Page 685 - Hand rearing birds second

Box­44.1­ Supplements­for Birds­Hand-reared­on an Insects-only­Diet
©Janine Perlman, PhD, 2019
Used with permission
Introduction
All nestlings whose parents feed them insects in nature should be reared on an all-insects diet
(Fusté et al. 2013; Perlman 2016). Use supplements made for humans. Products made for ani-
mals are often poorly formulated and have inadequate quality control. Each chick fed an
insect-only diet must be supplemented daily with EACH of the TWO nutrient mixes described
below to avoid deficiencies.
Calcium/Taurine/Thiamine/Vitamin C Mix
Open and squeeze the contents of one capsule of 600 mg elemental calcium (as CaCO 3 ) in oil
containing 500 IU vitamin D (Puritan’s Pride) out on a flat surface.
Separately, mix 500 mg taurine powder with 500 mg vitamin C powder and 50 mg thiamine.
Mix 1/5 of this taurine/thiamine/vitamin C mixture with the contents of one capsule of the
calcium/vit D paste. Mix to make a uniform paste. This results in a mixture containing 100 mg of
taurine, 10 mg thiamine, 100 mg vitamin C, 600 mg elemental Ca, and 500 IU vitamin D. Feed by
daubing onto one (or more, if needed) insects.
Feed 1/10 (one-tenth = 60 mg elemental Ca) of the mixture for each 10 g of live (wet weight)
insects fed. This is the most accurate method of supplementation.
A less precise (and less preferable) dosing method: For nestlings under 20 g, give 1/10 of the
total (60 mg elemental Ca) daily; over 20 g, give 1/5 of the total (120 mg elemental Ca) daily.

Oil-Vitamin Mix
5 cc omega-3 marine (fish) oil
●
10 000 IU vitamin A
●
400 IU vitamin E
●
If vitamin D3 is not present in the Calcium/Taurine/Vitamin C mix supplement, 5000 IU vita-
●
min D3 should be added to the Oil-Vitamin mix
Squeeze out contents of gel caps and mix thoroughly, minimizing oxygenation; store refrig-
erated, in the absence of air, for up to 2weeks.
Give 0.05 cc per day per 25 kcal, on food. Less precisely, give 0.05 cc to birds under 20 g; 0.1 cc
per day to larger nestlings/fledglings. (Editor’s note: See Table 41.1 for caloric value of typical
feeder insects.)
This supplies approximately 4 IU of vitamin A, 2 IU of vitamin D and 0.2 IU vitamin E, per kcal
consumed.
Each vitamin can be bought as an oil-based solution in gel caps from manufacturers such as
®
NOW Foods or Puritan’s Pride™.
Sources­of Products­Mentioned

600 mg calcium/500 IU Vit D capsules: Puritan’s Pride, 1233 Montauk Highway, PO Box 9001,
Oakdale, NY 11769-9001, (800) 645-1030, http://www.puritan.com/calcium-supplements-001/
absorbable-calcium-1200-mg-with-vitamin-d-1000-iu-006272.
500 mg taurine: NOW Foods, 244 Knollwood Drive, Bloomingdale, IL 60108, (888) 669-3663,
https://www.nowfoods.com/supplements/taurine-500-mg-capsules.

References
Fusté, E., Obon, E., and Olid, L. (2013). Hand-reared common swifts (Apus apus) in a wildlife rehabilitation
centre: assessment of growth rates using different diets. J. Zoo Aquarium Res. 1 (2): 61–68.
Perlman, J. 2016. Nutrition and nutritional management. In: Avian Medicine 3. J. Samour (ed.), Elsevier, St.
Louis, MO, pp. 25–32.