Avian Nutrition

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Avian Nutrition

• CVM 6880
• May 2001

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Flock/Bird Nutrition Considerations
Management
Environment
Ingredients -Composition -Variability
Bird
Assessment
Nutrition
Bird Characteristics
Nutrients -Availability
Food
Clients
Requirements
Feed Manufacturing -Quality
Diet Formulation
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Nutrients

• Protein (Amino Acids)
• Fats
• Minerals
• Vitamins
• Water

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Nutrients - Contd

• Energy - metabolism of protein, fats, and
  carbohydrates

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Amino Acids

• Essential (EAAs)
• Lysine and methionine - most limiting
• Threonine, tryptophan
• Arginine, isoleucine, valine
• Phenylalanine, leucine
• Semi - essential
• histidine, glycine, proline

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Amino Acid NutritionUnique to Aves

• Arginine (no urea synthesis)
• Glycine (uric acid synthesis)
• Met to Cys (keratin protein - feathers)

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Lipids

• Essential fatty acid(s)
• linoleic and linolenic (?)
• Diet fatty acid profile reflected in egg and
  carcass

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Minerals

• Macro or Major (concentration -)
• Calcium - bone egg shell
• Phosphorus
• Sodium, potassium, chloride
• Magnesium, sulfur
• Trace minerals (ppm or mg/kg)
• Copper, iron, manganese, selenium, iodine

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Vitamins

• Vitamin D (Vitamin D3 activity)
• Some synthesis of
• Vitamin C
• Choline
• Niacin

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Nutrient Adequacy

• Requirement
• Deficiency
• Excess
• Toxicity

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Bird Response to Nutrient Level
Requirement
Toxicity
Deficiency
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Nutrient Interrelationships

• Balance
• CaPav (growing birds 21)
• nutrient/energy
• Imbalance
• branched chain amino acids
• Antagonism
• lysinearginine

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Nutrient Requirements

• Identification of dietary essentials
• Physiological status
• growth, egg production
• parental feeding
• maintenance, geriatric
• Quantification
• Poultry - NRC Nutrient Requirements

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Nutrient Requirements of Turkeys (NRC)
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Cockatiel Nutrition Research(Roudybush, UC-Davis)
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Sources of nutrients

• Seed based diets
• Table foods
• Supplements
• Commercially manufactured diets

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Seeds

• Oil and non-oil seeds - fat (energy) content
• Limiting in many nutrients
• amino acids (lys, met)
• vitamins (A, D, B12, riboflavin, niacin, folic)
• minerals (calcium, manganese, sodium)
• ratio of CaP poor

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Nutrient Content of Seeds ()Comparison
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Table foods

• Water content
• Energy content
• Spoilage

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Supplements/Concentrates

• Vitamins/minerals
• powders, liquids
• granules, nuggets
• Concentrates
• seeds, vitamins, minerals

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Commercial Foods

• Homogenous mix (complete diet)
• ingredients - protein, energy, vitamins, minerals
  
• Heat processing - pelleting/extrusion
• less microbial/pest contamination
• Success - knowledge of specific requirements

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Food Sources

• Area of controversy - complete feed?
• Recommendation that commercial diet form majority
  of birds food source up to 100
• Client attitude, knowledge base, research base

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Diet Labeling

• Product name and purpose
• Feeding directions
• Ingredients (in order of magnitude of use)
• Guaranteed Analyses
• Protein and Fat (min)
• Fiber and Moisture (max)

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Feeding IssuesCompanion Birds

• Seed junkies
• Diet Change Strategies
• Color/Pigmentation
• Feed storage/stability
• Water sanitation

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Nutritional Disorders

• Iron storage disease
• Vitamin A deficiency
• Vitamin D deficiency/toxicity
• Goiter
• Gout

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Iron Storage Disease

• Hemosiderosis (excess iron in tissues)
• Hemochromatosis ( excess iron causing toxicity)
• Primary - genetic predisposition
• Secondary -
• high dietary level (water?)
• chronic stress
• fasting/refeeding

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Vitamin A Deficiency

• Unsupplemented seed diets
• Symptoms
• swollen foot pads (bumblefoot)
• feather picking and dry skin
• susceptibility to respiratory infections
• submandibular swelling

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Vitamin D

• Deficiency
• Insufficent diet or sunlight (UVB) exposure
• Metabolic disruption
• Deficiency symptoms
• bone egg shell deformations
• rickets
• bones beak rubbery

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Vitamin D

• Toxicity
• Diet excess
• Supplements in addition to diet supplement
• Species differences (macaws sensitive)
• Toxicity symptoms
• soft tissue calcification-kidneys

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Resources/Reference

• Comparative Avian Nutrition, K. Klasing, CAB
  International 1998
• Nutrient Requirements of Poultry, 1994. National
  Research Council, 9th Rev. Ed., National Academy
  Press
• Nutrition of the Chicken, 1982. M. Scott, M.
  Nesheim, R. Young, 3rd Edition
• 1st Intl Symp on Pet Bird Nutrition, 1997.