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- Nutrition -
Proper nutrition cannot be skimped on! It does cost money but the cost is reasonable and is part of one's responsibility to their Feathered Companion(s)! Sometimes, Feathered Companions are fed diets that consist of poor-quality ingredients that at first glance seem to be financially cheaper than ingredients found in a properly balanced, high-quality diet. But this is such a financial illusion! The truth is that a poor-quality diet will cost astronomically more money in the long run due to treating illnesses and ailments caused by the poor-quality diet. Just like in people, people that eat properly balanced, healthy diets spend far less time at the Doctor and on the average live much longer than their peers that regularly consume poor-quality diets.
The bottom line is when a diet consisting of poor-quality ingredients is used; the Feathered Companion's physical and mental well being will suffer - guaranteed! According to a survey of Avian Veterinarians, 70% of all Feathered Companion Issues (mental and physical) can be attributed in whole or part to poor nutrition. (Bird Talk Magazine article published many months ago).
Please note that the diet information denoted below was developed with the following species (cockatoos, african greys, macaws (except for the Hyacinth Wacaws who live almost exclusively on palm, brasil and macademia nuts), eclectus parrots, quaker parakeets, conures, derbyan parakeets, pionus parrots, senegals, meyers, caiques and amazons) in mind; however, it does contain some general nutrition information that will pertain to any given species. If you have a species not listed then do your research for their specific diet needs.
Nutrition Fundamentals
- The Perfect Parrot Diet is very similar to a Human’s Perfect Health Food Diet.
- Organic is the beat way to go.
- The least amount of processing is best.
- Stay away from foods that contain Chemical Preservatives.
- Garlic is a great supplement.
- Sprouts are super nutritious.
- Carrots are a great way to consume Beta-Carotene.
- Nuts in moderation are great for people and Feathered Companions.
- Peanuts are ok for people and Feathered Companions but only purchase human grade peanuts and consume in moderation.
- Good nutrition requires some cooking.
- Variety is vital to a healthy diet. Living primarily off of one food group like nuts is bad for most species but there are exceptions like the hyacinth macaw who lives almost exclusively on nuts in the wild.
- Purchasing fresh fruit and vegetables on a weekly basis is necessary and they should be offered daily.
- Grains and legumes are key to a healthy diet.
- Grit is very bad for most parrots and should never be feed to them.
- Consuming GOOD microbes is a key ingredient to good nutrition [lactobacillus (commonly found in yogurt, etc.].
- Vitamins and minerals are essential for life but should be obtained through a healthy diet not as supplements.
- Pellets can be used to mix (ratio: 5% pellets, 95% seed mix) with a high-quality Feathered Companion seed mix such as LaAvian. Pellets should never exceed 5% of the mix and should never, ever be offered as the only food for a Feathered Companion.
- Fresh clean water must be available at all times.
Never Feed the Following
- Avocado
- Rhubarb
- Alcoholic beverages
- Chocolate
- Caffeine: tea, coffee or cola drinks
- Apple seeds and other seeds that are not commonly eaten such as orange seeds; however, pomengrante seeds are great for Feathered Companions
- Carbonated drinks
- Candy and other foods containing concentrated amounts of sugar
- Fruit seeds (unless you know for sure they are safe)
- Raw or undercooked fish, meat or poultry
- Milk or Real-Milk based products such as Real Italian Cheese
- Foods that have contain a man-made sweetener such as saccharine
Never Feed or Feed in Moderation
- Pickles, potato chips, hot dogs, lunch meat, canned goods and other salty foods or snacks
- Foods containing Mayonnaise
- American Type Processed Cheeses (during the process, most of the lactose is destroyed)
- Foods containing large amounts of sugar such as cakes, pies, etc.
A Properly Balanced and Nutritious Diet
A properly balanced diet requires a variety of complex carbohydrates, amino acids, protein, vitamins and minerals; many of these ingredients can only be found in fresh and prepared foods.
Morning Manadatory Feeding for Weaned Feathered Companion
- Give clean fresh water.
- Give a 100% juice (cycle through differnt juices) with lots of ice - they just love it!
- Serve them a nutriously packed cooked recipe (beans, rice, pasta, peas, corn, vegtables, raisins, etc.) (either the one I sell or something similiar). [Portion: about 3/4 of a cup for an African Grey sized parrot]
- Fresh fruit, vegetables and sprouts - normally 3 or 4 different fruits and 3 or 4 different vegetables. It is ok to prepare them first thing in the morning or as part of a fruit and vegtable salad. Going the salad route is a convenient way to mix the fruits and vegetables together once or twice a week. Just keep the salad in refrigerator. It should last for 3 or 4 days in the refrigerator but this completely dependent on the ingredients. [Portion: about 1/2 of a cup for an African Grey sized parrot]
Evening Mandatory Feeding for Weaned Feathered Companion
- A high-quality, preserative-free Parrot Mix(es) (I prefer LaAvian) that contains ingredients that are appropiately sized for the given Feathered Companion. In other words, be sure to offer something like the LaAvian Large Parrot Mix for Macaws since it containes large nuts. Also, feel free to mix different mixes together. I actually prefer to mix multiple LaAvian varieties together along with 5% pellets to create my own mixes. [Portion: 2/3 of a cup for an African Grey sized parrot when fed alone and 1/3 cup when fed with Birdie Bread.
- Optional: A Birdie Bread Treat every other day in combination with the dry feed mix is optional but will create some variety. There are a large amount of birdie birds available over the internet so experiment and have fun. Portion of Birdie Bread: [1/3 of a cup for an African Grey sized parrot.]
If needed, flip-flop the times you feed the foods. So you could feed the birdie bread/seed mix in the morning and the fresh/prepared foods (fruits, vegtables, cooked mix and fruit juice) in the evening. In additon to the two mandatory feedings, about 10% of a Feathered Companion's diet can consist of human prepared foods (the better for a human, the better for the Feathered Companion) so when eating your dinner feel free to offer them some of your food as long as it is not one of the items they cannot eat as denoted above. Also, I feed all my Feathered Companions on a daily basis one of these items as a snack: dry pasta such as spaghetti, "nothing added" popped popcorn, cooked oatmeal with cinnamon and fresh fruit added, and peanut butter sandwiches(made with a very small amount of an all natural, organic peanut butter and a high-quality multi-grain, wheat bread). I alternate through these.
To summarize, a healthy Feathered Comanion's diet consist of the items denoted in the two mandatory feedings but it can be supplemented with human prepared food (not to exceed approximately 10% of their diet intake) and some nutrituos snacks like I listed above.
Please note: Baby Feathered Companions have to be hand-fed. They should only be hand-fed by an bird, hand-feeding expert. Hand-feeding is not a trivial matter and one can easily kill a baby bird during hand feeding so it should only be performed by an expert. This expert will transition them to solid foods when appropiate. Many people use my cooked mix as the first food offered during the weaning process since it is soft and packed with natural vitamins, minerals and protein. Once the baby is completely weaned off hand-feeding formula, they should be started on the diet denoted above.
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