There's much to say about feeding your bird a healthy diet!
Pellets vs. Seeds
Parrots don't eat much seed in the wild, and certainly not the types of seeds one finds in commercial parrot mix. They eat a wide variety of foods that you can't duplicate unless you import from a birds native habitats. Parrots in the wild eat plants, tubers, fruits, grains, nuts, flowers, seed, insects, and sometimes carrion.
Seed diets are deficient in vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. In the wild parrots can compensate for deficiencies by eating other things. In captivity, they are dependent on what you give them. If that is mostly seed then they have no way to make for what the seeds lack; particularly, an all seed diet lacks calcium which is very important for parrots to maintain their delicate bones. Seeds also lack complete proteins, which they need in order to replace and grow feathers with are almost 98% protein.
In the wild, parrots fly miles and miles a day in search of food and need a high-energy diet. Our 'perch potatoes' will tend to be overweight and have associated health problems if fed the same type of high-fat diets that they eat in the wild. Research shows that a parrot's diet should be about 12-15% fat. Most seed mixes are much higher in fat and gets worse by the time the pick out and eaten their high-fat favorites; sunflower and safflower seeds.
The Verdict:
Your parrot's diet should consist of:
- A pellet base (60-70%)
- Vegetables, grains, legumes, fruits, other healthy table foods (20-30%)
- And SOME seed (Keep in mind that seeds are the equivalent to human junk food!)
The greater the variety of foods you offer your parrot means it will be more likely to meet his or her nutritional needs.
Food for Thought
Just like any living being, there are food items that birds can and can not have. Here we detail safe and unsafe food items for your parrot.
To the right is a list of toxic foods you should not let your parrot have. Below is a list of vegetables, fruits, flowers, herbs, nuts and seeds that you may offer your bird. At the bottom of the page, there are helpful PDFs that you may print out for future reference! These include the toxic foods and why you should not offer them to your bird.
PDFs offered below includes a table with the nutrients that healthy foods offer for your companion parrot, recipes, sprouting information, and how to convert your bird's diet.
Of course there are things that are not listed here. If you have questions about a food item not listed here, be sure to research before you offer your pet something that could be harmful.
*Comprehensive lists of safe and non-safe foods curated by Dr. Stephanie Lamb.
Toxic Foods:
Listed here are items you should NEVER give to your parrot:
- Alcohol
- Apple Seeds
- Apricot Pits (Any type of pit and delete specifics to shorten list?)
- Asparagus
- Foods high in fat, sugar, & salt
- Avocado (Entire plant and fruit)
- Beans (any dried soup type)
- Butter
- Caffeine
- Carbonated Beverages
- Cherry Pits
- Chocolate
- Dried Fruit
- Egg Plant
- Garlic
- Milk (dairy products)
- Mushrooms
- Nectarine Pits
- Onions (raw or cooked)
- Olives
- Peanuts
- Peach, Pear, or Plum Pits
- Raw Honey
- Rhubarb
- Tomato
- Tobacco (cigarets)
Safe Vegetables
Safe Vegetables
Safe Vegetables
*Ensure that veggies are always thoroughly washed and preferably organic.
- Artichoke
- Bell Peppers
- Bok Choy (Pak Choi)
- Broccoli
- Brussels Sprouts
- Cabbage: white and red
- Carrots
- Cauliflower
- Celery Stalks: safe, but not recommended. It's long, stringy fiber. If not chewed, can clog a bird's digestive system. (Celery leaves preferred)
- Chinese Cabbage
- Corn: raw or steamed
- Cucumber
- Chilli Pepper
- Endive
- Fennel
- Green Beans: raw, not dried
- Hot Peppers
- Iceberg Lettuce: iffy. safe, but a filler food. Not recommended as it offers little for the bird. Romaine or butter lettuces are better.
