A healthy diet

The Crystal Parrot - Happy New Year! It’s the time for resolutions and usually people resolve to live healthier. While you are taking a good look at your eating habits, take this opportunity to look at your pet bird’s diet.

What to Feed
Firstly, look at the basic diet for your bird. It should consist of pellets, vegetables, nuts and for some birds, a portion of seed.

Pellets: Pellets are a man made food that is complete with vitamins, minerals, and appropriate amounts fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. Pellets can come in all shapes and sizes, and many companies make them. Ideally your bird should eat a pellet that does not contain artificial colors, sweeteners, or preservatives. All birds from finches to macaws should eat pellets as some portion of their diet. Converting your seed eating bird to a pellet diet may be tricky as some birds can be exceptionally stubborn, but keep with it. Try different brands of pellets, different sizes and shapes. Try cooking with the pellets, or making them warm, soft, and moist with some hot water or juice.

Vegetables: Vegetables are a vital part of any bird’s diet. All birds need vegetables, whether fresh or cooked in a mix, daily. When looking at which vegetables to choose for your bird, choose ones that have lots of color like dark leafy greens, deep orange sweet potato or squash. Do not feed spinach as it is very high in iron and may lead to liver disease from excess iron storage. Many birds will enjoy vegetables cooked with beans, brown rice, and pasta and served warm. Our birds at the store get our Crystal Parrot Veggie Mix everyday which contributes to their excellent health. Avoid fruit, or feed it sparingly. Fruit is tasty, but is mostly sugar and water with little actual nutritional value.

Seed: For most of the birds we consider parrots; seed should only be a treat. Small birds such as finches, canaries, parakeets, cockatiels, and lovebirds should eat some seed as part of their regular diet. Any seed that you feed should be high quality, fresh seed that is not preserved with artificial preservatives. Remember that a seed only diet is a very poor diet. Seed treats like treat sticks or seed berries are still considered seed, even if the packaging has vegetables on it. Fortified seed or even seed mixes with dried vegetables are no substitute for pellets and real vegetables.

Nuts: Feeding nuts adds a healthy treat for most small to large parrots. For smaller birds, nuts can be cracked but still left in the shell to provide some challenging eating. Larger birds can be encouraged to crack their own nuts. Nuts provide healthy fats and vitamins that can supplement and fill out the basic diet of pellets and vegetables. Feed you bird only nuts that grow in trees, not in the ground. Peanuts are grown in the ground and may contain fungus that can kill your bird and should be avoided.

Treats and people food may be fed to the birds, but only in moderation. Remember that your bird should get most of its nutrition from its basic diet. Don’t overwhelm your bird with treats. Too much of a good thing that can lead to obese birds with heart, liver and kidney problems. Always keep in mind that your pet bird is many times smaller than you and only offer tiny pieces of people food.

Fresh clean water must always be available. Water dishes should be changed and cleaned at least twice daily, more often for birds that make “soup.” If using a water bottle, the bottle must still be cleaned completely and fresh water added daily.

What Not to Feed Your Bird:
Chocolate
Avocado
Apple seeds
Raw onions
Raw mushrooms
Rhubarb
“Junk” food – fried, greasy, fatty, salty, or sugary food
Whole dairy products – dairy products that contain lactose is not good for your bird. Some cheeses, yogurt, or cottage cheese may be fed in small amounts.

A healthy diet is important for every living creature. Our pet birds require a quality diet to live to their physical and emotional potential. Please feel free to ask us if you have any questions about a healthy diet for your feathered friends. We have free information at our store, and a knowledgeable staff to assist you and answer your questions.