Feeding Pet Birds for Optimal Nutrition & Health
A Diet for Psitticine Birds, Including Parrots, Parakeets and Macaws
Apr 3, 2009
Feeding your pet bird properly is one of the best ways to insure that your bird remains healthy and lives a long, happy life. Psitticine birds include parrots, parakeets and macaws and these need to be fed a proper diet to avoid malnutrition and the numerous diseases which can accompany it.
Are Seed Diets Appropriate for Feeding Pet Parrots or Other Psitticine Birds?
Seed diets are probably the most common diet fed by bird owners and, unfortunately, these all seed diets are not nutritionally complete for parrots or other psitticine birds. Seed diets lack adequate amounts of most major nutrients and are high in fat. Diets containing only seeds lead to a variety of nutritional health problems, the least of which is becoming overweight.
What Types of Diets are Appropriate for Pet Parrots or Other Psitticine Birds?
Commercially formulated bird feed diets are more appropriate as a diet for pet parrots or other psitticine birds. These foods are designed to try to provide a balanced diet for your pet bird.
Pelleted diets are probably one of the most common formulated diets available for feeding pet birds, but extruded foods and crumbled foods are also popular and there are other forms as well.
Avoid formulated diets containing seeds or seed mixes.
Ideally, feeding these formulated bird foods will comprise 80-90% of your pet bird's diet.
How to Get Your Pet Parrots and Other Psitticine Birds to Eat the Formulated Diet
When pet birds are used to eating only seeds, it can be challenging to get them to convert to this new form of feed which they do not recognize.
Start converting your bird to the formulated diet by cutting the bird seed feed to 1/2 of the normal amount you would feed your bird. Calculate this amount by measuring out a specific quantity of bird seed in the morning and placing it in the bird cage. The next morning, measure the remaining feed and subtract the difference. This will determine the amount of seed your bird consumes in one day. Divide the daily amount of seed in half and start at this amount of bird seed mixed with an equal amount of the formulated diet.
As your bird becomes accustomed to eating the formulated diet, gradually remove the remainder of the seed and replace it with the formulated diet.
When Feeding Parrots and Other Psittacine Birds, What Other Foods are Appropriate?
On occasion, pet parrots and other psittacine birds can be offered vegetables such as:
- peas
- beans
- carrots
- corn
- spinach
- kale
- collards
- mustards
Nuts such as almonds can also be offered as a treat.
Fruits can be offered as well, but tropical fruits generally have higher nutritional value than fruits gathered in North America.
Do not offer your pet bird avocados as these can be toxic to your bird.
Forage Feeding for Parrots and Psitticine Birds
Forage feeding is a form of feeding which is used to keep your pet bird busy and entertained. Pet birds can easily become bored, particularly when they do not receive a great deal of social interaction. Foraging techniques allow birds to search out and work to obtain their food and food treats. Keeping a pet bird entertained can be very beneficial in preventing medical issues such as feather picking which many birds will start to do out of boredom.
Foraging techniques include:
- providing a perch for your bird in which you have drilled small holes which can periodically be filled with food. Use untreated wood such as pine to create this perch.
- wrapping newspaper or cardboard around the food dish, which will require your bird to do some chewing and poking to obtain his food.
- wrapping individual food items in cardboard or paper instead of the entire dish. You can also twist the end of the paper to make the exercise more challenging for your bird.
- food puzzles for your bird, which can be purchased at many pet stores. These puzzles have parts which need to manipulated or turned to access the food inside.
- mixing your bird's food in with other items, such as small pieces of wood, buttons, marbles or other items. This requires your bird to forage for his food through all of the other items.
Providing the proper food and proper feeding techniques will help to keep your bird happy and healthy.
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