Majick Feathers

DIET – The Other 4 Letter Word

Diet the other four letter word.
A parrots diet is just as important as a humans diet and there is just as many ideas and theories out there on what is good or not good for our feathered friends so let's look at some basics.
A suitable diet will contain good nutrients and minimise excess fat and sugars. Unlike their wild brothers and sisters our pet parrots do not get the same amount of exercise so limiting excessive fats and sugars is important for weight control, disease control and behavior. 
Imagine feeding a child high fat and sugar then asking them to sit in a room and be quiet and respond nicely..... it is the same effect for our parrots. Excessive screaming, biting, feather plucking and other destructive behaviors can often be helped by a change in diet and simple behavior modification techniques. 
The most common deficiency in parrots is vitamin D and A so sunshine and a good variety of vitamin A rich food are missing from our parrots diets. 
Spinach, broccoli or other leafy greens along with bell peppers/ capsicum or cooked sweet potato among other foods can change this and add variety to the diet that once a parrots is familiar with they will love. 
Pellets offer a primarily balance diet but often parrots will refuse them and they do not have the moisture content of natural foods so a parrot will drink more water if their diet is primarily a pellet diet  Regardless of food offered always make sure they have access to ample clean drinking water. 
Converting a parrot to a healthy diet is not always easy. sometimes they don't recognise that the new food is actually food and other times they are just stubborn and prefer the junk they have had before but persist. You would not let a kid eat only ice cream for every meal because it would be very unhealthy, same goes for your birds. 
Every species of parrots will have varied diet requirements and as a parrot care giver it is up to you to research your parrots and provide the diet that is right for them. One common thing among all parrots is that no one should be feed a seed only diet. This would be like feeding your kid a pizza only diet. it's just not good enough.
What ever you choose to feed your parrots a well rounded balanced diet will improve their feather condition, health and behavior.