Parrot food: The parrot’s diet is one of the factors that will allow our pet to stay healthy. We must be careful what we feed our parrots to keep them healthy. Inappropriate and poor nutrition can lead to problems in the normal development of the animal, such as illness or inappropriate behavior.
The correct diet is one that is designed in a balanced way, which provides all the necessary nutrients according to species, age, and activity. Want to know what food you can give your parrot? We will tell you!
Extruded parrot food
One of the options for feeding a parrot is to give it extruded food intended for its species. In the market, we can find a wide variety of animal feed, in different formats, so that we can choose the one that best suits us.
As with all animal feed, it is important to pay attention to its composition, detailing exactly the ingredients it contains and avoiding by-products.
Seed is a simple, practical, and easy way to feed a parrot. But he must be used to it since childhood, otherwise, he will reject it and even stop eating. Like all new foods, it is advisable to offer it gradually.
If we decide to give our parrot this type of diet, it is always good to have an extra supply of fresh vegetables and fruits.
Best food for parrot
On the contrary, if we want our parrot to have a diet closer to that which it would have in its natural environment, we must be attentive to the composition. The parrot should have two feeders, one for fruits and vegetables, and the other for grain seeds.
Seeds will represent 50% of the diet, vegetables 45%, and fruits 2.5%. The remaining 2.5% will be dietary supplements such as dried fruit, calcium (cuttlebone or calcium blocks for parrots), and grit (small pebbles that help digest seeds). Remember to avoid forbidden foods for parrots.
Parrot seed
- Conditioned seed mix for psittacine birds, with a minimum number of seeds.
- Or you can buy it in bulk and mix it up, which should contain:
- Millet
- peeled oats
- Bird seed
- Turnip seeds
Sunflower seeds are very low in vitamins and minerals and contain too much fat and protein. Although they are the favorite food of parrots, we must try to reduce their quantity, even if our bird decides to stop eating or throw away the rest of the food.
Vegetables for parrots
Vegetables should be fresh, clean, and cut. There is a wide variety of vegetables that can be given to a parrot, as long as you add them little by little and identify which ones he prefers:
- Spinach
- Endive
- Carrot
- Pumpkin
- Then
- Boiled potatoes
- Green beans
- Lentils (hydrated)
- Chickpeas (hydrated)
- Broccoli
- Artichoke
- Cauliflower
- Tomato
- Green, red, yellow, and orange pepper
- Swiss chard
- Endive
- Carrot
- Radish
- Celery
Fruits for parrots
A minimum of three different types of fruit should be given, cleaned, and chopped each day:
- Apple
- Pear
- Mandarin
- Orange
- Apricot
- Blueberry
- Strawberry
- Grapefruit
- Watermelon
- Kiwi
- Pineapple
- Papaya
- Feet
- Grenade
- Mango
- Cherry
- Grape
- Melon
- Banana
- Fishing
- Blow up
Common Parrot Feeding Mistakes
It happens that we make mistakes when feeding our parrot and that, as a result, he refuses the food that we offer him. Some of these errors are:
- The food bowl is dirty: Contrary to what one might think, parrots are very clean animals and do not like to eat from dirty bowls. Just as we take care of cage hygiene, the food bowl should always be clean, free of past food and feces
- If you leave the same food for more than a day, it will no longer be visible to the parrot. In addition, it can oxidize and taste bad.
- parrots only eat seeds: a diet based exclusively on this type of food is not healthy. It can be difficult, but it is essential to change this habit in a parrot
- Parrots often leave their seed shells in the bowl, which may seem full. It is important to remove shells from food and change the seed bowl daily