Quiko Products in a Nutshell
Quiko products are professional grade items developed and
produced by bird enthusiasts. The line is very broad and can be a
little overwhelming. Breaking the line into smaller sub groups
helps to understand what it is and how to best use it.
Basically the line can be broken into six sub groups
- Egg Food
- Soft Food
- Food Supplements
- Vitamin Supplements
- Color Enhancement Supplements
- Specialty Products.
Egg Food
Egg foods are made by crumbling a high protein egg enriched
baked cake. Egg foods serve as the basic ingredient for a wide
variety of feeding mixtures. The basic formula serves as a
foundation for the rest of the food line.
Quiko Classic is the base. (Sort of the patriarch of the
Quiko family tree.) It is a general food that can be offered to
almost any bird being kept in captivity. The remainder of the line
is formulated by tweaking this formula, or adding ingredients.
Add canthaxantin (a red color enhancing ingredient) to this and
you get Quiko Classic Red- A general food for all
species of birds that have red plumage.
Tweak the base Classic formula slightly and you have Quiko
Special-A base food for all canaries regardless of color, type
or variety.
Add canthaxantin to the base Special formula and you have
Quiko Special Red- A general food for all canaries having
red factored plumage. (Red factor canaries were originally
developed by cross breeding canaries with the Venezuelan Red
Siskin, a finch that is now listed on the US Endangered Species Act
and CITES.)
Tweak the basic formula, add some seed and you have Quiko
Junior-A basic diet for all birds during molt or in times of
stress (such as exhibiting or on display in a pet store.)
Tweak the basic formula again and you have Quiko Sitt-An
egg food for parakeets and other small hookbills. Sitt is used as a
daily supplement to the regular seed diet during molt, or in times
of stress, and as a treat two or three times a week throughout the
rest of the year.
Change the base formula a bit, add some seed and you get
Quiko Exotic-An egg food supplement to the seed diets of
exotic finches.
Soft Food
Soft food diets are specifically formulated as the basic diets
for a variety of species. A much broader variety of ingredients are
added to the egg food base to produce specialized diets. The main
difference between egg food and soft food is that egg foods are
considered supplements to a seed diet, while the soft foods serve
as the main diet.
Quiko Fauna-A seed based mixture that also contains
insects. Can be fed to finch type birds or songbirds that are
omnivorous (seeds and bugs.)
Quiko Goldy-A non-seed based diet for insectivorous
birds.
Quiko Beo-A non-seed based diet for Mynahs, Starlings and
Jays (fruit and insect eaters.)
Quiko Bob-A soft food for pheasants, quail, and other
ground foraging birds.
Quiko Psitta-A soft food for larger hookbills. Can be
used as a basic diet, but best suited as an addition to a normal
seed diet.
Quiko Bt-Basic diet for Racing pigeons during the racing
season.
Food Supplements
There are two products that fall into this category. These
products fit nicely into what we feel is the best way to feed
birds. For years we have promoted the concept that there is no such
thing as a complete diet. We have always recommended adding variety
to a bird's diet with fresh fruits, vegetables, and treats. (Canned
treats, Fabulous Fruit, Bean Pastamore', etc.)
European aviculturists have taken this concept a step beyond
throwing some canned corn in a dish once in a while. They embrace
what they call "variegated feeding." Quite simply, they change the
daily diet by adding a different variety of ingredients to the
basic egg food each day. This provides a great deal of variety and
allows the bird breeder to adjust the diet to fit the bird's needs.
When birds are molting, or breeding they have higher protein
requirements than normal. During such times a breeder would use a
lower percentage of the supplement, and a greater percentage of the
protein rich egg food.
Quiko has two products specifically designed to accommodate this
feeding concept.
Quiko Rusk-A hard baked, dry wheat crumble.
Quiko Carrots-Pelleted carrots.
These two products react the same way and are used in the same
manner. After soaking them in water they are added to the egg food.
Rusk and Carrots retain the moisture, and change the consistency of
the egg food from a dry powder to a fresh moist food.
