Wild parrots get calcium from their diet and vitamin D3 from the sun’s UV rays to absorb it into the bloodstream. Unfortunately, a calcium deficiency is a common nutritional problem in pet birds.
The behavioral signs of a calcium deficiency include feather-plucking, stereotypies, and lethargy.
As calcium is responsible for developing and maintaining the skeleton, hypocalcemia can lead to brittle bones, osteoporosis, fractures, and deformation of the spine and wings.
Parrots that lack calcium may struggle with muscle weakness, making it difficult to hold onto a perch. Others experience tremors that lead to seizures, loss of consciousness, and heart problems.
Female parrots lacking calcium struggle to reproduce, as this mineral is essential for healthy, robust eggs. If a parrot with hypocalcemia lays eggs, her chicks will be weak and vulnerable.
Many gravid females become egg-bound, meaning they’re physically unable to lay eggs.
Calcium levels can be checked with a blood test. If a parrot has hypocalcemia, a vet will recommend dietary and lifestyle modifications, including medication and supplementation.
Why Parrots Need Calcium
According to Veterinary Clinics of North America: Exotic Animal Practice, calcium builds and maintains a bird’s skeleton. Calcium is also responsible for kidney, digestive, and thyroid health.
Calcium is essential if you have a breeding-age female parrot. Insufficient calcium leads to weak and misshapen eggs, which can manifest as egg-binding and high chick mortality rates.
Calcium Deficiency Warning Signs
If a parrot lacks calcium in its diet, the unmistakable symptoms of hypocalcemia will follow. Seek advice from a veterinarian if you observe the following symptoms:
Feather Plucking
Feather plucking is a warning sign of a calcium deficiency. Plucking, also known as feather-destructive feather behavior (FDB) or pterotillomania, is unique to captive parrots.
Applied Animal Behavior Science found that 10% of pet parrots engage in feather plucking. This doesn’t mean it’s something you can ignore because it’s an act of self-mutilation.
Before assuming that hypocalcemia is to blame, ensure the bird isn’t stressed by environmental factors, bored, or lacks exercise. If this isn’t the case, dietary issues are likely responsible.
Lethargy And Depression
Healthy parrots should be active and curious. Parrots must spend ample time outside their cage. When confined, a parrot should be alert and communicative.
If a parrot is withdrawn, showing little interest in communicating or playing with toys, this is a cause for concern. If it doesn’t eat or drink regularly, it’s growing depressed.
Calcium plays a vital role in keeping the blood flowing around the body. A calcium deficiency will likely make a parrot increasingly lethargic and unwilling to move.
Muscular Weakness
Parrots with hypocalcemia lack muscle strength and coordination. This can manifest itself when climbing the cage bars or holding onto a perch, making the parrot appear clumsier than usual.
If a parrot spends more time at the bottom of the cage where it’s not reliant on leg strength to hold itself upright, call it over to you. Will it land on your hand?
Then, you can assess if it has the strength and coordination to carry out tasks.
Fragile And Brittle Bones
Parrots fly with zeal and enthusiasm when they spend time outside the cage. As a consequence, accidents sometimes happen, like bumping into inanimate objects.
If a parrot has hypocalcemia, its skeleton will be weak, brittle, and vulnerable to fractures.
Skeletal Deformation
Hypocalcemia leads to skeletal decalcification. The bones become weak, regularly breaking and resetting.
If unresolved, the skeleton will reset incorrectly. The parrot may develop misaligned wings, a hunched back, or unsteady legs and feet.
Tremors And Seizures
Some of the symptoms of hypocalcemia are comparable to epilepsy. A parrot will experience muscular tremors, gradually evolving into convulsions and seizures.
A seizure begins with the parrot behaving erratically. It grows uncoordinated and likely falls from its perch before the body stiffens and jerks for up to 20 seconds.
The parrot may also empty its bowels and verbalize at this stage.
Following a seizure, the parrot will awaken but remain confused and disoriented. It’ll likely be aggressive and restless, pacing or flying around its cage.
It can take several hours for a parrot to recover. If it lacks calcium in the blood, the cycle will recommence.
Egg-Laying Problems
A lack of dietary calcium can render female parrots infertile, impacting their ability to lay eggs. Calcium is essential for healthy eggs with strong eggshells.
Parrots with hypocalcemia may experience egg binding, where eggs become trapped in the oviduct.
How Low Calcium Diagnosed in Parrots
A vet will perform a blood test to assess the parrot’s ionized calcium level. If the readings point to hypocalcemia, the vet will discuss ways to increase the parrot’s calcium intake, usually through diet.
A suitable calcium level is species-specific but will likely fall within these ranges:
| African Grays | 2.10 – 2.59mmol/L |
| Amazon parrots | 1.87 – 2.42mmol/L, |
| Budgerigars | 1.60 – 2.54 mmol/L |
| Cockatoos | 2.2-2.7 mg/dl |
| Macaws | 1.70 – 2.47 mmol/L |
How To Give A Parrot Calcium
Dietary changes are an effective way to introduce more calcium. The Netherlands Journal of Veterinary Science explains how almost half of commercial parrot feed lacks calcium.
Good sources of calcium include:
- Dark leafy greens, like broccoli, spinach, and kale.
- Brazil nuts, walnuts, and almonds.
- Chickpeas.
- Dried figs.
- Lactose-free cheese. Avoid traditional cheese because parrots are lactose intolerant (no lactase).
Consider the correlation between vitamin D and calcium. According to Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vitamin D3 facilitates calcium absorption into the bloodstream.
Exposure to sunlight for about an hour a few times a week enables a parrot’s body to synthesize vitamin D3. This must be outdoors because it’s not possible through double-glazed windows.
Add UV lighting to the cage or aviary if it’s the wrong season or the local climate is unsuitable.
Calcium Supplements And Cuttlebone
Supplements must be given following a veterinary consultation, especially if you also change a parrot’s diet. As harmful as hypocalcemia is to parrots, too much calcium (hypercalcemia) is equally damaging.
Consider hanging a cuttlebone in the parrot’s cage. The cuttlefish’s shell comprises calcium carbonate, so nibbling on it will provide access to this mineral while wearing down the beak.
Never ignore the warning signs of low calcium. Hypocalcemia will result in skeletal decalcification (osteoporosis), low energy levels, tremors, seizures, depression, ataxia, and thin-shelled eggs.
