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Bird Info
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What Do Pet Parrots Eat - Parrot Diet Part 2 |
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So how do we make sure we are feeding our beloved parrots correctly? It’s reasonably easy to feed a parrot correctly once you lose the mindset of “seeds only”. When people ask me what I feed my birds, I tell them, “Just about everything!” Sometimes they may look at me funny, but it’s true. There is such a variety of foods that are good for your parrot; there is no need to feed a boring diet.
Seeds versus Pellets
There is some controversy in the world of bird lovers between the people who believe a “seed plus” diet is correct and those that believe that a “pellet plus” diet is correct. By “seed plus” I mean seeds plus other foods. “Pellet plus”, of course, means pellets plus other foods. For every type of parrot, there is a mix of seeds available designed to supply the basic seed requirements of the bird’s diet. The problem with seed is that some birds will become addicted to one favorite type of seed and ignore all other seed. They’ll even throw all the other seed out of the seed dish. The problem with pellets is some birds just won’t touch them. Many birds, on the other hand, enjoy all the different seeds in their seed mix. Seed diets can be messy since there are seed husks to deal with. Sometimes people make the mistake of thinking there are seeds available in a dish when there are really nothing but husks. It’s crucial to change seed every single day.
Dr. LeFeber studied the nutritional requirements of birds and designed pellets to supply those needs in proper balance. For years, BirdTalk magazine carried an advertisement showing Dr. LeFeber’s 29 year old male cockatiel – which is really old for a cockatiel – and his bird was weaned to pellets and always fed pellets. Other scientists have since done additional research and formulated other pelleted diets which are popular. However, since the mid-1990’s opinion has turned toward diets consisting of seed and people foods because of some ingredients in pellets which may cause problems. The research I located as inconclusive either way, but did suggest a possible link to cancer. Sally Blanchard, one of the top bird experts in American does not suggest the use of pellets. You can readily locate her wide variety of publications, her quarterly newsletter and her books on the Internet, and you might begin by going to http://www.companionparrot.com.
I’m not going to tell you that seed is the only way to go, or that pellets are the right food for your bird. This is something you have to decide for yourself. I have used both diets for different birds, and both sets of birds have been very healthy. I believe this is because I adhere to the “seed or pellet plus” food plan.
The way I choose whether to feed seed or pellet is simply by knowing what the bird was weaned to eat. If a baby bird is taught to eat pellets, it will have almost no interest in changing to seed, and visa versa. I often add some pellets to seeds to see if the bird wants to eat both, and some parrots really do eat both. If the bird is already weaned to eat pellets, I don’t try to change them to seed since this is already known to be such a healthy diet. I’ve tried several times to change a bird weaned to seed over to pellets and I haven’t had a great deal of success – but I have seen birds lose significant weight which is very dangerous to their health, so I put them back on their seed.
Know your Species
Whether you feed seed or pellet, you must supplement the basic diet with lots of other good things. This serves two purposes: nutrition and entertainment. There are a lot of hours in the bird’s day when they may be in their cage, and interesting food provides them fun as well as nutrition. There are a few birds which have very specific dietary requirements. Please take the time to look up your specific species to ensure that there are no dietary needs which may not be met by an average parrot diet. I have researched several specific species requirements for you. The hyacinth macaws must have Brazil nuts to be healthy.
Adult eclectus (pronounced ek-lek-tus) parrots must have restricted fat intake and extra Vitamin A. Lorikeets are nectar feeders which require a nectar mixture for part of the diet. There is a wealth of information on the Internet regarding each species. Most species eat a reasonably standard diet, with noted exceptions above, but with the wealth of information available on the Internet that is well beyond the scope of this article series to cover completely, it is best to research your species. Someone may have come up with a treat your species especially likes that we may not yet be aware of. There are also recipes for bird dishes if you wish to go that far into your bird’s diet. If you go to Sally Blanchard’s “Companion Parrot Quarterly” (http://www.companionparrot.com) you will find some recipes you might wish to try. The scope of this article series is meant to cover basic diet issues.
Read the next parrot diet chapter.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 04 January 2007 )
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