Bird enthusiasts have individual reasons for caring for their feathered friends. Their passion to care for these fragile, yet stunning creatures drive them to keep one or more to be their pets. And if you are one of them who are almost always left in awe with these birds and have decided to house them, one of the essentials that you need to provide for them is the best budgie food.

“Budgies” is a shorter name for budgerigars. These birds are scientifically known as Melopsittacus Undulatus. As a general name, these birds are categorized as parrots and can be domesticated and trained as household pets. To ensure that you will be properly taking care of them, you will need to be well aware of the basic things that these birds need.

Best Budgie Food

In their natural habitat, budgies’ staples consist of grass seeds. Domesticated budgies, on the other hand, grow well on a diet of seeds, millets, whole grain breads as well as sprouts. This range of diet provides all of the much-needed nutrients that can keep these feathered creatures well nourished. A varied diet also prevents other health concerns, including obesity, instead of just providing a diet that is mostly on seeds.

Offer the seeds in a flat dish that can also be easily removed and cleaned afterwards or whenever necessary. Feeding of these birds are usually done once a day. Seeds which have not been eaten by the budgies can be reused. Just blow over the feeding dish to remove the husk and then top up the remaining seeds.

These birds also love to munch coriander leaves and other greens. Other best budgie food that may also be offered to your budgies include beetroot, spinach, lettuce and cabbage. Make sure to give your feathered friends only fresh leaves as old or refrigerated leaves can cause digestion problems for these birds. Once they are done with their meal, you will need to remove any leftover.

Foods that SHOULD NOT be offered to Budgies

Not all foods are to be given to these birds. Below are some of the foods that contain substances that may be toxic to these birds.

avocados

chocolates

apple seeds

coffee

tea

tomato leaves

peach seeds

eggplant

peanuts

Water for Budgies

Like any other animal, these birds also need to be constantly provided with water. Give them fresh water daily and replace any dirty water in the cage. You may want to place inside their housing a water dispenser that is specially designed for this purpose. This will be more convenient and safe for you and your budgie.

It will also be necessary to place a bowl and fill them with water at least a couple of times a week. Your budgie will use this whenever it needs to clean up itself.

Cuttlefish Bones for Budgies

Calcium is an essential nutrient that these birds, especially the females laying eggs, need to stay healthy and well. Calcium deficiency can cause a serious condition known as egg binding in female budgies. This can cause the development of eggs with soft shells that get stuck inside the budgie’s reproductive tract and may even be fatal.

Having said that, it is essential that you always take note of your feathered friend’s diet to ensure that it gets as much Calcium as its body needs to stay at its optimum health. One of the best sources of calcium that you can offer to your budgie is the Cuttlefish bone. It can be offered as it is or powdered and added to the best budgie food.

There are other good sources of calcium that you can offer to your feathered friend, such as broken eggshells and commercial calcium supplements which are readily available in the market. (more…)

Arthritis, which is clinically called degenerative joint disease (DJD), is a condition that affects many horses. It is not only painful, but it also makes it difficult for a horse to do its regular routine. Arthritis is usually defined as a slowly developing chronic disease of the joint in which the joint surface or the cartilage wears down, causing pain, even lameness in horses. Although arthritis cannot be treated, it can be managed. This condition is an inevitable change that a horse experiences as it age. But with the best supplement for arthritis in horses, it is possible to prevent its development. It will also provide relief should your horse start to manifest signs of this condition.

The 2016 National Equine Health Survey indicates that, “the most frequent disease syndrome recorded was lameness, accounting for one third of all problems reported”. Furthermore, the degenerative joint disease (DJD) was indicated in the same survey to be the most frequently reported single cause of lameness (41.2% of all lameness and 13.5% of all syndromes recorded). As clearly indicated, joint health is a major area of concern for many horse owners. It is health issue that also deserves serious attention by those concerned individuals.

Best Supplement for Arthritis in Horses

Fortunately, there are a variety of options when it comes to joint supplements that can be considered, aside from the diet and other essentials provided to a horse that will ensure its overall health.

Here is a list of some of the products that have been considered as effective solution to arthritis in horses.

Adequan

This joint supplement comes as an injectable solution that contains Polysulfated Glycosaminoglycan of PSGAGs, which is a component of the joint cartilage.

Adequan may be an ideal solution when you find it difficult for your horse to take oral supplements. This supplement is intended for low-grade chronic joint soreness. It is also used as preventive solution for joint problems in aging horses that usually do heavy work. (more…)