What Do Parrots Eat ?

If you intend to keep parrots as pets, this may be your first question

. Before you check out the pet stores for parrot supplies, here are some useful tips on providing a well-balanced parrot food.

Parrots need healthy, nutritious diet to help them live long and healthy lives. A healthy diet also impacts your parrots' behavior and their response to training. The good news is that preparing the right diet for your pet parrots is not that difficult.

Do not just feed your parrots bird seeds, thinking that they are hardy birds and can live on just that. Yes, parrots such as the Macaw and Cockatoo are hardy birds, but bird seeds do not contain enough vitamin A and calcium which they need. In fact, bird seeds have a high content of fat, which as we know it is not healthy. In any case, bird seeds should just form only 10 percent of your parrots' diet. If you own other species of parrots that are big seed eaters such as budgies and cockatiels, than the bird seeds should form 25 percent of their overall diet.

Another popular choice among parrot owners is pellet food as they have a good source of nutrients. Pellets contain vegetables, grains, fruits, vitamins and minerals, and is a convenient all-in-one parrot food. However, feeding just pellet food everyday may bore your parrots. Pellet food should just make up about 50 to 60 percent of your parrots' daily intake.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are important food elements for your parrots. Depending on the size of your parrots, cut the fruits and vegetables to chewable size for easy consumption. Hanging the fruits on the side of the bird cage is also a good idea as it is easier for the birds to eat them from there than from a plate or bowl. Examples of ideal fruits for parrots are papaya, kiwi, pineapple, mangoes and pomegranates. These are tropical fruits found in their natural habitat, and naturally suit their diet best. Ideal vegetables are carrots, green beans, corn, cauliflower, cucumber and eggplant. To add variety, you may want to include softer fruits such as oranges, bananas, peaches and apples to the diet. Avoid giving them avocado, guacamole, and mushrooms as these are toxic and may harm the birds.

Keep the diet with nature's food and avoid giving your parrots processed foods that we humans eat, such as chocolate, candy and caffeine. Make sure that when children are around the parrots, they do not feed the birds with kid's food such as marshmallows and jellybeans.

The state of your parrots' health has a lot to do with the diet and nutrition they are getting. It is the parrot owner's responsibility to provide a balanced diet to the birds. However, feeding your parrots and watching them enjoy delicious food is fun and satisfying and is one of the reasons why people keep parrots as pets.

by: Azmi Adnan

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