In a variegated feeding program Rusk and Carrots are fed
alternate days. Fresh chopped greens, fruit, and sprouts and
hard-boiled eggs are also added to the routine. Each day the birds
are fed a slightly different variation. This promotes a
well-rounded diet and increases feeding behavior. This feeding
program can also be used to vary the protein intake throughout the
breeding cycle. Adding a higher percentage of Rusk, Carrots,
sprouts, fruits, or greens lowers the overall protein level of the
mixture.
A typical routine might be as follows;
Monday- Add Rusk to egg food
Tuesday-Add bean sprouts to egg food
Wednesday-Add Carrots pellets to egg food
Thursday-Add chopped greens to egg food
Friday-Add hard boiled egg to egg food
Saturday-Add diced fruit to egg food
Sunday-Add tofu to egg food.
Vitamin Supplements
Quiko has a very broad range of vitamin supplements including
simple daily use multi-vitamins as well as specialized vitamins
designed for specific purposes. Generally multivitamins are used
year round, but discontinued during the times that a specialized
vitamin is being used. For the most part these are available in
both liquid and powdered form. All are pharmaceutical grade, and
can be used in either the food or the water.
A short history of bird vitamin use in the US.
High quality vitamins for captive exotic birds generally had not
been readily available for pet retail in the United States. During
the "boom" years of the seventies the only vitamins readily
available had been developed for use in farming and poultry. Most
of the vitamins being sold as dog and cat vitamins at that time
were powdered supplements used on cattle and swine, and
surprisingly enough rabbits. Other than poultry vitamins there
wasn't anything available for pet birds.
In the early 80's a vitamin line from Germany began appearing in
the United States. The line was very high quality, and was species
and life cycle specific. These were specialty vitamins in a
powdered form, and they took the bird keeping community by storm.
Despite the fact that there are some advantages to liquid
vitamins such as potency, ease of use, and dosage control, the use
of powdered vitamins became the rage. The quality of these products
was so superior to the other vitamins available at the time that a
large percentage of the bird owning public was convinced that
powdered vitamins were the best products to use.
Quiko is manufactured in Germany where the number one selling
bird vitamin is Quikon V (B), a liquid multi-vitamin for daily use.
A multi-vitamin is a general use vitamin designed to provide
minimum daily requirements for overall good health. Specific
vitamins can be used to specific desired results.
The Quiko vitamin line breaks down like this;
Liquid Vitamins
Quikon V (or Quikon B)- A liquid multi-vitamin for daily
use on all birds. It has a natural sweet flavor to over come
resistance to taking it. Add to the water, or food.
Quikon SA-The same concept as Quikon V, but developed for
small animals.
Quikon Combin-A liquid multi-vitamin formulated
specifically for birds during molting season, or in times of
stress.
Quikon A-D-E-C- A specialized liquid vitamin mix of
vitamins A,D,E, and C that is used to bring birds into peak
breeding condition prior to breeding season.
Quikon Vitamin E-A liquid vitamin that is used to promote
healing, virility, and fertility.
Powdered Vitamins
Quikon Multivitamin-A powdered daily use multi-vitamin.
Sprinkle over the food, egg food, or fruits and vegetables.
Quiko Bio- A powdered vitamin supplement
specifically designed to promote proper feather growth. Use during
molting, or in instances where the bird has suffered damaged or
irregular feather growth.
Quikon Biotin-Biotin promotes feather growth. This is the
base ingredient for Bio. It is used by breeders who prefer
to use separate components to concoct their formulas.
Quiko Vitamin E Powder-Vitamin E in a powder form to
increase fertility
Quikon Forte-A combination of Vitamin E and Iron to
promote fertilization, and vigor throughout the breeding season.
Use from the beginning of breeding through the first molt of the
young.
Quikon Plus-A specialized product to mix with the egg
food while the young birds are beginning to grow feathers and
fledge. Continue use through the first molt.
Color Enhancement Supplements.
