Pet bird nutrition — risks of seed-based and selective diets (fat, calcium/vitamin A deficiency)
Source: Merck Veterinary Manual (merckvetmanual.com), a copyrighted veterinary reference. Per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3, the points below are paraphrased derived fact summaries: numerical values and proper nouns are preserved from the source, but sentences are rewritten and not quoted verbatim.
Claims
- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* Before pelleted diets existed, birds mostly ate seed mixes that were fat-rich yet short on calcium, vitamin A and other nutrients.
- *[Paraphrased derived summary — non-Open-Access source.]* The main causes of malnutrition in pet birds are diets that let the bird select only preferred items (seed-and-pellet mixes or owner-chosen table foods) and diets made up largely or entirely of seed.
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License & attribution
Source paraphrased: Merck Veterinary Manual — Pet bird nutrition (merckvetmanual.com). Original text © Merck Veterinary Manual; not openly licensed. Per COPYRIGHT_POLICY §3 this topic presents derived fact summaries only, not verbatim quotation.