish on the soft foods
daily and stir it all up.
The best price I have found is at a local health food store. The
Spirulina and Wheatgrass for humans is cheaper than for birds. If you
can't find it, call Al at (419) 626-9486. He has excellent prices
compared to the advertisers in the bird mags.
Wheatgrass and Spirulina have unique structures that provide multiple
living spaces for the gram positive bacteria. They also make the
tract slightly more acidic (this makes the area more unattractive for
the bad cooties - gram negative). You won't see any difference on the
outside until the bird's next molt but a LOT of good things are
happening in the bird's innards. The colors will be more vibrant, the
feathers shiny and well-textured, and the bird's immune system will
be in excellent shape.
Patty Morris
writes:
:\>Hi folks. I would love input on whether and/or how you all use spirulina
:\>(and/or wheat grass) in your birdies' diets. How much per serving per
:\>day/week? How do you deliver it? Powdered on vegies, flake, crystal?
:\>Best source for good quality yet good price? How do you know if it's
:\>working?
We do, Genny. I've been using both Spirulina and Wheatgrass for some
time now in our handfeeding formula and have only recently begun using it in
earnest with our other birds. Since Spirulina is so concentrated I use only
a pinch of it sprinkled over the birds veggies or other soft foods
along with a couple of pinches (probably about 1/4 of a tsp) of Wheatgrass
and a similar amount of Wheatgerm flakes. I also bake Spirulina (about 2
tablespoons), Wheatgrass, Wheatgerm flakes and eggshells into cornbread.
Makes the cornbread look a bit odd but they love it.
I purchase mine at a local pet store although they don't carry the larger
sizes (150 grams?).
Our birds feathers are lustruous in a way that they weren't before we
started using the Spirulina. This past breeding cycle showed an increase in
fertility rates among some of our birds although, as noted before in a
discussion re: Booda Byrdy Cables, I don't know if this is due to the
Spirulina improved diet, better grip on the cables, or other factors. All of
our babies that we've handfed using the Spirulina (last clutch of Pacifics is
now 3 months old) are both healthy and hardy. Additionally, their weight
gains were excellant while handfeeding and they have surpassed both parents
in size and weight to become cobby little birds.
:\>Yes, I did see the article in the newest Bird Breeder, and I have been
Along with a lot of other people. I was in the pet store that I buy
supplies from and noticed that where there were usually as many as 10 bottles
of Spirulina on the shelf there were none.
:\>It also suggests baking it in bird bread, but I assume that there would be
:\>loss of nutrients during the baking.
I believe that either the Bird Breeder or another Spirulina article
(Caged Bird Hobbyist perhaps) mentions that Spirulina doesn't lose it's
nutritional value when exposed to heat.
--)@ Patty @(--
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jack j greenhouse
starting about a month before my YCM started molting. you sprinkle it on
soft foods-they say (Bright and Healthy brand) 1% of food. I see no
difference(no surprise with the CAG) in color or vitality etc.. I was
talking to a distributer at the VA. bird mart yesterday, and she said
she only got benefits when feed to baby(hand fed) birds,and no results
on adult birds.
jack greenhouse
P.S. a good sized bottle of Brite and Healthy(with dessicant package in
it)goes for $15 at the VA> bird marts.
jack j greenhouse
to tolerate it after a while.
jack greenhouse
Cathy Quinones
org> writes:
:>
:>I've been using spirulina for the last 2-3 months on my YCM and CAG
:>soft foods-they say (Bright and Healthy brand) 1% of food. I see no
:>difference(no surprise with the CAG) in color or vitality etc.. I was
:>talking to a distributer at the VA. bird mart yesterday, and she said
:>she only got benefits when feed to baby(hand fed) birds,and no results
:>on adult birds.
Considering this stuff is something of a vitamin & mineral & "other stuff"
supplement, I'd expect to see dramatic results in animals that are eating a
diet that is not fulfilling the animal's needs. That is, if you are offering
(and the bird is eating!) a balanced, healthy diet, it's getting what it
needs from it and the supplement may be redundant, or even an outright
overdose. Maybe this breeder's handfeeding formula was barely adequate and
the supplement pushed it into the ideal range... whereas the diet fed to
adults was complete to start with??
[although, considering how much these "green" supplements cost, I think the
risk of overdosing is kind of low ;) ]
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:Cathy Quinones >>- Poicephalus rule!! -<< quin...@mindspring.com :
: ---> http://www.mindspring.com/~mintz/coverpg.html = Bird Care Info :
:"The older I get, the closer I ascertain that the line between bitchy :
::::::::::::::::::: and helpful is really thin." - Brett Butler ::::::::
simone
>In message <47im7c$o...@ixnews4.ix.netcom.com> - pio...@ix.netcom.com (Bruce & A
>licia McWatters ) writes:
>:> We grow wheatgrass in large rectangular windowbox style planters.
