General Diet

Pellet Based Diet

One third to one half of a parrots diet should be made up of good quality commercial pellets. Pellets have been developed to deliver balanced nutrition in every bite and can be made available to your parrot 24/7.

The easiest way to determine a quality pellet is by reading the label. The majority of the nutrients from the pellet diet should be from food sources like alfalfa, kelp, grains, some seed and spirulina. Brands that only contain two or three food sources and quite a few chemical additives shoud be avoided.

Vegetables

Vegetables are the best source of vitamins and minerals. If your parrots diet is made up of vegetables for one third to one half, then you will be providing him/her with many of the necessary vitamins and minerals.

To optimize their vegetable diet the following are good vegetables choices.

Sources of Calcium

Sweet potatoes, carrots, yellow squash, collard or dandelion greens, kale, broccoli, lima beans, navy beans

Vitamins A - K - E

Chard, beets and beet tops, peppers (green or hot)

Other Good Vegetable Choices

Peas, green beans, leaf lettuce, sprouts, celery, zuchini and cucumbers

Fruits

Although fruits are good for our greys, limit fruits to a fairly small portion of the overall diet. Like vegetables, the more deeply coloured fruits have more nutrition. Make sure they do not eat pits or apple seeds as these can be toxic.

Here are some good fruit choice: mango, papaya, kiwi, berries, pomegranates, pineapple, cranberries, cantoloupe (no rind), melons, peaches, nectarines, apricots, bananas, oranges, cherries, pears, apples, grapefruit, tangerines

Sprouted Seeds/Beans

Sprouted seeds/beans will be the freshest food your bird will ever eat and they are loaded with nutrients.

Seeds and Nuts

Seeds: Sunflower Seed Kernels Dried, Safflower Seed Kernels Dried, Millet Raw, Sesame Seeds Whole Dried, Sesame Seed Kernels Dried, pumpkin & Squash Kernels Dried, Pumpkin & Squash Seeds wole Roasted w/o Salt, Oats, Watermelon Seed Kernels Dried, Dill Seed

Nuts: acorns Raw, almonds, brazil, cashews, chestnuts, filberts, macadamias, peanuts raw, pecans, pine, pistachio, walnuts (no salt)

Other Good Stuff

Corn bread, pasta, spaghetti with sauce, pizza (no mushrooms), cooked potatoes, cooked rice, cooked chicken, cereal, small amounts of swiss cheese or yogurt etc.

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