untitled
What to feed your pet
bird
or "Birds Cannot Live On Seed Alone."
By Linda LaDuke
President
Capital District Pet Bird Club
Club member Carol and her son, Will, adopted a cockatiel through the
club in March of this year. Upon examining the bird, they realized the
bird was malnourished. After a Vet examined, they found that this was
the only problem. The lady who owned the bird did the best she could.
The bird was left in her care after her grandson moved away. Hobo had
been found 12 years previous on a football field. Hobo had a
bird-friend for years, but she died. Carol and Will were given Hobo,
his cage, toys and food. The food was for a large parrot, not a
cockatiel. Six months later Hobo is gaining weight, he has adjusted to
his pelleted/seed diet which Carol and Will balance with veggies and
grains. Hobo has started to trust his new flock and loves them every
much. He is getting stronger by the day.
If you are thinking about buying a bird, if you find a bird, or if you
now own a bird, you must learn how to feed them. Small birds eat small
food and larger birds need larger food. A seed-only diet can cause
liver damage. Sunflower seeds can cause liver and heart problems;
therefore, sunflower should be given as an occasional treat.
Parakeets, canaries and finches will need more seed in their diet.
However, they should still be on a good pelleted diet as well. Pellets
can be purchased at pet stores. They come in all sizes, some are
colored and some are brown. Some seed mixes have pellets in them.
However, the 10 or 12 pellets in the five pound bag is not enough. The
packages of mixed seeds contain too much seed to be healthy.
If you mix food for your bird, purchase a good quality seed and a bag
of pellets that are the appropriate size for your bird. If you are not
sure of the size food for your bird, please call me. Never just give
your bird that has been on a seeded diet just pellets. They may starve
to death because they refuse to eat the new diet. You need to gradually
start adding pellets to the seed you give them now. Add a little more
pellets each day until you reach the desired ratio. If your bird is on
a pellet-only diet now, don’t change that as long as you balance their
diet with fresh fruits and veggies.
Some birds love pellets and you will have no problem. Some birds,
especially seed junkies, are harder to get to eat their pellets. Just
keep trying no matter how long it takes. Pellets have vitamins and
minerals that are important to a healthy bird.
What else do you feed your bird? Birds are flock animals and will eat
better if they can eat with you. Some of us let our birds eat at the
table with us. Some very lucky birds have T-stands that are right at
the table. Very special birds have their own plates on the table. If
you do this, you may have a visitor on your plate. Of course, the food
on your plate is better then the food on their plate even if it is the
same exact food. If you don’t wish to have your bird as a dinner guest,
that is ok, but the bird should be able to see the family eat.
What to put on the bird’s plate or in his dinner dish? Birds can and
should eat anything that is heart-healthy for you. Never give them
salted items, sugar, chocolate, alcohol, avocados, fried foods or
canned food.
The list of ok foods is endless. Pasta (plain or with a
little sauce or a little cheese), mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes,
greens (kale or spinach or green leafy lettuce-not iceberg), green
beans, broccoli, carrots, corn, chicken (well cooked), dry unsugared
cereals, whole wheat or grained bread or toast. I could go on and on.
Oh yes, I forgot the fruit list: oranges, apples (no seeds),
blueberries, strawberries, bananas, grapes (grown in USA), melons –
again, I could go on and on. All food should be well washed. Chicken,
of course has to be well cooked. Veggies can be raw or cooked. We dry
pepper and melon seeds for our quakers.
What size food do you give your bird? Cut food to the appropriate size.
Macaws like to hold a large piece of carrot or a half an ear of corn.
Some birds like carrots cut into discs. Some like a baby carrot cut
lengthwise. If your bird doesn’t eat what you give them, try different
shapes and sizes.
Our canaries and parakeets especially love oranges and apples. The
cockatiels love dry cereals, corn and dried apricots. Our conures love
corn, dried papaya and fresh mango. Our macaws eat anything and say
“thank you”. The amazons love apples. All of our birds eat the
pellet/seed mix that is mixed for their size. They all love fresh kale,
a piece of 13-grain toast, corn muffins and corn. The rest of the food
is a pick and choose type thing---the same as it is with your human
children.
The trick as with children is to never give up. Keep trying
until they eat.
Human children and our companion birds have to have a balanced diet.
They both also have to have fresh water daily. Unlike children, birds
should not have milk products except maybe a little yogurt or cheese
and a little ice cream in the hot weather (don’t tell your vet that I
said that). I do, however, have a cockatiel that likes to help me eat
my cereal. Morgan would push the cereal off of the spoon and drink the
milk. It never seemed to hurt her. This is something you must watch and
if she would have a reaction, I would have stopped giving her milk. I
would limit it anyway, which would make her mad.
If you give peanuts, they must be unsalted and should only be given as
a treat (one a day). Larger birds can have nuts in the shell (for
example walnuts, pecans etc.) Again, not all birds like all nuts.
Smaller birds may like nuts, but you will have to shell them for your
bird. Nuts are a good source of protein.
One thing to remember – if you are going to change your bird’s diet, do
it slowly and be patient. If your bird starts eating better, maybe you
will too. That is a great perk! Also remember never to leave fresh food
with your bird for more than an hour or two. Food spoils fast and can
kill your bird. The pelleted diet should be replaced daily. The dish
may look full but after the birds eats the pellets the dish will be
full of powder made when the bird eats the pellets. The most important
thing to remember if the bird eats colored pellets or blueberries (for
example) his poop will be very colorful. If he eats brown pellets, the
poop will be brown. Don’t panic---this is normal.
For more information about food, the club, lost or found birds,
adoptions please call me at 518-346-1143. Enjoy your birds – they are
pets for life.
bravenet.com