The best food for parrots
The best food you can give your parrot is a combination of nutritionally complete pellets, specially made for parrots, along with a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables.
About three-quarters of your parrot’s food should be pellets containing all the vitamins and nutrients they need.
About one quarter should be washed fruits and vegetables, such as:
carrots
broccoli
peas
de-seeded apples
grapes
pomegranates
blueberries
sprouts
native berries, such as rowan and hawthorn
Beware
Avocado is highly poisonous to parrots, so you must not give them this.
Some native berries are poisonous too. Check this guidance for berries to avoid.
Seed mixes are bad for parrots
Many people give their pet parrots ready-made seed mixes. But these are:
HIGH in
fat
energy
omega-6 fatty acids
and LOW in
quality
calcium
vitamins A, D, K, E, biotin and B12
essential amino acids such as lysine and methionine
Parrots will instinctively pick out the fattier seeds and nuts if you give them one of these mixes. This is because, in the wild, they fly long distances every day to find food, so they need a lot of calories. However, pet parrots don’t need anything like so many. Even with the recommended amount of daily flying, a pet parrot will never get as much exercise as a wild bird.
Purely seed-based diets can therefore lead to health problems such as obesity, fatty liver syndrome, and vitamin A and calcium deficiency.
It’s best to only give your parrot seeds and nuts in very small amounts occasionally, perhaps as a treat or training reward.
Some birds need different diets
Small parrot species – such as budgerigars, parrotlets, lovebirds and cockatiels – do need some seeds each day (though these should make up no more than a tenth of their diet), as well as free access to pellets, fresh vegetables and fruits.
Canaries and finches are often fed seed-based diets, but like parrots, they would also benefit from good-quality pellet diets. They also need fresh, washed greens such as dandelions, chickweed or groundsel.
Lories and lorikeets need a special nectar diet, along with fresh fruit and vegetables.
If you’re not sure what foods are best to feed to your bird, talk to your vet.
Changing your parrot's diet
If your parrot has been used to a poor, seed-based diet, it may take time to move them over to healthier food. But if they are reasonably tame and confident with people, you can do this gradually over several weeks or even months. If your parrot is not tame, check out our advice on training your parrot first.
Before you start making any changes, talk to your avian (bird specialist) vet to make sure your parrot is healthy.
Changing to new foods, one day at a time
Two or three times every day, you will need to have special sessions with your parrot, lasting for about 15 minutes each. Follow these steps.
- Every morning, before you feed your bird, weigh them on an accurate digital scale – you’ll need to be able to see any weight changes to the gramme. Keep a record of each day’s weight. If they lose or gain weight, talk to your avian vet.
- Check your parrot’s poo every day during this time – a change in colour, thickness, frequency or amount might mean they are sick. Talk to your avian vet about any changes.
- First thing in the morning, give your bird their usual food. Then take away their food bowls temporarily – for no longer than an hour though.
- Sit down with your parrot in a familiar place, away from their cage, with the new food close by.
- Make sure the food is warm and soft – for example, pellets mashed in warm water – and offer it on a small spoon. It’s not likely your bird will take anything cold that’s come straight from the fridge, so both the food and spoon should be warm, but not hot – they might instinctively gulp the food and you don’t want to burn their mouth or insides.
- If they don’t seem to want the food, let them see you eat it (as long as it is safe for you – you can just pretend to eat it, if not). Make eye contact and watch to see if they are interested. If they are, talk encouragingly and offer them some of the food.
- During each session, offer several different foods.
- Always remember to put your parrot’s usual food back in place as soon as the session ends.
If your parrot won’t try new food
Your bird might keep ignoring or throwing away the new food at first. Just keep going with your daily sessions. You could also try these tips.
Mix the mashed, warmed new food half and half with something they already like to eat. Or cover the new food with something you know they like the taste or look of, such as grape or orange juice, banana, peanut butter or honey.
Parrots like to work for their food, so you can try wrapping it in chewable toys. Wrap some pellets in newspaper or hide them in little cardboard boxes, so your parrot can tear them apart to get to the food.
Hold food up to your mouth in front of your parrot, to encourage them to try it.
Try different brands of parrot pellets. Your bird might just prefer a different shape, size, colour or flavour.
Put the new food on top of your parrot’s usual food. They might try it as they move it aside to get to their usual food.
Put the food in a new container in a different place in your parrot’s cage or aviary. If you put it above their perch, they might see it as something special, like a prize to reach for on a higher branch.
If you’re trying to encourage a budgie to eat something new, try sprinkling the food over a mirror or sheet of white paper so they can see it. The mirror might encourage them to compete with the reflected bird for the food.
Next steps
After a few days, your parrot should be showing some interest in the new foods and perhaps starting to eat them. You are almost there. Follow these steps to complete the change.
Try offering the new foods at normal room temperature and not mashed.
Check that your parrot’s weight is stable. If so, start to replace some of the old foods in your parrot’s food bowls with the new foods.
Gradually reduce the old foods and increase the new foods.
Stop your parrot becoming bored
New foods give them the chance to forage or work for them. You can try these methods, as long as your parrot is comfortable with them.
Give smaller meals more often, leaving the food in different placces or hiding it.
Change the types of pellets you use and vary the vegetables and fruits you give them.
Put some of their food in ice blocks that they have to chip apart to get to the food.
Give them whole nuts occasionally that they have to crack open.