noodles123
Well-known member
- Jul 11, 2018
- 8,145
- 475
- Parrots
- Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
I should have posted this months ago, but I kept forgetting...I don't even know if anyone else here uses this supplement, just in case...
Backstory: Due to the fact that Noodles doesn't care for her pellets or many vegetable varieties, I add "Nekton-S Vitaminsupplement for birds" and her probiotic to a bit of oatmeal each day. Nekton-S is a highly reviewed avian supplement which was recommended by her vet.
I like the product a lot (it is very good) however...
In my opinion, the dosing instructions are sort of misleading...and the product's website just adds to the confusion.
Perhaps the label-text is a poor english translation (as the product is German), or perhaps the confusion is rooted in differences between American/European systems, but I gave my bird too much the first couple of times I used it because I misunderstood the directions (and I found at least 1 YouTube video in which a vet makes the same dosing error)..Birds can die from too much vitamin D, so it's a bit scary. I wanted to share my mistake so that others don't make the same one.
On the bottle, in standard-sized print, it says:
"Feeding recommendation: 1 g (or 1 level measuring spoon) Nekton-S to 250ml water or 100g soft food."
(for those of you who don't know, a tiny (1g) scoop comes with the bottle).
This is confusing because it makes it sound like you can give your bird up to 1g/scoop per day distributed across meals (1 g daily/maximum distributed across 100 grams of food)---after all, many large birds could probably eat 100g of food in a day....
Then, on the back/side in VERY small print (seriously...most people wouldn't be able to even read it), it says:
"Please note: Because of this supplement's higher content of vitamin D and trace elements than in a complete feed, it may only be added to 5% of a bird's daily ration."
Rhetorical/maddening/rant-like questions going through my mind when I saw the fine print/discovered that I might have over-dosed my bird (EEK/UGH/LOL--now):
1. What size font is that?!?!
2.How could anyone figure out 5% of their bird's daily ration in grams (given waste etc)?
3. If 1 g is mixed with 100 g of food, and your bird eats it all, that is 100% of their daily ration, right?
4. If you mix 1 g with 100 grams of food, then do you take a small portion of that (an amount constituting 5% of the bird's total rations, and mix it with more food?
5. Why is that wording so grammatically awkward and is the "daily ration" total food consumed or just the mixing medium of 100g?!
I guess the instructions were designed for people feeding droves of birds, but if you only have one, you have to do a bunch of backwards math, or look at the vitamin content and your bird's weight to figure out daily needs. My point is, if you don't see the fine print, they seem to imply that a bird can consume 1g of the supplement daily, which is not the case.
Even when you do see the fine print, it doesn't help much with dosing unless you are super good at math (or maybe I am just dumb)..
Based on her weight and vitamin percents within the product, my vet told me that Noodles should be getting something like 1/5 of a 1g scoop per day...which is WAYYYYY less than a full scoop. I am glad I called and that no damage was done, but I know that I am not the only one who has made this mistake. I never gave her the full one-gram scoop (just because I was being cautious), but I gave her at least 1/2 of a scoop a few days in a row! Blood-work is fine...just wanted to share in case anyone else thinks like I do.
I did find that the website recommends pricking a pin through the foil at the top of the bottle if you are only feeding one bird and then lightly dusting food with the "shaker"...That would have been nice to know....
Backstory: Due to the fact that Noodles doesn't care for her pellets or many vegetable varieties, I add "Nekton-S Vitaminsupplement for birds" and her probiotic to a bit of oatmeal each day. Nekton-S is a highly reviewed avian supplement which was recommended by her vet.
I like the product a lot (it is very good) however...
In my opinion, the dosing instructions are sort of misleading...and the product's website just adds to the confusion.
Perhaps the label-text is a poor english translation (as the product is German), or perhaps the confusion is rooted in differences between American/European systems, but I gave my bird too much the first couple of times I used it because I misunderstood the directions (and I found at least 1 YouTube video in which a vet makes the same dosing error)..Birds can die from too much vitamin D, so it's a bit scary. I wanted to share my mistake so that others don't make the same one.
On the bottle, in standard-sized print, it says:
"Feeding recommendation: 1 g (or 1 level measuring spoon) Nekton-S to 250ml water or 100g soft food."
(for those of you who don't know, a tiny (1g) scoop comes with the bottle).
This is confusing because it makes it sound like you can give your bird up to 1g/scoop per day distributed across meals (1 g daily/maximum distributed across 100 grams of food)---after all, many large birds could probably eat 100g of food in a day....
Then, on the back/side in VERY small print (seriously...most people wouldn't be able to even read it), it says:
"Please note: Because of this supplement's higher content of vitamin D and trace elements than in a complete feed, it may only be added to 5% of a bird's daily ration."
Rhetorical/maddening/rant-like questions going through my mind when I saw the fine print/discovered that I might have over-dosed my bird (EEK/UGH/LOL--now):
1. What size font is that?!?!
2.How could anyone figure out 5% of their bird's daily ration in grams (given waste etc)?
3. If 1 g is mixed with 100 g of food, and your bird eats it all, that is 100% of their daily ration, right?
4. If you mix 1 g with 100 grams of food, then do you take a small portion of that (an amount constituting 5% of the bird's total rations, and mix it with more food?
5. Why is that wording so grammatically awkward and is the "daily ration" total food consumed or just the mixing medium of 100g?!
I guess the instructions were designed for people feeding droves of birds, but if you only have one, you have to do a bunch of backwards math, or look at the vitamin content and your bird's weight to figure out daily needs. My point is, if you don't see the fine print, they seem to imply that a bird can consume 1g of the supplement daily, which is not the case.
Even when you do see the fine print, it doesn't help much with dosing unless you are super good at math (or maybe I am just dumb)..Based on her weight and vitamin percents within the product, my vet told me that Noodles should be getting something like 1/5 of a 1g scoop per day...which is WAYYYYY less than a full scoop. I am glad I called and that no damage was done, but I know that I am not the only one who has made this mistake. I never gave her the full one-gram scoop (just because I was being cautious), but I gave her at least 1/2 of a scoop a few days in a row! Blood-work is fine...just wanted to share in case anyone else thinks like I do.
I did find that the website recommends pricking a pin through the foil at the top of the bottle if you are only feeding one bird and then lightly dusting food with the "shaker"...That would have been nice to know....
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should have per day. He weights 350 grams.
