Nutritional consequences of inadequate management for the health of domestic Psitcatides

Abstract

Psittaciformes form an order of birds which include macaws, cockatoos, parrots, cockatiels, and parakeets. These
birds are easy to domesticate, as they are sociable and attractive, mainly due to their ability to vocalize human
sounds. Pscitacids have nutritional needs that are difficult to maintain in captivity, as energy expenditure is lower
than in the wild. In their natural habitat, they have a varied diet, being able to eat primarily fruits and seeds, as
well as other components. When in captivity, it is very common for these animals to suffer from nutritional
disorders due to access to human foods such as: bread, biscuits, rice, and coffee, causing their unbalanced diet,
and presenting a high level of fat, in addition to insufficient nutrients for their needs. The main disorders related
to healthy eating are obesity, hypovitaminosis A, secondary hyperparathyroidism, hemochromatosis, and hepatic
lipidosis. Diseases related to nutritional disorders present similar and complicated clinical signs, where often only
a clinical examination does not allow the diagnosis of which nutrients are lacking or in excess, requiring
laboratory tests to determine the cause of the problem. Treatment requires dietary readaptation with a low-fat
diet, followed by guidance on environmental enrichment aimed a promoting caloric expenditure. The objective of
this study was to describe the main nutritional disorders in birds of the Psittaciformes order.