Can I Use Garden Pet And Livestock On A Cockatoo

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The best foods for your pet parrot to eat are fresh vegetables, fruit and pellets or seeds.

In the wild, parrot's diet can vary considerably and they like to eat fruit and fruit seeds, nuts, flowers, and corn where they can find it.

Your domesticated parrot is no different, with her diet needing to be varied.

parrots_eating Parrots enjoying their food

Parrot food list

Your parrot can eat the following fruit:

Apples
Bananas
Citrus fruits
Grapes
Mango
Papaya
Passion fruit
Pomegranate
Peaches

Your parrot can eat the following vegetables:

Asparagus
Beets
Bell peppers
Broccoli
Mushrooms
Butternut
Carrots
Collard greens
Corn-on-the-cob
Courgettes
Hot peppers
Mustard greens
Spinach
Tomatoes
Leeks
Winter squashes
Dandelion greens
Kale
Okra
Sweet potatoes
Parsley
Pumpkins

Any fruit and vegetable can be tried. Just avoid a lot of mashes or stewed fruit because of fat and sugar.

Giving parrots a small amount of animal protein is generally accepted. Some vets will forbid eggs; others won't.

I've fed chicken bones for calcium to my Grey's for almost 20 years. And in persuading my Blue and Gold young Macaw to come to my hand, a chicken bone provided the best lure.

Fruit and vegetables are essential (and not cheap!)

The percentage you give to your bird will depend on the species. Debate about whether vegetables are much better than fruits because of fruit's high sugar content is ongoing.

I ensure that at least 40% of the diet is composed of fresh ingredients. I try for organic where possible

Casper Grey and Artha Grey were hand reared by their breeder, then weaned onto seed mixture with fruits and vegetables

My vet recommended pellets. His opinion was that non-professional caregivers couldn't easily make up a good diet with every vitamin and mineral added. I could never persuade them to switch to pellets. They're healthy.

I buy Tidymix. It is costly but so obviously clean. Then I add chopped fruits and vegetables. I sprout legumes and seeds on a three-day rota and everyone gets a portion each day.

You can buy Tidymix from Northern Parrots.

Fruits and vegetables provide an extensive array of vitamins and minerals. Additionally, they are low in fats. Always wash all the produce you feed your bird thoroughly, and buy organic produce whenever possible.

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Wild and foraged foods for your parrot

These are becoming more popular as people learn what wild birds consume. Green fresh garden produce and certain weeds are closer to a wild diet.

Wild foods your parrot can eat:

Chickweed
Dandelions
Sow thistle
Backberries
Sloes
Hawthorn berries
Plantain
Fat hen plant
Cotoneaster berries and so on.....

In Loro Parc the world's finest, largest parrot collection, beds are laid down to dandelions. Every part of that coloured weed is beneficial.

And add fresh flowers, too. One of our prettiest parrot sights was Perdy cockatoo working her way through a wreath of orange blossom.

If you gather from an unknown source, give a quick wash in a weak antiseptic solution in case of pollutants. No cost involved and healthy time in the open air.

I also grow sunflowers and sweet corn for the parrots. Lists of poisonous flowers and trees are available on the internet.

artha_the_african_grey_parrot_eating_her_food Artha the African Grey parrot eating her food.

Parrots favourite food

Parrots often love nuts, and as such they make a great treat for training.

You may decline to feed monkey nuts because of the risk of Aspergillosis. (A lung disease with a poor prognosis that is caught from mould). I buy human grade peanuts and take that risk.

My aviary houses a small collection of parakeets and rescue parrots who live out in an East Anglian winter. I increase sunflower and monkey nuts in cold weather and have never lost a bird in zero temperatures.

Like legumes, nuts are loaded with protein, but they are also high in fat. Feed your bird all kinds of unsalted nuts, but don't feed more than a few a day depending on activity.

Recommendations would be one or two nuts a day for most species. More of course for Macaws who have a higher fat requirement.

What nuts can parrots eat?

Parrots can eat: Almonds; cashews; macadamias; pecans; walnuts; brazil nuts; hazelnuts; shelled peanuts; pistachios.

You can also feed your bird peanut butter, as long as you use an unsalted variety. My Artha Grey enjoys peanut butter on toast as a breakfast treat.

