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Food and Feeding
| One of the greatest challenges facing parrot companions is that of providing an optimal diet. There seems at this time to be little to no agreement among professionals in aviculture and related professions as to what constitutes the best diet for each species, and conflicting information leads the parrot owner closer and closer over time toward a state of confusion and frustration. |
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| Feed your parrot a balanced diet of fruit, vegetables, cooked meats and grains. Go ahead and share whatever healthful food you’re eating with your parrot.
Note: Avoid chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, kidney beans, lima beans and avocados. These foods are toxic to parrots.
Some Food Tips:
- Parrots love to hunt for food. Don’t make meals boring for them. Pellets may be nutritionally complete, but they don’t give them the fun of cracking open seeds. Stick treats inside paper cups strung on a rope. They love destroying the containers.
- Vitamin A is essential for optimum skin and feather condition, eyesight and helps the body fight infection. Some good sources of Vitamin A are the green vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, watercress, parsley and green peppers; yellow orange vegetables such as sweet potatoes, yams, carrots, butternut squash, red peppers and pumpkin; and fruits such as peaches, apricots, cantaloupe, papaya and sour red cherry. Other vegetables and fruits that may not be high in Vitamin A but provide other nutritional value and psychological benefits are corn on the cob, peas in the pod, bean sprouts, cauliflowers, grapes, banana, berries, pineapples and others.
- Whole grains may come in the form of whole grain bread or toast, low sugar or unsweetened cereals, whole grain pastas, oat bran and crackers. Carbohydrates come from fruits, pasta, grains, bran, corn, beans, potatoes and peas. Dairy, nuts and seeds provide parrot the small amount of fat needed in the diet.
Here are a few interesting recipes that are easy to put together and keep well. Your bird will love to snack on these healthy treats. If your bird enjoys eating what you do, try the ‘Bird and Companion’ mix.
Bird Friendly Mix:
- Dried Papaya and Dried Pineapple Mix
- Cheerios (multi-Grain)
- Sesame Sticks
- Pelleted diet food – Zoopreem recommended
- Dried Cranberries
- Dried Vegetables
- Dried Blueberries
- Whole Wheat Pasta (fun shapes)
Bird and Companion Friendly Mix:
- Dried Papaya and Dried Pineapple Mix
- Cheerios (multi-Grain)
- Low-fat Granola
- Dried Banana chips
- Dried Cranberries
- Dried Blueberries
- Almonds (natural)
- Cashews (no salt)
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