There are a variety of vitamin preparations for birds. One type can be put into the water. These are useful for some birds that won't eat any soft food. I've found that there is a greasy layer of deposit on the sides of the water container when using this type of vitamin preparation. I often wonder if many of the vitamins my birds need are being left on the container.
Another type of vitamin preparation is mixed into soft food or sprinkled on greens. This seems to be the preferable way to provide vitamins as they tend to stay on the food rather than the container.
Some seed mixes indicate that vitamins have been added. Finches will hull their seeds and discard the hull. If the vitamins are sprayed on the seeds, it is probably on the outside of the hull which the bird discards. Some manufacturers indicate that the seed has been treated in such a way as to force the vitamins inside the seed. I know of no studies which indicate how well the birds actually absorb these vitamins. So, I stick with some supplementation with a vitamin mix.
Some caution is in order, however, on over supplementation with vitamins. The B vitamins are water soluble and excess vitamins are readily excreted from the body. Birds make their own vitamin C (except for some species called bulbuls) so supplementation with C is not needed. Vitamins A and D are fat-soluble and can be toxic if given in high levels. Vitamin A can be supplied as beta-carotene (found in deep red, orange, and green vegetables) from which the birds can make the needed vitamin A. Any excess of beta-carotene does no harm, so this is the preferable way of supplying vitamin A.
Vitamin D needs to be supplied in the right form for birds. Normally birds are exposed to ultraviolet light in sunlight when they live outside. The sunlight assists in the conversion of other products into vitamin D and then on to vitamin D3, the active form needed by birds. Since most of our pet birds are kept indoors, they can't make this conversion and it must be supplied in the diet. Like vitamin A, vitamin D is fatty and will accumulate in the body and can be harmful. Excess vitamin D will affect how calcium is handled in the body, as will a deficiency of vitamin D.
Another vitamin that is often overlooked for birds is vitamin E. This is a vitamin that is very important for the breeding bird. Male birds low in vitamin E are frequently infertile. It is absolutely required for good male fertility. There are several ways to supply it. One way is through the vitamin preparations I've suggested above. Another excellent source is in wheat germ. My birds are fed a soft egg food prior to breeding in which I include a fairly high amount of wheat germ, an excellent source of vitamin E.
So, the important thing to remember is to follow directions on the vitamins and don't give an excess to your birds. Don't provide vitamins both in the water and on the soft food. Use one method or the other.
You may notice that I haven't mentioned anything about grit. If you go into a pet supply store, you will see boxes of grit for sale. This grit looks like white sand. While birds will pick up grit and eat it, it's not needed. I never feed this grit to my birds. Since they hull seeds before they eat them, grit is not needed to grind the food. There are some species of birds, such as doves, pigeons and a variety of wild birds, that require grit since they eat the seeds whole. But the Gouldian and Bengalese finches that I raise do not require grit.
Return to Finch Information page.