Food Values It would be very wrong to allow any bird to exist on only one kind of seed as most seeds are deficient in some respect. Their food values are given below. It should be remembered that protein is a very important item of the diet and that different seeds have varying amino acid [...]
Food
Maw or poppy is more often fed to finches than parrots but it is worth trying with the smaller parrots. Hemp is an excellent food, a favourite of most parrots. It is very expensive to purchase but its food value is high and it is economical to use because it has a thin husk. The [...]
In planning to keep parrots, seed storage arrangements will have to be made and thought given to the types of food and water containers which will be necessary. Seed bought in quantity is packed in strong paper or hessian sacks, which mice have little trouble in entering. Unless stored in an area which is free [...]
Softfoods prepared by the breeder must be offered to birds with young, those which are newly imported (especially young birds which have yet to learn to eat hard seed) or sick birds which suddenly refuse to eat hard seed. The most widely used food is bread and milk. Milk contains amino acids and calcium and [...]
Many collections of parrots comprise widely differing species, yet the food offered to them tends to become standardised. The birds would benefit if a little less routine and rather more thought was introduced into their diets. At San Diego, one of the most important and progressive of the world’s zoos, medical staff examine diets of [...]
Grapes or cherries are attractive to most large parrots and can be the means of inducing stubborn birds to sample fruit. I once persuaded a parrot to start eating fruit by attaching grapes to the branches of a small tree growing in its aviary. Example, however, is the best teacher and parrots are quick to [...]