How To Prevent Hypocalcemia In Birds
Hypocalcemia can be a common disease in pet birds not receiving proper care. The symptoms of hypocalcemia in birds include weakness, shivering and sometimes even seizures. Birds may sometimes loses consciousness – however, seizures in birds can be caused by many illnesses, not just hypocalcemia, so make sure you take your bird to the vet to find out if it really is hypocalcemia. If it is, then read on to find out the causes and the preventative measures necessary.
Pet birds often receive very different diets from their cousins in the wild. It is basically a serious deficiency of calcium. Calcium is a must-have for all birds whether wild or domesticated. This deficiency can be caused by any number of problems: diet, a lack of natural sunlight (birds need sunlight to create calcium, which they convert from Vitamin D), and sometimes chronic egg-laying.
Firstly make sure your pet bird has sufficient access to sunlight. This must be real sunlight and not just sunlight filtering weakly through a window. Consider buying a lightbulb or lightbox to tackle this problem if taking birds outside is simply not an option.
Secondly, if your bird is a chronic egg-layer, make sure it receives a balanced calcium-rich diet in order to cancel out this issue. Chronic egg-layers without sufficient calcium can sometimes become “egg-bound”, where the bird is unable to lay the eggs – this is a medical emergency that could kill the bird.
Consider calcium supplements for your bird. If your bird is a chronic egg-layer (see above) then you should regulating the hen’s exposure to light – as mentioned, birds need light, but too much can cause hens to lay eggs all the time. It sounds strange, but avoid stroking the hen’s back, as this could actually sexually stimulate her into laying more eggs.