It’s not uncommon to find bugs in commercial bird food mixes. This can be concerning for bird owners who want to provide their feathered friends with quality nutrition. However, there are some good reasons why bird food contains bugs.
Bugs Provide Natural Nutrition
Many types of bugs and insects contain beneficial nutrients for birds. In the wild, birds get a large portion of their diet from insects and other invertebrates. Bugs are a natural part of a bird’s balanced diet in nature. Here are some of the nutrients bugs can provide:
- Protein – Bugs contain high quality protein to support muscle growth and egg production.
- Fat – The fat in insects provides birds with concentrated energy.
- Fiber – The exoskeletons of bugs give birds dietary fiber for digestion.
- Vitamins & minerals – Bugs supply many essential vitamins and minerals like calcium, iron, and zinc.
By including some bugs in commercial bird food, manufacturers try to mimic the diverse diet birds forage in the wild. The bugs provide balanced nutrition in a convenient form for pet birds.
Common Bug Ingredients
Here are some examples of the bug parts commonly added to bird food mixes:
Mealworms
The larvae form of darkling beetles is a bird favorite. Whole dried mealworms or mealworm pieces frequently show up in mixes. Mealworms contain about 20% protein and high amounts of vitamin B12, a nutrient birds need for metabolism.
Crickets
Crickets are another go-to bug for bird diets. They can be included live, dried, or ground into powder. Crickets offer birds benefits like protein, vitamins, and minerals such as calcium and iron.
Fly larvae
The maggots of various fly species are sometimes used. They are picked when still small and soft. Fly larvae provide birds with an easy to digest form of protein and fat.
Why Don’t Food Manufacturers Remove the Bugs?
Since bugs are an intentional ingredient, you may wonder why food companies don’t remove all traces of them from mixes. There are a couple reasons for this:
- Nutrition – Even bug fragments contain beneficial nutrients, so leaving some bits in helps provide balanced nutrition.
- Cost – It would significantly increase manufacturing costs to ensure no bug parts remain. This cost would be passed onto consumers.
Instead of completely removing bugs, manufacturers follow regulations for the allowed amount of insect fragments based on the type and proportion of bugs added.
Are the Bugs Safe for Birds to Eat?
For commercial bird foods sold in the United States, the included bugs are safe ingredients for birds when regulations are followed. Here are some reasons not to be alarmed by bug ingredients:
- Regulated insect sources – The insect farms and collectors that supply bird food companies are regulated to ensure health standards.
- Processing methods – Heat, freeze drying, and irradiation are used to kill pathogens and sterilize bugs during food prep.
- Quality inspections – Finished foods are tested for contaminants and pathogens to ensure bugs are safe.
- Digestive systems – Birds have strong digestive systems that are less vulnerable to foodborne illness than human digestive systems.
Of course, as with any animal food, proper storage after opening is important to prevent spoilage issues. As long as the food smells fresh, the bugs pose minimal risk to birds.
Are Wild Caught Bugs Better than Farmed Bugs?
Wild Caught Bugs | Farmed Bugs |
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Both farmed and wild harvested bugs have pros and cons for bird food. Some bird owners feel more comfortable with wild insects to try to mimic a bird’s natural diet. However, farmed insects may offer more safety and nutrition control. Many bird food companies use a combination of farmed and sustainably wild harvested insects to balance these factors.
Are Bug Parts and Eggs Harmful to Birds?
Finding whole bugs, bug fragments, or eggs in a bird food mix is harmless to birds. Here are some reasons not to worry:
- Birds naturally eat all parts of bugs in the wild, including crunchy exoskeletons and eggs for the protein.
- Bug parts add natural nutrition like protein, fat, vitamins and minerals.
- Any eggs would be sterilized during manufacturing to prevent hatching.
- Birds’ strong digestive systems protect them from illness.
Bug parts are only concerning if they make up most of the food volume or are from contaminated sources. Avoid mixes with excessive grain dust or larva casing pieces. Also be wary of unregulated international imports with less oversight on insect sources.
Typical Bug Fragments Allowed by Regulations
To balance providing natural nutrition while limiting bug pieces, the FDA set standards on maximum insect fragment volumes. For example:
Food Type | Max Bug Fragments |
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Noodles | 225 insect fragments per 225 grams |
Canned Citrus Juice | 5 or more maggots per 250 ml or 1 or more maggots longer than 5mm per 250 ml |
Chocolate | 60 or more insect fragments per 100 grams |
Bird foods have their own limits for allowed insect pieces based on the proportion of bugs added during manufacturing. As long as these limits are followed, the bug fragments in food pose minimal health risks to birds.
Steps to Limit Bug Fragments When Feeding Birds
Though allowed bug pieces are safe for birds, some owners wish to limit fragments in their pet’s diet. Here are some tips:
- Inspect food when opened – Check for an excess of bug parts visible and avoid using if present.
- Purchase fragment controlled mixes – Some brands specially filter products to limit fragments.
- Supplement with other foods – Pair mixes with things like seeds, fruits, veggies to reduce bug pieces eaten.
- Grind dry mixes – Grinding converts large pieces to dust that blends into the mix.
- Sift out large pieces – Use a fine mesh sieve to remove large bug fragments if desired.
Conclusion
Finding bug parts, eggs, or whole insects in packaged bird foods is common and typically harmless. Within regulated limits, these bug pieces provide natural nutrition birds evolved eating. To limit exposure, check mix quality when opening, choose fragment controlled products, supplement other foods, grind, or sift mixes. While visibility may be unappalling, rest assured that birds can safely and naturally eat the allowed bug fragments in commercial diets.