- Kale
- Parsnip
- Peas
- Potato: safe when cooked, not recommended. (Instead, offer sweet potato)
- Pumpkin: including seeds
- Radish
- Radicchio
- Red Beet: raw
- Red Leaf Lettuces
- Rocket
- Romaine Lettuce
- Rutabagas
- Spinach
- Sprouts
- Squash: all types. Raw or steamed
- Swede: raw or steamed.
- Sweet potato: raw or steamed, preferably lightly steamed. Cooking makes the bio-accessibility of nutrients more useable.
- Swiss Chard
- Turnips
- Watercress
- Yams
- Yellow Beets
- Yellow Squash
- Yucca Root
- Zucchini
Safe Fruits
Safe Vegetables
Safe Vegetables
*Ensure that veggies are always thoroughly washed and preferably organic.
- Apple: remove seeds
- Apricot: remove pit
- Banana
- Blackberry
- Blueberry
- Blood Orange
- Cantaloupe: seeds are safe and nutritious.
- Cherry: remove pit
- Cranberry
- Dried Dates
- Elderberry
- Figs: raw
- Gooseberries
- Grape: sparingly as these are high in fatty sugar.
- Guava
- Hawthorn Berries: remove seeds
- Honeydew Melon
- Kiwi: peeled
- Lychee (Litchi)
- Mandarin: peeled
- Mango: remove pit
- Melon: seeds are safe
- Nectarine: remove pit
- Orange: peeled. Acidic, feed infrequently
- Papaya: seeds are safe
- Passion Fruit: feed only the inside seeds
- Peach: remove pit
- Pear: remove seeds
- Pomelo
- Pineapple: peeled. Acidic, feed infrequently
- Plum: remove pit
- Pomegranate: remove outside skin
- Quince
- Raspberry
- Red Currants
- Strawberry
- Tangerine
- Yellow Plum: remove pit
Safe Fresh Flowers
Safe Fresh Herbs & Spices
Safe Fresh Herbs & Spices
*Ensure that food items are always thoroughly washed and preferably organic.
- Bougainvillea
- Calendula
- Chrysanthemum
- Echinacea
- Hibiscus
- Jasmine: *false jasmine (AKA Yellow Jasmine/Carolina Jasmine) is different and not safe
- Nasturtium
- Pansy
- Red Clover
- Rosehips
- Roses
Safe Fresh Herbs & Spices
Safe Fresh Herbs & Spices
Safe Fresh Herbs & Spices
*Ensure that food items are always thoroughly washed and preferably organic.
- Alfalfa
- Anise: leaves and seeds
- Barberry Root
- Burdock Root
- Basil
- Bay Leaves
- Celery Root
- Ceylon Cinnamon Sticks
- Chamomile
- Chicory
- Cloves
- Coriander (Cilantro)
- Dandelion
- Dill
- Ginger Root
- Horseradish
- Lemon Grass
- Lemon Balm
- Marjoram
- Mint
- Nettle
- Oregano
- Parsley
- Raspberry Leaves
- Red Clover
- Rosemary
- Sage
- St. John's Wort
- Star Anise Seeds (Pod)
- Thai Basil
- Thyme
- Turmeric Root
Safe Nuts & Seeds
Safe Fresh Herbs & Spices
Safe Nuts & Seeds
*Ensure that food items are always thoroughly washed and preferably organic.
- Almonds
- Brazil Nuts
- Cashews
- Hazelnuts
- Macadamia Nuts
- Pecan Nuts
- Pine Nuts
- Pistachios
- Walnuts: crack & check for mold
- Anise Seeds
- Cantaloupe Seeds
- Cardamom Seeds w/ Pods
- Caraway Seeds
- Chia Seeds
- Coriander Seeds
- Cumin Seeds
- Fennel Seeds
- Grape Seeds
- Melon Seeds
- Milk Thistle Seeds
- Papaya Seeds
- Passion Seeds
- Pomegranate Seeds
- Poppy Seeds
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Pepper Seeds
- Sesame Seeds
- Squash Seeds
More Info!
Diet Conversion
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