166



Correspondence



of Vitamin B (water-soluble) : this substance is one of birds 5 greatest

needs, but I should not like to confine the cause to any one substance

without practical experience of same.


I am not assuming that the cause of difficult moulting is caused

by a deficiency in the food without foundation, I have conclusive 1

proof in many instances that it is so. I cannot do better than quote

from a letter I have just received from a Mrs. Charrington : this good

lady had Budgerigars that left the nest with no feathers on and, on

taking my advice to feed the afflicted birds on a balanced food that I

supplied, feathers started to grow after about a week, and the birds

are now in very fine healthy condition with normal feathers.


Further, I have the assurance of a well known Budgerigar judge

and member of our Society, to wit, Mr. E. J. Brown, of Southampton,

that he has never had a runner since using the same food, vide his

letter in Cage Birds , 12th March.


The importance of a Vitamin balanced food for all livestock cannot

be over-emphasized, old methods must be left behind, as a little

illustration of the great value, I give the latest established facts on

Vitamin B.


A deficiency of this substance will cause the following complaints:—

enteritis, bouts of alternately constipation and diarrhoea, colitis (or

inflammation of the large bowel), indigestion, internal organs over¬

lade with fat, unhealthy skin, heart abnormality and paralysis, or

polyneuritis. This deficiency causes also loss of appetite, or a depraved

appetite (a craving for unnatural foods). Animals eat their fur and

excreta, birds plucking and eating their feathers, etc. It can be gathered

from this, then, that feather plucking Parrots can easily be cured from

this distressing complaint by the administration of adequate supplies

of Vitamin B, and is not caused by excessive consumption of animal

food, which I believe to be the general opinion, but an unbalanced diet.


It can safely be said that diet causes 95 per cent at least of the

complaints in man, beast, and bird. All aviculturists must take

advantage of the information that scientists place at our disposal if

they wish for success. If they demand an analyst report of the foods

they use they will know if it is adequate or not.



P. H. Hastings.