"You are what you eat" really does apply to birds. Plumage
condition and coloration are definitely affected by what a bird
ingests. Flamingoes for example are only really pink when shrimp
are part of their diet. Canary breeders have used a variety of
ingredients to enhance the natural color of their birds for
generations. They have used paprika, saffron, roxathin red, and
beta-carotin and canthaxantin to intensify the natural colors of
their birds. Quiko has a fairly broad range of products that serve
this purpose. The powders are added to the drinking water or egg
food to achieve the results desired.
Although Quiko makes color foods (Classic Red, Special Red,
etc.) they also produce the color enhancing supplements as separate
items. This may seem a little redundant, but keep in mind that many
bird breeders consider their own "secret formula" or feeding method
to be the best. These people like to mix their own formulas from
scratch. Many canary breeders in fact refuse to buy prepared seed
mixes. They want the raw ingredients so that they can mix the seed
themselves.
Quikon Intensive-Canthaxantin and vitamins to intensify
the red factor coloring.
Quikon Canthaxantin-This is used to accentuate, or
highlight the existing red color in birds.
Quikon Beta-Carotin-A natural color enhancer. It enhances
the red coloring that already exists in the bird's plumage.
Quikon Yellow-Intensive- Enhances and maintains the
yellow color of the plumage.
Specialty Products
Quiko Lori-This is a powder that is mixed with water to
make the nectar that lories and lorikeets eat. Although they have a
hookbill, and can eat some seed, sprouts and fruit, these birds are
primarily nectar eaters. One complaint that people have about
lories is the loose stool that a liquid nectar and fruit diet
produces. One way to offer a more solid food to these birds is to
mix the nectar as directed on the label, and then soak Rusk or
Carrots in this liquid before offering to the birds.
Quiko Nectar- A specially formulated nectar powder for
hummingbirds, sunbirds, and honey creepers, that eat only nectar in
the wild.
Quikon Seaweed Liquid-A liquid designed to naturally
intensify dark coloration. Seaweed, and spirulina are both
considered to be a general natural health tonics.
Quikon Seaweed Powder-The same general use as the Seaweed
liquid in a powdered form.
Quikon Spirulina-Spirulina is dried, powdered algae
considered by many people to be a natural general tonic containing
carbohydrates, protein and minerals.
Quikon Natural Herbal Tea-Another natural tonic for
general health. The concept is that water available for use in the
wild has been infused with minerals from plant materials in the
water-course. This simulates that natural water source.
Quikon Powder Mix with Grit-A calcium and mineral
supplement that helps with digestion and egg production.
Quikon Bath Salt-Mixed with warm water this provides a
cleansing bath that encourages preening and improves feather
condition. Can be used as a tub-bath , or spray.
Quiko Beer Yeast-Provides protein during weaning and
fledging. Use through first molt. Okay, you read the label on
the Quikon Plus that lists it's only ingredient as "beer
yeast"-What's up? This goes back to the fact that most of
our knowledge about successfully raising birds in captivity has
been learned the hard way through trial and error. Many tricks of
the trade in aviculture have been passed down from one generation
to the next.
Old time bird breeders in Germany discovered that the yeast used
in manufacturing beer was discarded after the brewing process but
still contained high levels of carbohydrates and protein necessary
for proper development and growth of the chicks. As a by-product it
may have contained some impurities but was inexpensive, and
effective. This product is that same time honored beer yeast that
Grandpa used on his birds. Quikon Plus uses the same
ingredient, but in it's purest form before being used to make beer.
Quikon Med-A natural solution to bacterial, fungal and
protozoan infestations of the digestive tract. Made from the
essence of the oregano bud Med actually kills Coccidia in a
five-day treatment plan. Mix one teaspoon with one kilo of food.
Feed the mix for five days. This really works!
The Quiko product line is a wonderful family of products. It is
a great product that has fantastic potential here in the United
States. It takes a little time to understand the concept behind it.
The approach to feeding birds is a little different than you may be
used to dealing with, but professional breeders recognize the
benefits of this approach.