>:>(Omissions) offered about 2-3 times per week. (Omits) Oh, and they enjoy the >:>fresh grown millet sprays, peppermint, catnip, valerian and more!!!
>
>quin...@mindspring.com Cathy wrote:
>I vote for this too. If you grow it, it's cheaper and you KNOW what went
>into it, which can't really be argued about bottled supplements. I was at
>the health food store today, wandering around with my critical eye, and
>found the section where all the "green" supplements are. And I was really
>shaking my head at all this stuff, it's so damned expensive!!, and none of
>the bottles said much about the contents, only the Super Blue-Green Alga
>had a vague break-down of contents, and it wasn't particularly illuminating.
>I know Alicia swears by this stuff :) and just on her word I believe it does
>work! ...but personally, I prefer to stick with products that aren't afraid
>to post nutritional content and other quality control stuff on the label!!!
>The FDA doesn't require this because such supplements are not regulated, but
>if they have the info, and they stand by it, why not offer it??? It makes me
>nervous when they don't!
>
>You can buy the wheat "berries" at the health food store, along with rye, and
>a mess of other sproutable grains. My birds love this stuff, they go
>berserk. You can sprout the seed and feed the sprouts to the bird, or, like
>Alicia said, you can grow the seeds and harvest a bit of the greenery each
>day. For added fun, you can plant the stuff in a small pot, and once the
>greenery is available, casually leave the pot within your birds' reach. This
>gives the bird the vicarious thrill of "finding" this little field and
>destroying it :)
Bruce & Alicia McWatters
Quinones) writes:
>
>work! ...but personally, I prefer to stick with products that aren't
afraid
>to post nutritional content and other quality control stuff on the
label!!!
Cathy, the brand we use does post nutritional content on the label,
however there may be other brands who do not. We purchase from Cell
Tech; it can only be order by mail and is not available in retail
stores. Info is available thru a distributor or a consumer.
>The FDA doesn't require this because such supplements are not
regulated, but if they have the info, and they stand by it, why not
offer it???
As far as FDA regulations for these algae products, the FDA
"qualifies" them, but does not "approve" them. This is essentially
because they are sold as nutritional support only, and cannot (at this
time) be sold under the impression that they are a cure for anything.
Herbal products are qualified in a similar fashion. Also, the USDA
verifies the safety of these products and they meet every established
standard of the FDA and are inspected for purity and quality.
On the other hand, with the knowledge of how the FDA works and how
in many ways they lack the ability (financial and scientific resources)
to truly verify our food is safe, brings to my attention that we cannot
fully be secure in the notion that the FDA will "take care" of us.
Another point of importance is that the FDA is not solely
responsible for ensuring the safety and wholesomeness of meat, poultry,
and eggs. The USDA is primarily responsible for the safety of these
food items as well as food coloring and additives in meat and poultry.
State and local governments have the primary responsibility for
monitoring our dairy products for bacteria, antibiotics, etc.
The FDA is responsible for all food sold in interstate commmerce
with the exception of the above. The FDA is primarily responsible for
regulating food additives, vet drugs, and drug residues in dairy, meat,
poultry and fish, and also enforcing the limits set by the EPA. USDA
assists the FDA to check for pesticide residues and to verify food
labeling. However, the FDA spot-checks only a small fraction of food
shipments for illegal pesticide residues(less than 1%). The FDA doesn't
even test regularly for a large # of pesticides that may be in our
foods and in animal food. What's really scary is that the FDA uses a
"multi-residue" testing method which can detect fewer than half of the
pesticide residues that might be in food. They do not regularly test
for pesticides that aren't detected by these methods including aprox 33
pesticides that the FDA itself classifies as posing a moderate to high
health risk. To top that, even when the FDA does detect illegal
pesticide residues on food, the lab tests usually aren't available in
time to stop the contaminated food from being sold and eaten.
There are many additives being used in foods, yes those "healthy",
"complete" diets for birds too! which are on the list for further
conclusive testing. But, in the meantime we and our pets as consumers
will live with them in some of our foods. If we question what foods we
feed our birds, read labels, and define the ingredients BEFORE feeding
them, we certainly then are able to make more informed healthier
choices for our birds.
Bruce & Alicia McWatters
Quinones) writes:
>
>In message <47l5bm$1...@info.usuhs.mil> - jack j greenhouse
<jgree...@hiv.hjf
>org> writes:
>:>
>:>I've been using spirulina for the last 2-3 months on my YCM and CAG
>:>starting about a month before my YCM started molting. you sprinkle
it on soft foods-they say (Bright and Healthy brand) 1% of food. I see
no difference(no surprise with the CAG) in color or vitality etc.. I
was talking to a distributer at the VA. bird mart yesterday, and she
said she only got benefits when feed to baby(hand fed) birds,and no
results on adult birds.
