The Basis of Every Parrot Problem?

Most parrot owners tackle all kinds of issues with their birds during their lifetime. These can vary from behavioural issues such as screaming, plucking, increased aggression to health issues such as chronic obesity or egg-binding due to low calcium. The most common health problem seen in companion parrots are the results of malnutrition. Malnutrition is not just underfeeding or feeding the incorrect diet, it is also over-nutrition. All over the world society is become more conscious of the need for fresh foods within human diets, there is a spill on effect occurring with most pet owners wondering and experimenting with fresh food diets for their animals. Parrots are not isolated from this, with raw whole foods gaining more and more interested by pet owners. Some Facebook groups have in excess of 5,000 members just discussing whole raw foods in parrots (an excellent group-https://www.facebook.com/groups/AVIANRAW/). Other groups such as general species groups now have guidelines for feeding parrots, guidance given to those learning how to care for their parrots and it has become expectation that owners regularly feed fresh food to their companion parrot as part of their diets. Some groups even have as below easy to follow pyramids to guide parrot owners. 

A huge factor in what is fed to parrots will come down to convenience.  This is clearly seen in the huge increase in the feeding pelleted diets to companion parrots and the use of chops to provide a complete, yet convenient diet. Chops are finely chopped fruit and vegetables that can be pre-made, frozen and/or stored in the fridge then given daily. Online there are numerous chop designing websites for parrots allowing owners to choose from safe fresh fruit and vegetables. Most owners use pellets and chop concurrently, which provides the best of both worlds in terms of what is perceived as a balanced diet. 

Fresh fruit and vegetables have enormous benefits for parrots, but it is difficult for parrot owners to pick the right variety. Too much sugary fruit can make birds hormonal whilst not enough and a bird may be disinterested in its daily meal and choose to consume other aspects of its diet. It is all so confusing and a bit overwhelming, and lack of study in avian nutritional requirements make it even more difficult for owners to decide what to feed their companion parrots. 

Although nutritional requirements for parrots is not known, there are easy things parrot owners can do to provide the very best nutrition to their parrots. A short discussion/quiz to help is below- 

1. Watch a documentary or if possible observe your particular parrot species in their natural habitat. Carefully watching for their location in their environment for example are they: 

a) On the floor of their habitat- then they most likely are grass/ seed eaters such as grass parrots 

b) A mixture of on the floor and within the trees? Then they most likely consume a mixture of grasses, seeds, fruit/vegetable and plant matter 

c) Mainly at the top of the trees- then they most likely consume mainly fruit/vegetable and plant matter 

2. From this information think about what percentage of their diet is made up of the different foods in this area. If a parrot is mainly on the ground consuming grass, perhaps 40-60% of its diet should be made up of fresh seed and products of seed such as sprouts and grasses. A parrot that consumes mainly fruit and vegetables, that may be 60-70% of their diet. It takes a little guessing but it can be very helpful in determining their actual requirements for different aspects of their diets. 

3. Think about how active your parrot actually is. 

The factors above can help parrot owners to think about what their parrots nutrition requirements may be based on the individual bird (species, use e.g. breeding or non-breeding, sedentary vs active). 

- Does it sit sedentary for the majority of the day? 

- Does the parrot fly around an aviary or around your house all day

- Is your parrot feeding chicks or young and uses more energy than an average diet for one parrot? 

4. What food can you afford to include in your diet? Is the majority of fresh fruit and vegetables simply impossible to fit into your parrots daily diet? Are pellets to expensive for the size of parrot? There are some easy things parrot owners can do to reduce costs such as? 

- Purchase in season or on sale fruit and vegetables and freeze them 

- Purchase pellets and seed in bulk from larger produce stores and places that do discounts for bulk. 

- Travel to local fruit and vegetable markets or larger ones in cities, drive out to areas where people sell their own produce from smaller market stalls. The again freeze any excess produce. 

Creating A Balanced Parrot Diet-
Parrot diets should consist of three parts- one part fruit and vegetable, one part living foods and one part fat/carbohydrate/grain. The last part is optional and should be moulded to suit individual species for example, a budgie will require seed whereas a macaw will require nuts. The first two are a requirement regardless of species behaviour in the wild, or previous generations method of feeding and is considered vital in every diet. 

The fat/carbohydrate/grain section provides free choice for parrot owners. There are many options such as pellets, seed, pasta, nuts and others. Owners may choose not add anything from this section. Parrot owners need to balance it out with fresh foods such as nuts or sprouts. The selection will more suit parrot owners time allocations for diet preparation. 

