I realize this is an older thread but the diet info may be useful. (I just came over after finding the old starlingtalk board was no More). I’ve had two starlings, one passed at age 16 and the other is still here, and will be 19 in April if he makes it that far. I’ve fed them blue buffalo healthy aging cat food (it’s protein and fat aren’t too high, but pretty good for starlings) mixed with unmedicated chicken layer feed. Four parts cat food to one part chicken feed. I grind the mix with a coffee grinder as my old man (Francis Damienis his name but we usually call him ”bird”) prefers the food ground together. Give some cooked egg (hard boiled chopped) and applesauce on the side but don’t leave that in the cage as it can spoil before they eat it. FD will take eggs from my hand but not from a dish. He prefers just the cat food/layer feed mix. This is the recipe I got on the old starlingtalk boards in 2006 when FD came to us and he has done pretty well Do NOT give mealworms and crickets except as an occasional treat. Mealworms are like Cheetos to starlings. Overdoing it can make them sick.
Hi. I am new to the forum but have a question for you. My avian vet is convinced that starlings need to be on a an iron restricted diet or they will get iron storage disease that leads to liver and heart damage. I have done all the research that I can find, and there are a few that do show diets with higher iron can lead to higher iron levels in the liver. Here are the few I have been able to find:
Ward RJ, Smith T, Henderson GM, Peters TJ. Investigation of the aetiology of haemosiderosis in the starling (Sturnus vulgaris). Avian Pathol. 1991 Jun;20(2):225-32. doi: 10.1080/03079459108418759. PMID: 18680017.
Geoffrey P. Olsen, Karen E. Russell, Ellen Dierenfeld, Michelle D. Falcon, and David N. Phalen "Impact of Supplements on Iron Absorption From Diets Containing High and Low Iron Concentrations in the European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)," Journal of Avian Medicine and Surgery 20(2), 67-73, (1 June 2006).
https://doi.org/10.1647/2004-032.1
Bob Seibels, Nadine Lamberski, Christopher R. Gregory, Kerri Slifka, and Ann E. Hagerman "EFFECTIVE USE OF TEA TO LIMIT DIETARY IRON AVAILABLE TO STARLINGS (STURNUS VULGARIS)," Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 34(3), 314-316, (1 September 2003).
https://doi.org/10.1638/02-088
However, I have yet to find evidence that the increase in stored iron actually leads to damage. In fact, the few times the livers were examined in two of the studies, they showed no changes even after the increases.
I am explaining all of this because my starling who is seven is not doing well on the Mazuri softball diet for iron sensitive birds. I actually started him out on the diet from starlingtalk but he had a lot of GI issues that got better after we switched (but we also tried a medication for parasites around the same time, too) so it may not have been the diet. That is a story for another day. The point is that he is not doing good on the softbill diet. His molts are especially terrible and he is so lethargic he is literally laying down for parts of the day. He has hyperkeratosis on his feet too.
Your birds lived to be at least 16 and 19 years old. Have you ever had problems with iron storage disease or heard of another starling that had actual liver damage? My vet wants me to try switching to 20% of the Mazuri insectivore diet, but I am really thinking about trying to switch him all the way.
I know this is a lot of information, but I would really appreciate hearing advice from a fellow starling parent. Thanks.
any advice is appreciated thank you.
