Welcome to the Best Pet Bird Food!
Congratulations on your decision to share your life and home with a pet bird or birds! Birds are a great example of God’s handy-work!
When living in the wild, these birds would be eating a variety of foods (insects, leaves, blossoms, fruits, flowers, grasses, nuts, seeds) to get the nutrition needed for their specific species. Each pet bird species has slightly different nutritional requirements. You will need to feed your pet parrot a variety of foods. Your next step should be to learn about the “species-specific” feeding habits and nutritional requirements of the pet bird species of your interest.
The best resource to learn about the feeding habits and nutritional requirements of your pet bird species will be an experienced avian veterinarian. Your avian veterinarian may even recommend the best parrot food for your pet bird. You can find information about the best pet bird food online. The best pet bird food online can be found by talking with another pet bird owner, forums, message boards, books, articles, and websites.
However, your pet parrot will likely have something to say about what they think is the best parrot food. Remember that seeds, millet, and people food are like candy to your pet bird. A pet bird will “load-up” on the candy, if given the opportunity. A pet parrot can be stubborn at times. And, getting them to eat the best parrot food can sometimes be a bit of a challenge.
Learning what the best parrot food for your pet parrot is, will only be part of what you need to know to be a good pet bird owner. Birds in the wild, spend a great deal of time foraging and working for their food. There is no exercise or activity for your pet bird when you just give them a bowl of the best pet bird food. So, you should learn about the foraging habits of your particular pet bird species.
It will be great as a new pet bird owner, to learn what the foraging habits of your pet bird species are in the wild. Duplicating these feeding/foraging habits and nutritional requirements as much as possible will result in having a pet parrot that is happy, healthy, and a very pretty pet bird.
Foraging is defined as “searching for wild food resources. It affects an animal’s fitness because it plays an important role in an animal’s ability to survive and reproduce. Foraging theory is a branch of behavioral ecology that studies the foraging behavior of animals in response to the environment where the animal lives.”
There are a couple of things mentioned in this foraging definition, that are important to a new pet bird owner. They are:
- Foraging is searching and working for food sources.
- Foraging behavior is a response to the environment that a bird lives in. Meaning that, the pet parrot owner is responsible for providing an environment that allows for foraging behaviors.
- Foraging behavior is essential to a parrot being physically fit enough to reproduce and survive.
- Foraging enhances your pet parrot’s well being.
One thing is for sure! Feed your companion parrot the best pet bird food containing the nutrients required by their species. And, make them work or forage for their food. This will bring you one step closer to being a good, responsible pet parrot owner.
The best pet bird food will help your companion parrot have prettier feathers, better behavior, be healthier, happier, and live longer. Your pet parrot will love you for it!
– Pet Bird Dangers – DO NOT Feed Your Pet Bird Or Expose To These Items! If ingested, contact an avian veterinarian.
- Alcohol, Avocado, Butter, Caffeine, Chicken Bones, Chocolate, Fat, Gravy, Rhubarb, Salt, Salad Dressing, Sugar (There is controversy about feeding meat and bones. Consult an avian veterinarian.) Electric Cords, Windows, Sliding Glass Doors, Fumes from Aerosol, Solvents, and Burning Teflon.
– Pet Bird Dangers (Plants) – DO NOT Let Your Pet Bird Eat These Plants! If ingested, contact an avian veterinarian.
- Avocado, Black Locust, Blue or Green Algae, Calla Lily, Castor Bean, Christmas Cherries, Coffee Bean, Diffenbachai, Eggplant, Elephant’s Ear, Ergot, Foxglove, Jerusalem Cherry, Jimsonweed, Lily of the Valley, Locoweed, Milk Weed, Mistletoe, Nightshade, Oak, Oleander, Philodendron, Poinsettia, Poke Weed, Potatoes, Rhododendron, Tobacco, Tomato, Virginia Creeper, Yew
– Pet Bird Food List – These list are NOT ALL INCLUSIVE. They are only my personal experience.
- 50-65% Pelleted Bird Diets – A man made companion parrot food that has all the vitamins and minerals needed by your pet bird. Pelleted Bird Diets are baked with grains, sprouted seeds, vitamins, minerals, proteins, vegetables, fruits, specific to your pet parrot species.
- 15-20% Pet Bird Seeds – This pet bird food is a variety of fresh seeds. The size and type provided should accommodate the bird size and species.
- 15-20% Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts, and Other Snacks – Vegetables should be majority of this group. Remove pits, area surrounding pits, and seeds from fruits. Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly. Snacks can be store bought. Just read the label. Other snacks should consist of food that you eat.
- ABSOLUTELY NO – Alcohol, Avocado, Caffeine, Chocolate, Rhubarb, Salt, Sugar, Fat, or chicken bones) These can be deadly!
These should NEVER be offered as pet bird food. There is great controversy about feeding pet birds meat and bones. Consult an avian veterinarian. - 5-8% Dairy – Cheese, Eggs including shell, Yogurt, Cottage Cheese.
- 1-2% Calcium, Vitamins, Mineral Supplements, Grit and Cuttlebone(for smaller birds).
– Pet Bird Food List – Categories –
– Pet Bird Food List (Dairy) – In Small Amounts Only! Remove after 2 hours.
- Cheese, Cottage Cheese, Eggs, Yogurt
– Pet Bird Food List (Fruits) – Wash Thoroughly! Remove Pits, area around Pit, and Seeds. Remove after 10 hours.
