If a young child was placed in front of a table full of various kinds of food - ranging from artificial highly coloured bakeries, chips, ice cream, pizza and fast food to healthy vegetables from every colour group, fruits, various vegetable nut or seed proteins, the expectation would be that the child would naturally home in on the high fat, high sugar options and the brightly coloured foods containing artificial additives and colorants. The end result? Obesity, fatty liver syndrome, heart disease, higher risk of various cancers, vitamin deficiency, irritability, diabetes, and ultimately a shortened life span. Sadly, parrots are no different.
There is so much choice of commercially prepared parrot food out there. However, the research indicates that parrots should be offered 80% fresh food to 20% seed or nut based food (as in the commercial bagged feeds). Most parrots are at risk of Vit A/D and calcium deficiencies due to poor diets and unhealthy lifestyles. If given a choice of a muesli type feed, a lot of parrots would naturally choose the sunflower seeds, the peanuts and the grain in these commercially prepared foods. Parrots are not physiologically designed to cope with such high fat and carbohydrate based diets and consequently end up with numerous health issues. Pelleted feeds avoid the problem of selective eating and have well balanced nutrients. Again, there is a wide range of varying qualities.
The adage: ‘you are what you eat’ applies to all creatures. If given good quality natural foods that have a well balanced mix of proteins, vitamins and minerals, with the correct proportion of fats and carbs, then the parrots have the best chance of optimal physiological health.
Our parrots are offered approx 60 different ingredients daily, such as:
*Mash: Grapes, Orange, Apple, Kiwi, Blueberries, Banana, Cavolo Nero, Spinach, Sliced greens, Broccoli, Flax seed, Chick peas, Walnuts, Almonds, Hazelnuts, Sultanas, Lentils, Butternut squash, Sweet potato, Mixed veg (carrots, peas, cauliflower, broccoli), Baby sweetcorn, sunflower hearts, millet seed
*Harrison’s Coarse & Fine Organic Pellets
*Walnut or Banana bedtime treats.
They are also offered:
*Millet sprays
*Seasonal seeded grasses, Safe flowers, Willow