What Do Parrots Eat? Be Careful To Feed!
Most Parrot owners undergo thinking about what do parrots eat and what can be the best food they can provide for them. If you are among them then I must tell you are not alone here.
Being parrot lovers, we also hustle to provide the best food for our parrots. Every parrot is different so is their food and that can make you baffled enough. But hold on, you need not worry here.
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Foods To Avoid While Feeding Parrots!
I have been keeping our parrots for some years now and we can help you to understand what can be the best food you can feed your parrots. Birds are different from other animals and they are considered vulnerable creatures when it comes to food. You need to be careful before feeding them as you can not hand them anything or everything.
However, it is a great feeling watching your parrot eating and growing like a healthy baby. In this article, I will talk about what kind of food you can provide to your parrots and what needs to be avoided.
Can Parrots Eat Human Food?
If you are a parrot owner, you must have stored the birds’ food for your parrots but do you want to try out something different for them, then this section will be helpful for you. Sometimes you might be running out of food and then wondering what can you prepare for them. So, here I am with a detailed discussion of what kind of human food you can serve them. The digestive system of a parrot is different from ours so, you can not provide anything to them rather you need to understand what exactly can help them out. Not every food they can chew and digest so you can provide foods in churned form.
This still can be a little confusing so here I am with a pellucid depiction of them. If we talk about french fries, it will be perfect for your tastebuds but is it the same for your parrot? Probably not because your feathered buddy can not eat them. On the other hand, they are full of oil and salt they must be avoided. Now let’s talk about some common foods you can easily provide if you are running out of his food.
Does Human Food Affect them?
If you are providing human food without the proper ratio, it might affect your parrot. You can provide human food to your parrot but you need to understand what are you providing to him. The food should be less salty and oily. Cooked food can be given to them as well but make sure those are broken into small chunks.
When we are talking about human food, how can we forget about meat? If you are keeping a furry parrot, meat must be in your daily routine. But does it suitable for a bird? Well, meat is a staple source of protein and you can provide a very small amount of it to your buddy. You can cook meat without oil and salt.
Is Human Food safe For parrots?
There are some foods that are safe for parrots like bread, rice, or pumpkin seeds. But humans consume some foods which can be intoxicated. You can not feed a small piece of chocolate or onions to your parrot. They can affect their digestive system. However, bread and biscuits can be served to them but make sure they are fresh. You just need to feed them a little amount of it. Your birdy will love to taste peanut butter as well so, feed it a little amount of peanut butter sometimes but try to avoid salty butter.
Parrots are happy with seeds and pellet diet but if you want to experiment with their taste buds, you can hand them other foods. Fresh vegetables and fruits are the first options you can try but avoid giving them garlic, onions, and gingers. Nuts can be the better option as they are full of healthy fat and protein. Cooked peas, Lentils, and chickpeas can add variety to their diets.
Parrots Food List
Here I will provide a list of the foods you can provide to your parrot. These are considered the commanding energy sources of your buddy.
- Vegetables: In vegetables, you can provide sweet potatoes, tomatoes, Broccoli, asparagus, Carrots, etc.
- Fruits: Among fruit items, apples, and bananas, guavas are the best options. However, feel free to provide Papayas, berries, and mangoes.
- Nut: Any kind of nuts is very nutritious to them and you can feed them Almonds, Cashews, and macadamia nuts. As you love to have coffee with hazelnuts sometime, you can try out hazelnuts for your parrots too.
Foods You Must Avoid While Feeding Parrots:
It is always better to take precautions than cure. Isn’t it? This rule has to be followed here as well. There are some foods you must avoid for your parrots. The first name will be chocolate as it contains methylxanthines and caffeine which have immense power to make your parrot sick. It can lead to vomiting and diarrhea to them.
Caffeine is very toxic to them and you should avoid feeding any kind of food that contains caffeine. It increases the heart rate of the birds and it affects their egg production. As a human, we try out several herbs like Basil, ginger Gingko, nutmeg, etc but studies have found no helping agents in them for birds. Instead, it can be said that those herbs and spices can cause liver failure in your birds.
We all know that fruits are very safe for them but not every fruit can save them. Fruits with cyanogenic glycosides can harm their digestive system, however, you can easily feed them papaya and apples which are very safe for them. You must avoid Avocado from your feathered buddy.
Can Parrots Drink Milk?
After all kinds of food topics, you must be wondering about the milk intake of parrots. Does milk help them to stay healthy just like human beings? Milk is the essential food for a human and it is provided to babies mostly so milk is not considered a toxic food. However, you should think before providing milk to your parrot as they are lactose intolerant.
As we have mentioned that birds are intolerant to lactose so they can have complications after drinking it. It can lead to diarrhea to them and it is enough to make your friend sick.
If you are still seeking this answer then let us tell you that milk is not very healthy for your parrot. Chocolate milk can be your favorite but it can make your parrot sick. However, soy milk or coconut milk has fewer lactic agents so you can choose them but I would suggest avoiding any kind of milk.
Final Thoughts
Being a parrot owner is just not an easy task as they need you just like a baby needs his mother. Owning a parrot is more like parenting as you need to take care of each and everything. Food is the most important part of them so you need to understand what is suitable for your parrot. You can experiment with a different kind of food for your parrot but I would recommend doing it consciously.
However, we have mentioned almost every type of food that will answer your question of what do parrots eat. I hope this will help you to choose foods for your feathered buddy.