- Apples, Apricots, Bananas, Berries, Cantaloupe(peeled), Cherries, Coconuts, Cranberries, Dates, Figs, Grapes, Grapefruit, Kiwi, Lemons, Mango, Melons, Nectarines, Oranges, Papaya, Peaches, Pears, Pineapple, Plums, Pomegranate, Raisins, Tangerines
– Pet Bird Food List (Nuts) – UNSALTED!
- Almonds, Brazil, Cashews, Filberts, Hazel, Macadamia, Peanuts, Pecans, Pine, Pistachios, Walnuts
– Pet Bird Food List (Pelleted Bird Diets) – Size and Formula to be Species Specific!
- Species-specific pelleted bird diets are formulated for specific bird species nutritional requirements. The pellet pieces are available in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors to suit your pet bird. These pelleted bird diets are baked with a healthy blend of vitamins, minerals, proteins, vegetables, fruits, seeds, and grains specific to your pet parrot species. Pelleted bird diets are healthier for your bird. This pet bird food easier to manage and cleaner for the pet bird owner to feed. Pellets should be the staple of your pet parrot diet.
– Pet Bird Food List (Seeds) – Fresh, Sprouted, NO Artificial Colors, Seeds are “Candy” to many birds!
- Seeds are deficient in many of the vitamins, minerals, and amino acids needed for your pet parrots health an well being. However, “pelleted bird food” science is really new. There are still a great deal of “unknowns”. The study of pet parrot species-specific nutrition requirements are just beginning. If your pet parrot only eats pellets, they may be missing out on nutrients not provided by pellets. The best pet bird Food should be accompanied by seed for a treat.
– Pet Bird Food List (Snacks) – NO Sugar, Salt or Fat!
- Bagels, Cook-able Diets, Cooked Oatmeal, Cream of Wheat, Eggs, Whole Grain Bread, Whole Wheat Crackers, Whole Wheat Bread, Whole Grain Pasta, Rice Cakes, Toast, Tortilla/Taco shells
– Pet Bird Food List (Vegetables) – Wash Thoroughly! Fresh or Frozen, Cooked and Raw, DO NOT Microwave! Remove after 10 hours.
- Asparagus, Beans, Beets, Bell Peppers, Blackberries, Blueberries, Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots, Celery, Cauliflower, Chicory, Collards, Corn, Cucumber, Dandelion, Kale, Legumes, Mustard Greens, Lettuce, Okra, Peas, Peppers, Potatoes, Pumpkin, Radishes, Soybeans, Spinach, Sprouts, Squash, Sweet Potatoes, Tofu, Tomatoes, Turnips, Zucchini
– Pet Bird Food List (Vitamins and Minerals) – To Be Species Specific. Especially on Strictly Seed Diets! For pet birds on Seed Diets, Recuperating, egg laying, or Molting. DO NOT “Over-Supplement” Your Pet Bird!
- Palm Oil
Now that you have an idea of what pet parrot food you can feed your pet bird, You can figure out what the best pet bird food is.
Whether it’s small pet birds, a medium pet parrot, or a large pet parrot. There are a few things to know about up front:
- It will likely take time, money, effort, patience, and persistence to get you parrot to eat the best parrot food online. That being understood, parrots can be stubborn at times. Don’t give up!
- Buying bulk bird food online, from a parrot food supplier may be cheaper. But, pet bird food online is not always fresher!
- In addition to the best pet bird food, your pet parrot will need the best pet bird cage for their species. The best pet bird toys will be required. And the owner will want the best pet bird cage accessories for ease of care.
- Feeding you pet bird a mostly pelleted diet will be healthier for your pet bird, and “cleaner” for the owner.
- Always and forever, remember that Slow, Easy, Quiet, Respectful, and Persistent will win “the pet bird owner race”.
- Always and forever, keep a clean, fresh water supply available to your pet parrot. Birds can dehydrate in 1 or 2 days. They will “mask” any signs of distress or illness. Sick and injured birds are preyed upon more heavily in the wild.
- Always and forever, monitor your pet birds food and water intake. Changes in their food and water intake an be a sign of illness or distress.
- It is the pet parrot owner’s responsibility to provide an environment to their pet bird that is clean, safe, and secure. That has ample space, and is intellectually challenging.
- Your bird is very intelligent! They will require the best pet bird toys, Your Attention, Talking, Playing, Interaction, Mental Stimulation, and Exercise. Your pet parrot will need a lot of interesting activity.
- Birds are generally very loud and messy.
- Certain birds cannot be kept together! Special care must be taken when introducing a new bird to other birds.
- Pet bird owners encounter some common problems with feeding their pet parrot the best pet bird food.
– Pet Bird Care Conversion Tips – My Bird Won’t Eat! –
- Try eating with your pet bird. They want to eat when their flock eats.
- Make sure that the bird is comfortable or secure enough to eat. (Movement or Noise Around Cage)
- Is your pet bird comfortable when reaching their food and water?
- Introduce a different size, shape, or colored food.
- Use a different shape, color, or size bowl.(Even Outside of the Cage)
- Change the feeding location.(Change bowl location, High, Low, On Cage Floor, Outside)
- Is there enough light?
- Soak or warm their food in something tasty. DO NOT use a microwave!
- Slowly adjust the seed/pellet ratio to favor pellets.
- Make food available ONLY at certain times.
- Be sure that you’re giving your pet bird ample opportunity to FORAGE.
- If you are fighting seed moths, freeze your bird for 24 hours. Allow it to warm before feeding.
- Small birds need a small amount of grit or cuttlebone.
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Many Thanks and Credit to Rebecca Hess at Rebecca Hess Photography for All of Our Website Pictures!
Best Pet Bird Supplies