How to Feed a Parrot

Polly needs more than just crackers to meet her nutritional requirements. Be creative in the menu you offer and follow these basic rules.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Bird Food/water Bowls
• Parrot Food
• Parrot Treat

1. Feed your parrot a balanced diet of fruit, vegetables, cooked meats and grains. Go ahead and share whatever healthful food you're eating with your parrot.

2. Determine the proper amount by feeding your parrot small portions of several foods. If there's food left over, decrease the amount the next time. Continue doing so until your parrot eats all of the food. Remember this portion size.

3. Offer your parrot a variety of small servings of different foods, not a lot of one food.

4. Keep your parrot's food fresh, as bacteria and mold can grow on food left in the cage and make her sick.

5. Give your parrot fresh water daily.

6. Feed your parrot treats like seeds and nuts sparingly since these foods have few nutrients for parrots.

7. Avoid chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, kidney beans, lima beans and avocados. These foods are dangerous for parrots.

Tips & Warnings

• Wash the food and water bowls twice a day.
• Serving your parrot a diet high in fat, calories or cholesterol is dangerous.
• Overfeeding can make your parrot ill.
• Underfeeding can starve your parrot. If your parrot loses weight, she's being underfed.
• Parrots like to mix their food with their water. Be sure to clean all food out of the water bowl.

[capslock]

on 8/24/2009 - NO apple seeds, sugary/salty/fattening 'greasy' foods, no red meat.

-ok occasional foods - whole wheat pasta, hard boiled egg, small bits of cooked chicken.

-Broccoli, sweet potato (cooked) and red peppers are very good treats to feed. My parrots love apples, carrot / broccoli chunks, celery, berries, lots of good stuff. When in doubt, leave it out! They can't have unhealthy food or they will get sick a lot faster than a person would from eating a burger or fries. Birds can't eat that kind of junk . :o

[kayalvizhi]

on 12/15/2008 I don't know how to feed?

[gpcs]

on 1/5/2008 How to See Wild Parrots in the US of A by George Sommers will let you in on how to se these intelligent birds flying free - and perhaps closer by than you'd think!
-George

[hhhh]

on 2/20/2007 Hi. I reallly need help on trying to learn to train my parrot to talk and stop bitting me. Please email me at [e-mail].

on 2/25/2006 Grit is bad for parrots and parakeets! Birds, like chickens, need grit because they eat seeds whole, but parrots hull their seeds so they don't need grit. Grit hurts their stomachs and can make them sick if they eat a lot.