>
>Considering this stuff is something of a vitamin & mineral & "other
stuff" supplement, I'd expect to see dramatic results in animals that
are eating a diet that is not fulfilling the animal's needs. That is,
if you are offering (and the bird is eating!) a balanced, healthy diet,
it's getting what it needs from it and the supplement may be redundant,
or even an outright overdose. Maybe this breeder's handfeeding formula
was barely adequate and the supplement pushed it into the ideal
range... whereas the diet fed to adults was complete to start with??
>
Cathy, you took the words right out of my mouth! :) Actually, there
are a few other valid reasons for this lack of noticable difference.
The stuff just doesn't work! ;) :) The following other ideas may be of
importance to those experiencing or *not* experiencing what they feel
they should be experiencing in their birds when feeding algae. 1)
consistency--algae should be used in small amounts at first, but must
be used daily to be effective as nutritional support. 2) Not using
enough. Each bird is an individual and so you may need to offer more to
a bird with special needs. Some may need slightly more than others. 3)
You simply may not have used the algae for long enough. It can take as
long as a year or as little as a few days depending on the individual
bird's health status.
Generally speaking, the least healthy birds will show a significant
improvement the quickiest, but will still be recovering over the
long-term. The feather condition and consistency will take as long as
it takes to begin and complete the next moult. We have to remember that
nutritional supplements or foods are working on the inside before they
actually show a change on the outside. All the thousands of cells in
our bird's bodies are rejuvenating themselves and duplicating at a fast
rate. But this still takes some time for this to occur and for the
building of new tissue to take place and so forth. As a result of this
internal action taking place, the immune system is strengthened, the
function of the intestinal tract is improving and the overall
constitution of health is getting better each day. Under greater
periods of stress, such as during the breeding season you may need to
increase the amount used. When making any change to your bird's diet we
suggest monitoring their temperament, activity level, appetite, weight,
and feather condition. These are all important clues to help you
determine the nutritional status now and over the days and months
ahead.
As far as seeing results with algae when used in the handfeeding
formula, you have to realize that the difference is merely that this is
a time of rapid growth. A new life which hopefully is getting a good
start with the proper diet. At the rate of growth of a baby which is
forming healthy blood, cells, and tissues we will see immediate results
at such a time. In an older bird it is a more gradual process.
Birds who are already in optimum health, e.g. on a fresh diet which
includes lots of fruits, veggies, etc will most often already exhibit
beautiful tight feathers, and all the many signs of good health. When
serving a diet consisting of primarily complex carbohydrates, quality
proteins, fats(EFA's), and chlorophyll containing foods, we will find
less dramatic results, though there should still be some improvements
noticed. You may find subtle differences which may or may not go
unnoticed, however, the bird may notice!
Some food for thought :) If we trade the dry convenient diets for
the algae (considered a "whole" food, containing all essential
nutrients and similar to what they say about pellets) served over fresh
foods, we could likely save some cash, while at the same time eliminate
the preservatives and additives by not feeding the dry diets! An option
worth considering!!
amy
The issue of Bird Breeder that is in stores right now has an article
on Spirulina. I think it's the December issue. I saw it just
yesturday but I also saw a DIFFERENT issue at another store.
In relation to this... I get Bird Breeder now and then. They used to
be hard spined, somewhat generous issues. The two issues I saw
yesturday were very thin, flimsy saddle stitched issues. But of
course the same price.
Has this also signaled a change in the quality of the articles inside?
amy
Bruce & Alicia McWatters
Amy, unfortunately BB has had to decrease somewhat in size over the
past few months due to their financial status. They are not nearly as
popular as Bird Talk, their sister magazine. Naturally with many more
pet bird owners than bird breeders, there are far less subscribers. I
do not feel the quality has changed in BB, in fact I believe it is one
of the best, despite its small size. They tend to be more on the
cutting edge on topics which interest breeders the most.
Renaissance Arts & Design
articles that they used to, but the content appears to be about the same.
Just not as lengthy. I'm kinda disappointed as this is one of my
favorite mags for birds. Lots of info, even though I don't breed some of
the larger species. Good stuff on finches and tiels and other sorts of
birds you don't normally see.
Sherry
DaiLe01
capsule form. You only need to use 1/3 of a capsule per bird. The algae is
naturally harvested from Klamath lake in Oregon. The cost seems to be
less than the man made Spirulina, and it lasts longer because of the
capsule. 60 capsules costs $ 14.50 per bottle. We even use it in the
handfeeding formula. We now have a 8 week B & G that weighs 1150 grams !
e mail me if you want more info.