[Composition of commercial feeds for mynah birds with particular attention to the iron content]

The composition of 12 commercial feeds for mynah birds was analysed, with special attention being paid to the iron content. To prevent iron overload, the iron content of such diets should be maximally 5 mg/MJ, which is equivalent to 100 mg iron/kg if the commercial diet is the sole food source. Only three of the 12 feeds met this requirement. In all feeds the iron content was minimally three times higher than the recently suggested iron requirement of 25 mg/kg. In general, the total iron intake is not reduced sufficiently by providing cooked rice or fruit together with commercial feeds.