What parrots can't eat

What you must avoid is salty, fatty sugary, fried human foods, tea, coffee, alcohol.

That said I know of many pet parrots (mine included) who adore the occasional slice of prawn cracker or piece of toast or other 'forbidden' foods.

Moderation is the key word. Since the birds sometimes join us for dinner, we never serve unsuitable food.

Parrots and poisonous plants

Very few plants are poisonous. Two that come to mind are laburnum and yew. I'm not sure if healthy birds with a good environment will even touch poisonous food.

Commercial seed mixes for parrots

Seed mixes aren't a complete diet for parrots, even though they look and smell more appetising than brown nuggets. Bear in mind that the cheaper mixes are dusty and too bulked up with sunflower seeds.

Sunflower seeds (their fat content is high) are NOT disastrous for parrots unless they are fed exclusively. I've had the sad experience of two rescue birds dying at 17 and 25, both African Greys. The autopsies showed arteries clogged by an exclusive diet of sunflower. In moderation - say a dozen a day - they won't do any harm.

Some seed mixes now contain a proportion of pellets. Some varieties of seed mixes like pellet manufacturers now offer mixes for specific breeds.

Smaller birds like canaries, finches and budgerigars will naturally consume small seeds or pellets whichever you choose.

You can buy parrot seed from Northern Parrot here.

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Alternatively you can call our team on 0345 982 5505

Pellets and your parrot

They have been around for 30 years and the present ones are greatly improved on the earlier ones.

Most manufacturers now produce pellets for different species. Many pellet diets have been developed by avian experts. It seems a sensible choice for those of us who are busy out at work.

A word of caution here - you get what you pay for. Cheaper brands contain too much fillers, colourings and chemicals that aren't the best.

I've tried different brands but never managed to get my fussy birds to accept them willingly.

Even Harrisons Organic with its superb reputation is tossed to the floor by my Greys. Baby birds who are weaned onto pellets appear to accept them more easily.

Changing your parrot from seeds to pellets

If you and your vet decide pellets are the way forward, birds can be taught to transition from seeds to pellets over a few weeks. Lafaber which are most costly seem to be the most liked natural foods.

african_grey_playing_on_kitchen_scales Artha the African Grey parrot playing on kitchen scales.

Supplements and your parrot

Supplements of vitamins, probiotics, calcium and other minerals are a consideration. However if feeding a good proportion of pellets you shouldn't need them.

With non-pelleted diets, opinions are divided. Many breeders add calcium especially for laying hens. My vet believes a healthy diet containing plenty of green stuff obviates the need for supplements.

Sprouts and beans for your parrot

Germinating and sprouting seeds and selected beans like chick peas and mung beans release valuable nutrients.

Sprouting seeds can be fed on their own or as a part of diets like Shauna's mash or the circus diet. Sprouting turns a dry seed into a high quality growing vegetable containing fat as energy source. All seeds benefit from sprouting.

The quality of the seeds you use can be determined by the percentage that sprouts. Expect at least 90% to sprout within 3–5 days. Once you get into the habit of sprouting, it's not that much of a chore. There are commercial sprout mixes. Tidymix do a good one as do Haiths.

You can buy Tidymix parrot seed from Northern Parrot.

Two top breeders in Suffolk Michael Hurley and Barrett Watson use sprouts - beans and legumes as a major diet component and their breeding results are superb.

What do parrots drink?

Wild birds drink water from a variety of sources.

In captivity we need to change water at least once, sometimes twice a day. Some carers use spring water; others swear by addition of a few drips of cider vinegar. That's my choice also.

Home prepared and frozen diets

The Circus Diet and your parrot

They are an interesting development. Steve Hartman's Circus Diet is well worth looking at and perhaps trying.

As a breeder in USA of over 4000 birds in 20 years, Hartman has shared his expertise on his website The Parrot University

Steve believes in pea-sized pieces making it impossible for a bird to avoid any food so their brain is quickly programmed to eat every item. Steve writes: "Once a birds' subconscious and conscious brain is programmed to eat a large variety of foods, it's much easier to change their diet."

Portion sizes for your parrot

Steve Hartman recommends the following daily portion sizes: