How To Create a Proper Bird Diet For Your Parrot

Giving your parrot the wrong bird diet can result in the death of your feathered friend. Yes, this is a fact. Feeding your parrot the right bird diet, however, can help ensure health and longevity for your beloved bird. Only in the last few decades has research revealed which foods are deadly to parrots and which are the best choices for them.

The main benefit of making sure your parrots diet contains the right foods is longevity. Just as people can live longer when eating a healthy diet, so can your companion parrot. It was only come to light in recent decades that parrots can live long lives if properly fed a wide variety of foods.

Seven Deadly Foods

While there are many parrot diet choices which humans consume that are healthy for the parrot, there are a few which are absolutely deadly! The "seven deadly parrot diet foods" include: spoiled or moldy foods, raw meat, eggs that haven't been cooked thoroughly, seeds or pits from fruits, avocado, alcohol, and chocolate. There are a few other foods over which there is controversy as to whether they are safe for bird diets or not, but most of those foods are not items parrots relish. Examples of those questionable foods include garlic and onions.

Parrot Diet Items You Should Limit

There are also foods which a parrot may consume which should be limited in quantity. Small amounts will not harm the parrot, yet large amounts can cause serious health problems. You may notice that the foods to limit in a bird diet are those foods that people should limit in their own diets.

Any food which is high in fat must be limited. Wild parrots diets include very little fat. Think of your parrot diet much as you would the diet of a three year old child. A child could have a few potato chips even though they are high in fact, but you would limit the quantity. In a parrot's diet, you could allow a bite or even two from the edge of one single potato chip once in a while. Just do not let it become a habit so that every single day the parrot expects and gets potato chips. The golden adage "everything in moderation" is a good guideline to follow about parrot diet items to limit. Examples of foods in this group include: potato chips, fried foods, buttered vegetables or bread, ice cream, and cake or cookies.

Salt much also be limited in a parrot's diet. Health-conscious humans also tend to limit their own salt intake. Thinking of the size of a parrot's body compared to your own, you can easily see why a tiny quantity of salt goes a long, long way. When preparing family meals, remove some vegetables prior to adding salt; this way your feathered friend can enjoy these healthy foods safely. Items which are too salty for inclusion in the bird diet include: salted chips, nuts with salt, fruits or vegetables prepared with added salt, and some packaged foods such as entrees for the microwave. Also included are cured or aged meats such as bacon or ham, and popcorn if salt or butter has been added.

Your parrot diet choices should also limit foods which are high in sugar. Parrots can easily become little junk food junkies and want to gorge on sweets if permitted. While it is perfectly safe to permit a bird's diet to include a taste -- meaning one bite or two -- of a sweet treat, you must limit how much your parrot consumes to very small amounts. Foods in this category include: candy, sugar-sweetened juices, sweetened soft drinks, many sugary cereals, cakes, cookies, and ice cream.

Good Foods for Parrots' Diets

Many foods do not have to be restricted in your bird diet at all. In fact, everything that is not listed as diet choices to limit are good choices for your bird diet. The more different foods a parrot eats the healthier and happier it will be. The longer the companion parrot will live in most cases as well.

Some of the good foods for parrots' diets that are really great for parrots are also the foods which are great for health-conscious humans. Vegetables, either raw or lightly cooked are healthy choices. Bits of pasta, cheese, rice, mashed potatoes or boiled potatoes, well-cooked eggs, and bits of well-done meats, poultry, or fish add variety to a bird diet. In fact, many parrots love to chew on a bone from cooked meat and even dig the marrow from the inside of the bone. Let your parrot's diet include lots of healthy foods.

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About the author: Mississippi 'Bird Lady' finally reveals her proven bird diet, biting and feather plucking secrets to easily get a happy, sociable and healthy parrot in your home.
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