So you’ve adopted and/or rescued a European Starling. Well done! Your life is on a path of promising events and opportunities. In order to keep your bird happy (and alive), you’ll need to feed them a proper diet. Don’t worry. I’ll explain everything step by step, including why we make each recommendation based on both research and years of experience.
Important: If your starling is less than 6-10 weeks old or is not yet eating on their own, you’ll want to use the Baby/Fledgling Diet instead.
High Protein Mix
In the wild, starlings eat mostly insects. But since we can’t spend all day catching bugs (though our starlings probably wish we would!), we need to find another reliable source of protein. That’s where cat food comes in.
The trick is using the right kind. We’ve found that Blue Buffalo Healthy Aging (Mature Cats 7+) works beautifully. Can’t find that exact brand? Don’t panic! Science Diet Senior or Purina ONE Vibrant Maturity will work too. The important thing is that it’s senior cat food – it’s easier for your little darling to digest.
Let’s get started – measure out 2 cups of the cat food and grind it up. The size matters: You’re aiming for something that looks like coarse sugar – not powder (that’s too fine and can cause breathing problems), and not chunks (too big for your little one to handle). Think of it like making breadcrumbs – not too fine, not too coarse.
Here’s the full ingredient and nutrition list if you’re interested.
Protein 38.0 % Min Fat 14.0 % Min Fiber 5.0 % Max Moisture 9.0 % Max DHA 0.1 % Min Magnesium 0.14 % Max Vitamin E 300 IU/kg Min Taurine 0.15 % Min Omega 3 Fatty Acids* 0.5 % Min Omega 6 Fatty Acids* 2.5 % Min Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C)* 100 Mg/kg Min L-Carnitine* 100 mg/kg Min
Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Tapioca Starch, Peas, Pea Protein, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Flaxseed (source of Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids), Tomato Pomace (source of Lycopene), Natural Flavor, Potatoes, Pea Fiber, Potassium Chloride, Alfalfa Meal, DL-Methionine, Choline Chloride, Dried Chicory Root, Potato Starch, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Caramel, Taurine, Mixed Tocopherols (a natural preservative), Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Nicotinic Acid (Vitamin B3), Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Vitamin E Supplement, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Oil of Rosemary, L-Lysine, Parsley, Kelp, Blueberries, Cranberries, Apples, Spinach, Blackberries, Pomegranate, Pumpkin, Barley Grass, Turmeric, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Copper Sulfate, Biotin (Vitamin B7), Vitamin A Supplement, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Manganese Sulfate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, L-Carnitine, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Beta Carotene, Folic Acid (Vitamin B9), Calcium Iodate, Dried Yeast, Dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, Dried Aspergillus niger fermentation extract, Dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, Dried Bacillus subtilis fermentation extract, Sodium Selenite.
Why We Use Cat Food
Store-bought bird food is not adequate as it will not have enough protein and will frequently list corn (not chicken) as the first ingredient. Blue Buffalo Healthy Aging is a good choice all the way around as it has 38% protein and 14% fat.
Compare that to Harrison’s High Potency Super Fine bird food (which many vets will prescribe for high protein needs) which lists Millet, Barley, and Corn as the first ingredients as well as a lower 18.5 protein and 12% fat, which is far too low for the nutritional needs of starlings. Regardless of what you use, the first ingredient should always be chicken and it should have at least 33.1% crude protein and 12.1% crude fat for adult birds.
Now, I know that some people are against using cat food for european starling birds. And if we didn’t have lives beyond our birds, we’d probably go nuts on gathering live insects and other details that, to be honest, don’t have a lot of scientific validity (my favorite one is that starlings are iron-sensitive – True, iron storage disease is documented in many softbill birds, and starlings are softbills. However, I have yet to find any non-anecdotal, scientific sources specifically linking European Starlings to iron storage sensitivity). So, let’s move onwards to the next section, which is…
Calcium (Because Strong Bones Matter)
Your starling darling needs strong bones. And those bones? They’re like a calcium bank, storing about 98% of all the calcium in your bird’s body.
Just like us, birds can run into trouble if they don’t get enough calcium in their diet. They’ll actually start borrowing calcium from their own bones if they need to, which can lead to weak, brittle bones. This is why we’re so picky about making sure your starling gets enough calcium every day.
