introduction into bird diets
When entering into the bird keeping world your bird’s diet can seem overwhelming. There is bundles of information some even contradicting others. This document is to help you in the introduction of bird diet, to give you the background and knowledge you need to care for your bird. Now first things first is to establish that, even in the parrot family alone, you can have a huge range of diets from seed to fruit and even to pure nectar eaters. In the following document we shall be concentrating on the seed and fruit diets.
seed diets
Quite often our small companion parakeet bird’s are seed diet eaters. Their diets can range from plain grass seed eaters to a bit more of a fruity mixture. What is important to know is that your bird’s seed diet is a 100% accurate mix of seeds for their nutritional requirements. Its also important to understand that no matter how similar the mix is every small seed is different and the quality of each and every individual seed will affect your birds diet.
PARROT FEEDING BEHAVIOUR
One of the most misunderstood aspect of your parrots diet is their feeding behaviour. Feeding is a large part of your birds life and it is essential to understand the wonders and functions of how your bird eats.
MECHANiSMS ON HOW YOUR BIRD FEEDS
The first thing that is important to understand is exactly how your bird feeds. So the first indicator of your bird’s diet will be their impressive beak. Each bird has a unique style beak, designed for the specific seed they eat. Some will have short and stubby beaks for crushing and others will have hooked and sharp beaks for ripping.
The reason for this is because birds DO NOT EAT THE WHOLE SEED. In fact what the bird is actually eating is the soft fleshy part inside the seed. So to get to the fleshy part of the seed bird’s will crack and crush open the shells and then remove the inside. This is how what we call Shucks are made. Shucks are the empty shell of the seed which is left once your bird has eaten the inside. This is why it is important to change your bird’s seed regularly as their bowl may look full but in fact there is nothing left for them to eat.
SELECTIVE FEEDING
The next important thing to be aware of is what kind of feeder your bird is and why your bird eats this way. Bird’s are still wild no matter how long they have been in captivity so a lot of what they do is innate wild instincts. Your bird is a prey species which means this controls how they feed.
Birds are known as selective feeders. Means they selectively feed on foods that are higher in calories. The reason for this is because your bird will want to store calories in case they have to fly to avoid predators. Flying burns a lot of calories! so It is important to ensure your birds diet can meet their flying calorie needs but also that your bird is flying enough to burn off all those calories. However, this means that your bird will actively seek out or only eat what is bad for them so you need to ensure you are reinforcing a healthy and balanced diet. Some of the common mistakes that bird owners make are:
-Buying more sunflowers because their bird likes them.
-Changing the seed too regularly so the bird only eats the fatty seeds.
-Over supplementing their birds diet with fattier alternatives.
varying your birds diet
Your bird having a varied diet is very important. Birds will eat a whole variety of things in the wild to meet their nutritional needs so we have to replicate this in captivity. One way to vary your birds diet is obviously to provide them with fresh fruit and veg. Fresh fruit and veg is a great way to spice up your bird’s diet and give them some flavour. However, you need to keep in mind your birds abilities! Make sure you are presenting your fresh fruit and veg in the appropriate size. For small parakeets make sure it is in small manageable sizes as they can become overwhelmed by large chunks. For large parrot species make sure that the fruit and veg is large enough that they have to work for it! use your fresh feed as enrichment and make sure it’s not boring.
LIST OF SAFE FRESH FRUIT AND VEG YOUR BIRD CAN EAT:
Sweet Apple
Seedless Grapes
Thawed out frozen peas (Birds eye are favoured)
Nectarines
Strawberries
Celery
Raw carrot (Grated)
Satsumas and Oranges
Sweetcorn (Tinned)
Pomegranate
Melon
With your fresh fruit and veg you can also feed leafy greens but you should keep in mind the large water content can cause for upset stomachs. When feeding your bird fresh food you should always be thinking of their selective feeding. Fruit grown for humans has been genetically modified to be more sugary so don’t feed too frequently and try to prioritise vegetables as your regular Fresh food instead of fruit.
Foraging
Foraging is a very important part of your bird’s dietary behaviour. Foraging will take up the most part of your bird’s day. In the wild your bird would forage around in search of their food. It uses their brain power as well exercising their amazing feet and beaks. Behaviours that can demonstrate foraging are:
-Kicking seed out of the bowl.
-Throwing food on the floor and then searching for it later.
-Spending prolonged period of time moving stuff around in search of food.
It is important to encourage foraging in your bird’s life but you can also do it in a controlled environment so it doesn’t make such a mess. One tactic to prevent over seed kicking is not to fill your birds food bowl right to the top, as this will encourage seed digging. Your birds food bowl should only be filled half to three quarters full. Devices that can be used to encourage foraging are:
-Puzzle feeder.
-Foraging balls.
-Stuffing food into destruction toys.
treats and extra
Treats are a great way to bond with your bird and there are a hole variety of dietary extras available for your birds. When you have a talking parrot or a cute feathery friend looking longingly through their bars it can be very tempting to give them a treat. Just keep in mind that treats don’t nutritionally benefit your bird in any way and a treat should remain a treat! Every tic bit you give your bird is more calories and more reason for them to be fussy.
treat sticks & Bells
treat sticks and seed bells are widely available on the market for birds and it is often quite tempting to give them one in their cage for variety. This is a trap! you should always compare your birds diet to human equivalents.
For example a bird’s seed diet could be their cottage pie or their roast dinner. Hearty and filling for them whilst also providing the healthy nutrition they need. A seed bell or treat stick would be the equivalent of a McDonald’s or a Burger King. If birds have a treat stick or treat bell in their cage at all times then they are obviously going to chose that over eating their seed. It also increases your bird ‘s risk of being over weight and getting fatty liver disease. Treat sticks and seed bells should be reserved for special occasions or only be fed, at maximum, bi-monthly. We also recommend that if you have a treat stick or seed bell in your birds enclosure then they should have their fresh food cut down.
feeding your bird human
It can be very tempting to give our feathery friends a taste of some of our fantastic foods. It should be known that what is bad for us is ten times worse for them. Human food should be avoided at all cost and should never be used as a treat!
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