What to feed a parrot other than food. What can you feed parrots besides food

Budgerigars are very active birds, in the wild they manage to quickly adapt to weather and territorial conditions. Therefore, the daily diet of wild wavy is extremely diverse: fresh shoots / buds of trees and shrubs, grass seeds and all kinds of grains from farm fields, fruits, berries, and as a drink, if there are no water bodies nearby, parrots are content with dew or juicy fruits and young grass.

Wild birds instinctively keep their body in a healthy shape, while domestic birds are completely dependent on our knowledge of the proper nutrition of parrots. It will be useful for the owner to know what to feed the budgerigar, in addition to the standard food.

At home, in the diet of a parrot, diversity should also be adhered to.

Let us consider in more detail the menu of a home budgerigar:

1. - This is the main component in the diet of a parrot. An adult is enough 2 teaspoons of grain per day. But, it happens that a bird needs a little more grain - everything is very individual.

Photo: Luke Flitter

Budgerigars peel each grain of the shell, so the appearance of a full feeder can be created, although in reality it is already empty.

The grain mixture must be kept in the feeder at all times.

1. germinated food- a very useful and vitamin-rich "live" product. In this form, the grain is very well absorbed, and the bird receives a huge amount of macro- and microelements, as well as vitamins.

Unlike everyday food, the mixture for soaking by components has a more complex composition: chickpeas, mung beans, green and red lentils, oats, wheat, alfalfa, barley, rapeseed, safflower, millet, sunflower seeds, vetch, sorghum, sesame, buckwheat , chumiza and mogar.

How many times a week to give germinated food depends on the age of the parrot: before the first molt -1 teaspoon 2 times a week, after it - less often, since swollen nutrient grains stimulate the production of sex hormones.

Flax and hemp seeds should not participate in soaking!

1. mineral mix- necessary for the correct formation of the skeleton and feathers. This is an indispensable assistant in improving the digestion of birds.

The composition of the mineral mixture: 70% shell rock, 30% crushed chalk, fraction 2-3 mm, boiled egg shells and charcoal in a ratio of 1:1. You can buy mineral mix at a pet store. Sometimes it includes oyster shells, corals, pine nut shells, fine sandstone and sea shells.

During the molting period, sulfur should be added to the mixture (for 2 teaspoons of the mineral mixture - a small pinch of sulfur).

The constant presence of the mixture in a separate feeder (2-3 teaspoons with replacement every 1-2 weeks).

1. Mineral stone and sepia (cuttlefish shell)- enrich the parrot's body with calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and the bird also willingly grinds its beak about them.
2. Kashi- improve metabolism, a rich source of trace elements, cook on water (buckwheat / oatmeal / hercules / lentils - cook for 10 minutes, but you can steam it, pearl barley - 30 minutes, barley / corn / wheat / millet / rice - 20 minutes). Calculation: 2 teaspoons per bird, porridge should be warm, in a separate feeder. Feed 3 times a week.
3. Fruits and vegetables- an irreplaceable source of vitamins. you will find a complete list of approved budgerigar foods. You can feed them several times a day.

7. Greenery- tops of carrots, peas, hedgehog, barnyard, strawberry leaves, Ivan tea, canary grass, chicken millet, flax, foxtail, mung bean, wood lice, clover, bluegrass, oats, dandelion, shepherd's purse, nasturtium, perennial chaff, plantain, marsh bentweed , millet, wheat, couch grass, chamomile, lettuce, leaf lettuce, goutweed, knotweed, timothy, chicory, spring and autumn willow leaves, thin branches of young trees with buds and leaves. In the cold season, you can use your parrot's food to grow fresh herbs.

If you are not sure whether it is possible to give a particular herb to a parrot, do not give it.

Photo: spykee

List of herbs that parrots should not: basil, St. John's wort, cilantro, onion, buttercup, parsley, tansy, wormwood, celery, yarrow, dill, horsetail, celandine, sorrel, hyssop.

8.fruit tree branches- budgerigars love to gnaw everything and this will be the best and most useful option for them.

To extract "nibbles" should be away from roads and industrial areas. At home, soak the branches for 4 hours in water, wash well and pour over with boiling water. The use of any detergents is dangerous for the life of the bird. There should be no tree resin on the branches.

You can branch: apple, currant, mountain ash, alder, citrus, birch, linden, maple, willow, chestnut, cherry, alder, mountain ash, plum, viburnum, beech, hornbeam, hawthorn, sea buckthorn, red chokeberry and hazel.

Photo: Tom Reynolds

You can not give branches: lilac, elderberry, conifers, bird cherry, acacia, coffee tree and oak.

9. goodies- pampering our pets is worth only natural products.

What can you feed: red millet in spikelets, chumiza, paiza, mogar and Senegalese millet. If you give in excess, the bird will refuse to eat food, and will only wait for treats. If this is a spikelet, then it is enough to give one small twig-ball per day.

Photo: Justin McGregor

Absolutely not: nuts, cones, seeds and grains (some of these are present in the main food, but in a minimal amount, as they are very nutritious and contain fats and affect the functioning of the liver and gastrointestinal tract in a greater volume). Also, do not buy all kinds of sticks (egg, honey, cereal) - they contain a lot of sugar, dyes, dry vitamins, preservatives and grain of dubious quality.

10. . If your bird needs vitamin supplements, then you should buy drugs at pet stores and veterinary pharmacies. When taking a course of vitamins, exclude fruits and vegetables from the diet so that the bird receives moisture only from fortified water. Water should be changed twice a day, as water quickly deteriorates and vitamins lose their properties.

