Caged Birds Sing the Praises of MAZURI® Parrot and Small Bird Diets
Liz Koutsos, PhD
Did you know that caged birds are the third most popular house-pet--right behind dogs and cats? These days an estimated
7-1/2 million households enjoy the company of feathered friends. Now pet owners can bring home the same high quality,
nutritionally balanced bird diets fed to exotic birds in zoos throughout the world--in smaller, more convenient packages.
MAZURI® Diets...Top Seeded Nutrition
Seed-based diets are deficient in numerous vitamins, minerals, amino acids and other essential nutrients. In order to
overcome these deficiencies, seed diets must be balanced with nutritionally complete pellets, or with supplemental vitamin
and mineral solutions that are sprayed on the surface of seed. Both of these efforts generally have poor results – either
because the birds don’t eat the complete pellets (how many times have you seen your bird pick its favorite seeds out of the
blend?), or because the bird hulls the seeds prior to eating and removes the nutritional supplement.
That’s not to say that seed blends, fruits, veggies and other food items aren’t great for your bird. They are… but only after
your bird has eaten its complete and balanced diet. Then, providing these supplemental food items can be a wonderful
way to enrich the lives of you and your bird, provide diversity in the birds’ life, and provide nutrition that may not come in a
pellet (such as the numerous antioxidants found in fresh fruits and veggies).
MAZURI® Small Bird Diet is designed for smaller parrots and passerines such as cockatiels, conures, parakeets, canaries,
finches and other songbirds, and MAZURI® Parrot Diet is designed for larger parrots. These diets are nutritionally complete
so you can be sure your bird is getting balanced nutrition. The extruded pellet is highly digestible, so MAZURI® diets
produce less waste compared to pellets and seeds that often result in 20-50% of total unusable seed. These diets are
designed to be complemented with your birds’ favorite (and safe!) seeds, nuts, fruits and veggies – at about 20% of their
total diet.
Formulated by Ph.D. nutritionists, in collaboration with top bird breeders in zoos and private collections, these bird diets
are designed to support longevity, health and well-being of your companion birds. MAZURI® diets are analyzed and tested
with the same commitment and precision we devote to developing diets for endangered species...because pet owners
value their birds just as much.
The Slow Switch
While the benefits to your birds will be instant, the switch to any new feed should be done gradually, over a period of at
least 10 days, to avoid disruption of your bird's delicate digestive system. Additionally, birds are “neophobic” – meaning
they are often fearful of eating what they don’t recognize as food. It’s important to give your bird time to take that first
bite of MAZURI® diets- once they do, the transition will be smooth!
Begin with 90 percent seed (or current feed) and 10 percent MAZURI® diet. Increase the amount of MAZURI® diets by 10
percent each day while decreasing the former feed by the same amount. Monitor your bird's weight carefully. If your bird is
not eating, offer a mix of 50 percent seed and 50 percent MAZURI® diets and restart the conversion. It can be helpful to mix
the birds’ current diet, MAZURI® diet, and some hard-boiled egg together to ensure the bird eats some of the MAZURI® diet
in the first few days. Palatable MAZURI® Small Bird and Parrot diets will have you and your small birds singing the praises
of MAZURI® diets as you enjoy healthier pets with beautiful feathers.
MAZURI® diets are available at a variety of retailers that can be accessed via our retailer locator at www.mazuri.com, or by
directly purchasing online.
Through research and collaboration with our customers, MAZURI® Exotic Animal Nutrition provides optimal nutritional
products and support for the world's exotic animals nurtured and sustained for conservation, preservation, breeding,
rehabilitation and companionship. Zoos prefer it, your pet deserves it™.