By Donna Garrou

Proper husbandry of any species is the key to ensuring healthy, well-adjusted pets. The closer we come to recreating the conditions of the species in the wild combined with the benefits of modern science, the more likely the animals are to not merely survive, but also thrive. While we have made enormous strides in avian nutrition over the past 40 years with the advent of formulated diets, little attention has been paid to the role that sunlight plays in metabolism and behaviour.

Many of our pet birds are hatched and live their entire lives indoors with no exposure to UVB lighting or the sun.

Cases of hypocalcemia, rickets, eggbinding, stunting syndrome and nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism are frequently blamed on diet without looking at all the contributing factors. Nutrition is key to animal welfare and does not stop with feeding only, we must consider the whole environment with all that we provide to our pets and consider how well this mimics or replicates what is provided to them in the wild.

Get your copy now