Parrot Diet

Parrot Diet?

Macaw with Corona beer - (don't try it)

The following suggested diet for parrots is just that. Suggested only, it is not meant to be taken literally that everything listed on here is to be given in any one day. This is explained further down the page.

Pelleted diets are not a total satisfactory substitute for a fresh natural diet. We have fed our birds for many years on any variation of the following diet. Our birds can and do fly so watching their weight is not a problem, if your bird(s) cannot fly however, for whatever reason, you will need to keep check on the amount of fat they eat.

The following diet is suitable for many parrots including amazons, macaws, cockatoos, conures etc; but you will need to vary amounts for different species; i.e. the amount of seed offered to cockatoos and the type of seed.

All parrots must have as varied a diet as possible, and fed at least twice a day. Once in the morning and also in the afternoon/evening. This stops them from eating all their 'favourites' at once and as with humans, gives them something to look forward to. The daily diet should consist of seeds, nuts, cooked or sprouted pulses, fresh fruit, vegetables and animal protein such as cooked chicken.

An inadequate diet lacking the correct balanced nutrients, can cause health problems and/or behavioural problems, which in turn can lead to feather plucking.

Inadequate housing and lack of mental stimulation can also lead to feather plucking.

Double Yellow Headed Amazon (Oratrix)

Suitable foods are:

VEGETABLES

Alfalfa, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, celery, courgettes, cucumber, green beans (French/Runner), kale, peas, sweet peppers, pumpkin cooked, spinach, spring greens, sprouts, sweet corn, swiss chard, tomato, watercress.

FRUIT - Fresh

Apple, banana, blackberry, cherry, figs, grapes, kiwi, mango, melon, nectarine, orange, papaya, pear, pineapple, plum, pomegranate.

FRUIT - Dried

Currants, dates, figs, raisins. These should preferably be soaked overnight and thoroughly rinsed. Buy dried fruit without added preservatives eg. No sulphur or E additives. Dried banana chips are usually popular.

NUTS

Almond, brazil, hazelnut, peanut, pecan, walnut, cedar nut, pine nut.

We stock healthy walnuts and jumbo cedar nuts in our on-line shop.

Whole californian walnuts.

All nuts can be given in shell or shelled. If these are given in shell you may need to crack the shell a little for your bird, to give it a start, walnuts should be halved, your bird will then eat from the two halves.

Don't buy palm nuts for you parrot, these are harvested from palm forests which have been planted in place of natural rainfoests purely for commcercial gain.

Similarly do not buy palm oil!

OTHER FOODS

Hard cheese, cooked chicken, bolied eggs, mixed pulses - soaked and cooked, brown rice and pasta - cooked. Cuttlefish bone, millet sprays, sunflower or other seed soaked, toast with honey.

Soaked sunflowers

Your bird should be offered at least three different varieties of vegetables and two of fruit daily, minimum. Protein such as cheese or egg occasionally, cooked lean chicken should be offered at least twice per week. Soaked and cooked pulses and soaked sunflower can also be offered regularly, as with toast, pasta etc. Do not offer your bird too many treats as it will eat only these and ignore the rest, therefore not get an adequate supply of vitamins/minerals. However do not be mean with your treats either. Common sense is necessary. Millet spray, cuttle fish and iodine block can be available at all times. It goes without saying that clean fresh water, preferably filtered water, should also be available. A vitamin and mineral supplement can be added to the water daily. Plus a limited amount of good parrot mix offered daily.

We stock a huge selection of Avian Specific and other quality parrot and parakeet food, plus VETARK vitmamin and calcium supplements for parrots available from our on-line shop.

Vitamin A is absolutely essential to your bird, this can be found in items such as sweetcorn and carrot. Fresh frozen mixed vegetables (defrosted) are a good standby such as sweetcorn and peas.

Of all the things listed above, there are usually items of food which are favourites. These being: Sweetcorn on the cob, this should be washed and cut into slices or quarters, broccoli, spinach or swiss chard, cheese, chicken, hard boiled egg, cherries, beans, peas, pine nuts, walnuts, millet spray. Obviously a selection of all listed above should be offered in addition. Fruit and vegetables should be given in a separate feeding dish and available at all times, along with the seed and nuts. Suggest maybe one large nut daily (Amazons and similar size birds).

There are a number of commercial complete diets on the market. Whilst they contain all the nutrients for your bird's requirements, I think they lack in interest for your bird. If you do feed one of these diets to your bird, you must provide extras such as fruit and veg, nuts etc to maintain interest. After all you would not like to eat the same thing day in and day out would you?

NOTE: Chocolate is POISONOUS to your bird as is avocado and mushroom. Do not feed your bird sweets, cakes, crisps or alcohol. Anything else which is not on this list, consult an avian vet before feeding.
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