Beaphar

food snacks

Feeding your bird a complete feed is an alternative way to ensure it receives a balanced diet. The Beaphar product range contains complete bird food under the XtraVital brand. These complete foods consist of a combination of egg food, complementary food and a wide selection of seeds. The advantage of buying a complete food is that the mix of seeds and the complementary food are well balanced and our nutritional experts have very precisely determined which nutrients should be added.

The mix of seeds that is used in XtraVital food is specifically suited to the type of bird and tries to imitate its natural foods as much as possible. In the wild, birds eat dozens of different seeds, cereals and fruits, which together give the bird all the nutrients it requires. XtraVital food contains all these nutrients, which gives your bird a varied diet and is highly beneficial for its health.
The minerals used in XtraVital are “chelated”. This means that the minerals are coated in a layer of amino acids, and ensures optimal digestion and prevents interference between different minerals. Disturbance of mineral digestion might, for example, lead to anaemia. Echinacea has also been added to XtraVital to improve your parrot’s resistance to infections. Honey has been added to make the food appealing to your parrot, because parrots love honey! Your parrot will love XtraVital so much that it will eat all of its food, not just its favourite pieces.

Feather Plucking
Feather plucking is a widespread problem in parrots, which sometimes will eventually pluck out all their feathers. Feather plucking is a symptom of stress, or can be the result of food deficiencies. In the wild, preening its feathers calms the parrot down. The bird “thinks” this will de-stress it, but actually the parrot will not calm down until the source of the stress (for example, caused by loneliness), or the food deficiency is resolved. Preening becomes increasingly rough, and wil lead to damage and feather loss.

Nutritional deficiency
This occurs when the animal is lacking certain nutrients. If there is too little food and, for example, it consists mainly of sunflower seeds, the parrot will not take in enough essential nutrients, such as vitamin A.
Parrots love sunflower seeds because they are energy-rich, and they will select and eat these first, often leaving the remainder of their diet. A good balance of different ingredients is very important to esure your parrot is properly fed. Poor nutrition will lead to numerous problems and will leave your parrot more susceptable to disease.

XtraVital Premium Parrot Food
XtraVital is a complete, balanced food for your parrot. It contains a varied combination of 17 different seeds, corn, fruits and nuts. Egg food, which contains all the necessary vitamins, minerals and amino acids, is added to XtraVital Premium Parrot Food. The minerals in XtraVital are “chelated”. This means that they are wrapped in an amino acid coating, and results in improved absorption . It also prevents interaction between the different minerals, which can result in reduced absorption. An example would be poor iron absorption, which leads to anaemia. Echinacea has also been added to XtraVital to improve your parrot’s resistance to infections.
Honey has been added to XtraVital to make it very appealing to your parrot, because parrots love honey! Your parrot will love XtraVital so much that it will eat all of its food, not just some pieces.

XtraVital Parrot Food is the ideal food for your parrot, because it contains all the required nutrients and because it is so tastey that your parrot will finish its entire meal. As he will feel so fit and healthy, he will not feel the need to over-preen his feathers, either.

XtraVital is also available for canaries, budgies, parakeets and other tropical birds

XtraVital Bird Food is available for canaries, budgies, parakeets, tropical birds and parrots.

Water and grit
In addition to a balanced diet, your bird needs fresh, clean drinking water every day. Drinking water can rapidly become dirty, which will encourage bacteria and moulds to grow in it. You can also give your bird a twig to gnaw on every now and then. Gnawing will keep your bird’s bill in good condition and it also gives him something to play with.
In addition to food, water and amusement, your bird needs grit. A bird does not have teeth to chew its food, but uses its stomach muscle to pulverise it. The bird picks up grit which it uses to grind down the food inside its stomach. Bird grit must contain enough sharp pieces to perform this function. Beaphar Cana Grit is perfect for this job, or you can buy a Beaphar Grit Bell to hang in the cage, which also gives your bird something else to play with.

Forbidden Food
There are a few things you should never feed your bird, because they are poisonous. The following substances, even in very small doses, are very poisonous to your bird: avocado, chocolate, rhubarb and alcohol.

Special nutritional needs during moulting, colouring and nesting
Every bird needs a good diet to improve its health and vitality, and to ensure a long life. A balanced and varied diet is good for your bird’s health. In some cases, your bird will have special nutritional needs that its usual food will not provide. In these cases, your bird will need a slightly adjusted diet.