Best foods to feed your parrot

The Best Foods to Feed Your Parrot

The best diet for parrots consists mostly of pellets, supplemented with “table food.” These birds need foods from the bread/cereal, vegetable and protein (meat) groups – just as humans do. Dairy products aren’t necessary, although some owners do feed them to their birds in small amounts. Fruit is mostly sugar and supplies few essential nutrients to birds.

The Basic Building Block

Commercial pellets made especially for birds should make up 60 percent to 80 percent of most parrots’ diets. Packages come in sizes that accommodate everything from a macaw to a budgie.

You’ll want to feed more pellets to your bird than seeds because pellets are far more complete nutritionally. Seeds have too much fat and not enough vitamins, minerals and proteins. Birds fed seed diets have a much shorter life span, so seeds should constitute no more than 12 percent of your bird’s diet.

Food from Your Table

The other 20 percent to 40 percent of your bird’s diet should be table food.

Seeds and Nuts

Since birds are much more sedentary in captivity than they are in the wild, they don’t need as much fat in their diets. Seeds and nuts are high in fat, so give them to your bird only in moderation.

The Truth About Grit

Parrots don’t need grit and it has been known to cause impaction when too much has been consumed. Parrots don’t eat hard seed hulls that need to be broken down by the digestive system; they hull their seeds with their beaks before eating them.

The Truth About Water

Your bird should have fresh water every day. Don’t add supplements unless your veterinarian tells you to; they can be a medium for bacteria to grow and can cause a bird to turn up his nose at his water bowl, leading to decreased water intake and kidney damage.

Never Feed Your Bird the Following

Unique Needs of Some Birds