When it comes to your birds, health is wealth. After all, these pets tend to have fragile bodies that need to be taken care of properly if you want to make sure they get to maximize their lifespan. In that case, you should always go for what is best for your pet bird’s health not only in terms of the kind of environment you provide them but also when it comes to their overall nutrition.
That considered, there might be a reason for you to use red palm oil for your pet birds as this product can be a good way to improve their health. While it might have received a bad reputation in the past few years due to how companies are exploiting rainforests to produce this product, red palm oil sourced responsibly can be a good nutritional supplement you can use for your pet birds.
Here are the things you should know about red palm oil:
What is red palm oil?
Red palm oil is a product that is made from extracting the oil from the fruit of red palm trees. It is said to be one of the healthier superfoods on the market today as the red color that comes with the extracted form of the red palm tree’s fruits contains all of the essential nutrients that come with this product. When made in a natural and organic way, red palm oil contains a lot of antioxidants that help several health conditions and illnesses while boosting the body’s overall immune system to help it fight off harmful toxins, pollutants, and other harmful bacteria.
That said, red palm oil has been hailed as one of the more beneficial products we can use for ourselves and for our birds due to the many advantages it comes with. it has a lot of different uses not only for humans but for birds as well. That is why you should very well try to incorporate this product in your regular diet, and that of your bird’s as well.
Uses and benefits of red palm oil for birds
With the many health benefits that come with red palm oil, here are some of the ways you can use it and the benefits that come with it if you want to incorporate this healthy substance in your bird’s diet:
· It is said to help with cardiovascular health
Red palm oil is said to be healthy for your bird’s overall cardiovascular health because of how it helps in decreasing bad cholesterol to promote a healthier heart and a better blood circulation in your pet bird. In that regard, it will help minimize the risk of your bird suffering from strokes and heart attacks, especially when it is undergoing a particularly stressful time in its life.
· It helps in improving overall feather health
Your pet bird’s feathers are some of the better indicators of its overall health. If you look at their feathers, there should be as minimal stress bars as possible. Stress bars appear when, at some point in the lifetime of the bird, and when it was molting, it did not get the right kind of nutrition, it needs to develop healthy feathers. As such, stress bars are indicative of underdeveloped feathers during that point in the bird’s life.
To make sure that your bird gets enough nutrients whenever it is molting so that it does not develop stress bars on its feathers, you can supplement its usual diet with red palm oil, which is known to help provide essential vitamins and nutrients the bird needs to develop healthy and strong feathers. Red palm oil contains vitamin A, which is known to improve its feathers. As such, it not only reduces the onset of feather stress bar, but it also helps in reducing feather plucking that occurs in a lot of different species of birds.
· Improves skin health
Red palm oil is one of the more popular supplements that vets recommend to bird owners whenever the pet has skin issues. That is because this substance contains vitamin A and beta carotenes, which helps in improving skin and feather health. As such, your bird won’t be as susceptible to skin diseases. It also makes sure that the bird’s skin looks healthy and moisturized to prevent it from plucking its feathers as this kind of behavior is mostly attributed to dry and itchy skin.
· Decreases blood clotting
Blot clots in birds can also be quite common, especially if your bird is deficient in certain vitamins and nutrients that minimize blood clotting. In that regard, red palm oil helps in minimizing blood clots due to the healthy vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids that this food supplement contains. It also helps promote good blood circulation as it decreases cholesterol level because of how it contains Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids.
· Boosts immune system
If you want your bird to stay healthy throughout its entire life, you need it to have a healthy and strong immune system to fight off diseases and illnesses that can potentially put its life at risk to different types of conditions. In that case, using red palm oil for your birds helps improve health by boosting its immune system. The carotenoids found in red palm oil is effective at improving the bird’s resistance to infections and other types of diseases.
A lot of fruits and vegetables also contain carotenoids, which is why vets will always recommend you to supplement your bird’s overall diet with fruits and vegetables. However, you can literally cover all bases by supplementing your bird’s diet with red palm oil because it contains more than enough carotenoids and other nutrients to help boost your pet’s immune system.
Is it safe for your birds?
Red palm oil has gotten a pretty bad reputation in the last few years not because it is not safe for your birds but because of how some of the companies that produce it have contributed to the deforestation of many important rainforests that house all sorts of species of birds and other animals as well. In that regard, there is no arguing the fact that red palm oil is safe because it is all-natural and contains essential vitamins and nutrients that can make your pet healthier. However, the only issue that most people have with this product is the way it is sourced.
All those considered, when you want to improve your bird’s health with red palm oil, it is highly advisable for you to go for brands that source this food supplement properly and responsibly. Do your research first and make sure that the company you are buying it from does not contribute to deforestation. You might be helping your bird’s health, but buying from irresponsible companies would put other birds and animals in danger of losing their homes.
How much red palm oil should be given to your birds?
Red palm oil should only be treated as a supplement to your bird’s overall diet. It should not be its main source of vitamins and minerals but should only supply nutrients that your bird is deficient in, especially if its regular diet does not cover all of its nutritional needs. It is recommended that you give about two teaspoons of red palm oil to your bird on a weekly basis since that will be enough to cover all of its nutritional needs.