To address this, we use Layer Mash (I know, another weird-sounding ingredient). Layer mash is like a multivitamin for birds, specially made for egg-laying hens (who need lots of extra nutrients). It’s packed with calcium and other minerals that your little darling needs to stay healthy.
We prefer Purina Layena Crumbles because it’s reliable and easy to find. For every 2 cups of ground cat food, you’ll want to add 1/2 cup of the layer mash. Think of it as the seasoning that makes the whole mix complete!
Can’t find layer mash at your local feed store? Don’t worry! Here’s your alternative calcium plan. For every batch of food (2 cups of ground cat food), you’ll need:
- 1 regular Tums tablet (750mg) – any plain Tums will work, it doesn’t have to be the Smooth Dissolve type
- Some high-quality avian vitamins (we use Hari Prime) for the other nutrients
- Mix these thoroughly with your ground cat food
The Tums provides the calcium, while the avian vitamins replace the other minerals and nutrients found in layer mash. Just make sure you’re using plain Tums without extra active ingredients – stick to the basic antacid formulation. Regular, Smoothies, or Smooth Dissolve are all fine, but avoid any with extra medicines or fancy flavor additives if possible. Crush it really well to ensure even distribution in the food mix.
Birds are naturally good at managing their calcium needs. When given a choice between two identical foods that differ only in calcium content, they’ll instinctively choose the calcium-rich option when they need it. This is particularly true for egg-laying females and growing chicks. What’s fascinating is their timing – females tend to seek out calcium-rich foods in the evening, when they’re forming eggs to lay the next morning. So if you notice your female starling visiting her food bowl more often in the evenings during nesting season, she’s likely following this natural instinct for extra calcium.
Crush & Mix Together
You’ll want to mix the Blue Buffalo Healthy Aging cat food and Purina Layena Crumbles together and mash it up. Your best bet to use a basic coffee grinder without making too fine of a powder (which poses a risk of aspiration). Just make sure to keep the grinder exclusively for use for the bird food mix – never use it for coffee grinding, which is poisonous to birds.
We’ve tried using a burr coffee grinder, but ironically even at its coarsest setting, the grind is still too fine compared to using a regular coffee grinder. An alternative is to use a mortar and pestle, which will give you the most control over how crumbled the mix gets.
Our birds seem to enjoy eating the dry crushed mix without any issue.
Additional Daily Calcium
Even with the layer mash, your bird will still need additional daily calcium. Your options are pretty straightforward: Feed 1 tablespoon of a hard boiled egg each day, or simply add 2 tablespoons of whole egg powder (not egg substitute) to the entire cat food/layer mash food mix batch. In the past we’ve used Judee’s Gluten Free Whole Dried Egg powder, but it’s been hard to find this lately, so you may have to do some searching.
If you opt for doing the daily hard boiled egg, simply hard boil for 10 minutes to remove any bacteria that may be in the yold, and rinse under cold water to easily remove the shell. Cut it up and add 1 tablespoon of the egg to a separate dish.
Daily Fruit
In the same (or another) dish as the egg, add 1 tablespoon unsweetened applesauce. You’ll want to feed this daily (and remove after being out for a bit to prevent spoilage).
If you buy a jar of applesauce rather than individual packs, keep in mind that it’s only good for one week after opening. You’ll also need to heat some up for about 4-5 seconds in a small bowl in the microwave each day, making sure that it isn’t too hot.
Overall, this should give your little darling some fruit and about 42mg potassium, 1mg vitamin C, and 1 mg calcium.
Probiotic Supplements
Probiotics have mixed reviews. Many people swear by them, however research also shows that it can tend to make things worse. We’re undecided on this issue and, since we haven’t noticed a difference in our bird’s health, we tend to hold off using it unless a coarse of antibiotics has been used. We’ve used Avi-Culture 2 Plus in the past.
Avoid Dangerous Foods
Occasionally you can add small amounts of different foods to broaden your bird’s palette. However, you should take care to avoid the common things that birds shouldn’t eat, such as salt, tomatoes, or chocolate. While many people like to feed their birds mealworms, keep in mind that this is the equivalent of feeding potato chips to a human; not very nutritious and full of unhealthy fat.
The Final Result
Our birds love this mix! It’s consistently kept them happy and healthy. Hopefully this guide will help you going forward too!
