Alternative Gavage Diet for Piscivores

Stephanie Herman

doi:10.53607/wrb.v32.42

Authors

Stephanie Herman PAWS Wildlife Center

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53607/wrb.v32.42

Keywords:

Nutrition, piscivorous birds, seabirds, pelagic birds, diving birds, whole fish diets, gavage diets

Abstract

In 2010, PAWS Wildlife Center received a grant through the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association (NWRA) to run a trial using an alternative gavage diet for piscivorous birds. Previous recipes primarily involved ground whole fish, which presents several problems including complicated preparation and an unreliable diet composition. PAWS’ new recipe, based on a fish–sourced canned pet diet, has shown to be a consistent, cost– and labor–effective alternative to ground fish diets. This paper discusses the unique dietary requirements of piscivorous birds, the composition and use of the new diet, and the data collected during the trial period.

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Author Biography

Stephanie Herman, PAWS Wildlife Center

Stephanie Herman blah Stephanie Herman has been a wildlife rehabilitator for more than ten years, worked with the Oiled Wildlife Care Network, UC Davis Wildlife Health Center, and is now with PAWS Wildlife Center in Washington State. While earning her degree at the University of Guelph she developed a special interest in nutrition, completing several advanced courses and an independent study on the feeding behavior of captive gray wolves. She presented the content of this paper at the 2013 NWRA Symposium.

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