They are one of the favorite birds among lovers of exotic birds, both for their intelligence and for their extreme beauty. Although we may think that they are difficult to care for, nothing is further from the truth.
However, among all your needs, it is crucial to know what parrots eat. Food is precisely the key to both your physical health and a large part of your emotional well-being.
Even though they have been common animals in our homes for decades, there is great popular ignorance about what parrots eat. A priori, we think that everyone eats pipes and that they don’t need more.
However, it is essential to know that bird feeding must respond to the needs of each particular species. And, although we think that all parrots are the same, the reality is quite different. Each species has its own needs depending, even, on its place of origin.
Due to the importance of its health, it is worth finding out in-depth what our animal needs. A way to provide a balanced and complete diet that allows you to live fully.
Why It Is Crucial To Know What Parrots Eat
Making our parrot well-fed is not complicated, but it does require in-depth knowledge of what its diet should be like. Something that we should not overlook since it has a direct impact on our health.
Feeding our animals incorrectly, either by not offering a variety of foods or because they are poor in nutrients, can cause a good number of ailments. Some diseases that we will see, above all, reflected in its beak and its plumage; and that they will force us to take measures such as going to our exotic vet as soon as possible.
But not only a bad diet will affect your body. As we said before, what parrots eat also greatly influences their character and behavior. A well-fed parrot will have a better character, more vitality and will even lengthen its life and allow you to enjoy it. What’s more: a complete diet is key if we consider how to teach a parrot to speak.
Besides this, let’s get one thing straight. As with the rest of the animal species with which we share our lives, a parrots eat diet must be adapted to its age. Feeding an adult parrot as we would feed a baby or vice versa can cause health problems.
And finally, one more detail. In captivity, parrots tend to eat more than they need. As with obese dogs, excess weight in parrots also takes its toll. Therefore, it is essential to control the consumption of nuts that are extremely rich in calories.
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How The Parrots EatDiet Should Be
Although, as we said, it is important to know the specific needs; In general terms, what parrots eat is governed by a well-defined structure. The diet of these birds in captivity emulates what they would eat in their natural state in the tropical areas from which they originate.
For this reason, and far from the prejudice that they only eat pipes, for our bird’s food to be balanced, they will have to contemplate different types of food.
Added, let’s keep something else in mind. Parrots, for the most part, regardless of their size, are omnivorous animals. Although the bulk of their diet is indeed based on nutrients of plant origin, let’s not lose sight of the fact that they also eat insects among other invertebrates. A detail that gives us a clue about an important topic: including protein of animal origin in your diet is not crazy.
Apart from this, let’s see what parrots should eat and in what proportion:
1. The feed, the basis of what parrots eat
They are the basis of feeding this type of bird at home. Parrot feed accounts for 50% of their diet but, despite its composition, it cannot account for its entire diet. This type of preparation has seeds and cereals mainly in addition to other nutrients rich in vitamins and minerals.
In general terms, most parrots choose from the feed what they like, and usually throw away the rest. For this reason, it does not hurt to observe what our animal’s tastes are until we find the most suitable feed for it.
2. Fruit, a fundamental food for your health
In nature and given the habitats from which they originate, parrots eat consume fruit daily. In captivity, this food should not exceed 20% of their total diet. Strawberries, watermelons, apples, peaches, and apricot are some of the fruits that we can contemplate for our diet regularly. Others, such as bananas or melons, should be less frequent, never exceeding three intakes a week.
As important as choosing the fruits that we will give you well and checking that they are not toxic, it is essential to alternate them. Parrots eat best when there is nothing routine in their diet.
3. Vegetables, another essential in your diet
Vitals. They must represent the same percentage as the fruits, and follow the same pattern of alternating them to avoid getting bored. In this category, we can offer green leafy vegetables, spinach, chard, pumpkin, and carrots.
4. Legumes, a small pleasure that they usually love
They are the great unknown when it comes to what parrots eat but, curiously, they find them simply delicious morsels. Cooked chickpeas, lentils, or black beans are ideal for them; but we can also consider another option. Nothing like knowing how to make homemade sprouts of these legumes and offer them to them. You will have a great time!
5. Other foods that we can incorporate
Let’s go with other proposals that are out of the ordinary! And it is that the rice, the fresh cheese, the pasta, or the egg will be snacks that, occasionally, we can include in your diet. And we say occasionally because we must consider them authentic treats for them, and for their health, it is not convenient to abuse them.
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Feeding Tips For Parrots
As important as knowing what parrots eat is taking into account some fundamental tips for their diet and health.
1. Remove fruits and vegetables from his cage every day: being perishable, both types of food can be a source of infection for him
2. Always keep the water in your drinker clean and fresh
3. Before giving him food, check if he can eat it: essential. There are several foods, such as avocado or garlic, that are toxic to parrots. Better to be prudent before administering it
4. Do not abuse the seeds: as much as you like them, they are not recommended. Although it is what they like the most, they are rich in calories