Seeds are high in fat, carbohydrates and phosphorous and low in protein, vitamins, calcium and other trace minerals. It can contribute to diabetes, nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism and skin and feather abnormalities. HOWEVER, as part of a diet where the other two parts are balanced AND/OR it is suited to the individual species when given correctly it can hugely benefit the diet of certain parrots. Dry seed is very difficult to digest, and some of that small nutritional value is lost when a parrot hulls or cracks a seed and disregards the shell. Fresh seed, seed grasses and sprouts are excellent additions especially to those species who require a higher seed percentage (all of which are very cheap and quite simple processes) 

Carbohydrates such as pastas and rice are a hugely debatable aspect of parrot nutrition. The true extend of their digestibility and usefulness is not known. It may be a good option to stick of natural pastas consisting of a high fruit and veg percentage or gluten free versions made from safe seeds such as buckwheat pastas. Brown rice is also often added to diets and can have some good nutritional benefits- it can also be fed sprouted which makes it a superfood for parrots. 

The fruit/vegetable and living foods portion make up the bulk of the nutritional requirement deficits left over from the carbohydrate/grain/fats section of parrot diets. Some knowledgable people have tried to devise nutritional requirements as shown below. These can be a useful framework to create your balanced diet. 

Sourced from: https://www.parrotsociety.org.au/articles/avian-nutrition

The above table shows a few main vitamins and minerals required for a balanced diet. These include- 

Vit A, D, E, K (fat soluble) and Vit B12 and C (water soluble) as well as Calcium, phosphorous, chlorine, sodium, magnesium, manganese, iron, zinc, copper, iodine, selenium. 

Most formulated pellet diets contain a carbohydrate or grain base with added synthetic vitamins and minerals, amino acids, colouring and flavourings. Some newer products contain probiotics to help gut function. 

*** VERY IMPORTANT POINT ABOUT BALANCED DIETS**

There is a HUGE difference between giving a balanced diet and a parrot getting a balanced diet. If a parrot does not consume any part of the diet, it is not able to be considered a balanced diet e.g. giving a cuttlefish for calcium yet the bird doesn't consume the cuttlefish means that calcium is not being provided within the parrots diet (also below is some alternative better sources of calcium than cuttlefish) 

  

An easy way to balance out a parrot diet is to select at least one item from below based off the "best guess assumed diet". These can be added to a chop or given whole for enrichment and encouragement of foraging behaviours. Some parrots may require more or less of each individual element depending on their species and life stage, this can be discussed with a avian veterinarian. It is always best to consult an avian veterinarian about any dietary changes, as they can help guide you, point out anything that may have been missed or should not be added to this particular parrots diet. 

Nutrient High Foods- 

Protein- Eggs, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, cooked lentils, oats, green peas, wheat germ, lima beans, green beans, chickpeas cooked, buckwheat, almonds, quinoa cooked, corn, cous cous, brown rice 

Fats- Eggs, nuts, chia seeds, coconut oil, flaxseed, 

Vitamin A- Sweet potato, carrot, kale, pumpkin, rockmelon, capsicum (red), mango 

Vitamin D - Sunlight, eggs, almonds 

Vitamin E- Spinach, almond, sunflower seeds, broccoli, pumpkin and squash, kiwi 

Vitamin K- Basil, kale, brussel sprouts, chilli powder, soybean 

Vitamin B12- Bran, eggs 

Vitamin C- Yellow capsicum, guavas, kale, kiwi, broccoli, strawberry, orange, tomato, peas, papaya, 

Calcium- Kale, bok choy/pak choy, broccoli, green snap beans, almonds 

Phosphorous- Pumpkin seed, chia seed, sesame seed, sunflower feed, flaxseed, brazil nuts, adzuki beans, chickpea

Chlorine- Pastas, cooked legumes and lentils 

Sodium- N/A 

Magnesium- Spinach, Kale, Chard, pumpkin seed, sesame seed, nuts, chickpeas, lentils, bananas, figs 

Manganese- hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, flaxseed, sunflower seeds, flaxseed, whole wheat bread, adzuki and chickpeas (cooked), spinach, brown rice, 

Iron- Pumpkin seeds, nuts, lentils, chikpeas, spinach, kale 

Zinc- Spinach, pumpkin seed, cashew nuts, chickpeas, adzuki beans 

Copper- Raw Kale, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, cashew nuts, hazelnuts, chickpeas, adzuki beans 

Iodine- eggs, navy beans (cooked) 

Selenium- Brazil nuts, whole wheat bread, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, sesame seeds 

My own personal parrot chop I add the following aside from those above-

- LSA (health food shop sprinkled over chop of young, active or breeding parrots) 

-Flaxseed Meal for good fats

-Cooked Quinoa, amaranth, cous cous and sweet potato

- The diet percentages I use is 70% balanced fresh fruit and veg, 10% sprouts, 10% seed, 10% pellet (added LSA and flaxseed as I found this diet was low in fat)  

- Added sprouts are chickpea, kale*, alfalfa*, lentil, green pea*, mung, aduzki, millet, broccoli* (*are purchased from the supermarket) 

Please refer to post below- to chop or not to chop to help with providing foraging activities for parrots as part of their daily diet