You can give: Trixie Mauser-tropfen, Beaphar Mauser Tropfen, Beaphar Lebensvitamine Vinka, or Vita Sol Multi Vitamin.

Before the first molt, it is not recommended to give vitamins to a budgerigar!

11. Water- the most important component of poultry nutrition. Water should be clean, fresh and always present in the drinker.

Now, knowing how to feed a budgerigar at home, you can easily create the best option for a tasty and healthy menu for a bird.

Photo: Selbe Lynn

What not to feed budgerigars

List of prohibited products: salt, sugar, bread, nuts and seeds, milk, dairy products, cheese, sausage, meat, fish, mushrooms, coffee, chocolate, chips, alcohol, fruits, vegetables and herbs prohibited for birds, canned foods, boiled vegetables, food from human mouth.

The diet of small chicks before the first molt (3-4 months) differs only in that a boiled egg and cottage cheese are added, as well as sprouted grain in a much larger amount.

Photo: snaulkter

The digestive system of the budgerigar is designed to digest grains and assimilate the bark of young trees, grass, fruits and berries, if your bird receives all these components - good health and cheerful chirping of a budgerigar are provided for you for many years to come.

Parrots are cute birds that survive perfectly at home and delight their owners every day with their cheerful chirping. Being the owner of a parrot is interesting, while it is necessary to know all the details of nutrition.

This article is intended for persons over 18 years of age.

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How to feed a parrot at home?

In order for your parrot to always be healthy and chirp cheerfully, you need to take care of it and feed it properly. It is on appropriate and healthy food that 99% of the bird's well-being depends. The diet of parrots is quite varied, and you need to be well acquainted with what these birds eat, in addition to food.

To begin with, let's figure out how much a parrot can live without food at home. You can’t be specific here, but on average it’s 3-4 days (it all depends on the bird). And this is provided that there is at least water. Without food, parrots quickly weaken, they begin to have problems with plumage, feathers may even fall out. These birds have an accelerated metabolism, so they need regular reinforcement. Make sure that there is always something to peck in the feeder.

b "> What to feed if the food is over?

• cereals;
• raw sunflower seeds;
• oats;
• fruit;
• greenery;
• cottage cheese;
• boiled chicken eggs;
• vitamins (you can buy at the pharmacy), they are especially needed in the winter.

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Often the owners of feathered friends are interested in what fruits parrots can eat? Fruits are the key to a healthy diet, and parrots can eat many of them: apple, pomegranate, apricot, kiwi, pear, plum, pineapple, orange, bananas, watermelons. Do not forget that feeding should be varied, not just dry food from a pet store.

When asked if it is possible to treat parrots with bread, zoologists say yes, but not every bread will be harmless. For example, rye bread can generally provoke death. White bread can be given occasionally in moderation. But better not get carried away with this product, there are many other different foods that are acceptable for feathered friends.

When the female feeds the chicks or during the breeding season, parrots need to be fed especially carefully. In order for the female to produce milk, it is necessary to give specially germinated grass for food. Later, babies will eat softened grains.

As for how many times a day to feed a feathered friend, it is enough to pour a full dose into the feeder once a day and make sure that there is always clean water. Often people are mistaken and think that since parrots peck millet, then millet will not interfere with them. But is it possible to feed a bird with millet? Try not to do this, millet is not very healthy and nutritious, with frequent use it can cause various diseases of the gastrointestinal tract in birds.

I think you understand that there are many foods that parrots love besides food. Do not spare time and money, pamper your feathered pets! But at the same time, do not forget how they should eat properly. Let them be a little undernourished than constantly overeat.

Is it possible to include chicken liver in the diet? As a rule, boiled liver is given to weakened birds, it contributes to a speedy recovery.

There are several reasons why your pet throws food out of the feeder. If this is a young parrot, then perhaps he is just playing or fooling around. If an adult bird, then most likely this is a standard protest option. Try to determine what exactly your pet is unhappy with.

We have already told you what you can give birds from food, I would like to say a few words about what you can not feed parrots.

List of prohibited products

• cabbage;
• celery;
• peanut;
• meat (there are small exceptions);
• some types of exotic fruits (persimmon, avocado, papaya);
• dill, parsley;
• sugar.

How to feed a budgerigar at home?

At home, budgerigars are most often bred, but it happens that the owners acquire birds of such a breed as Jaco, Corella, Rosella. True, their food is not always the same. For example, a Corella parrot can eat mango, melon, peaches, nectarines. Occasionally, acorns, chestnuts (finely chopped) are added to the menu. Milk, kefir, chips and fried foods are prohibited.

Budgerigars should not eat dairy products, herbs, fruits with a lot of sugar, potatoes. And, in general, budgerigars are not too picky in their diet. Everything that we talked about above, they can safely eat. Remember that the daily dose of food for them is two teaspoons. Sometimes a young bird can eat more, after all, a growing organism. It happens that budgerigars peck out the daily norm in a few hours. Then pour the food wisely: not the entire dose in the morning, but divide it into several meals. In no case do not provoke gluttony.

e"> Choosing food for parrots

Shelves of pet stores are simply full of a huge assortment of dry grain food for parrots. You must understand that parrots of different breeds require different types of food. For example, there are packages with an inscription for wavy, for large, for medium birds. The composition of the feed depends on this inscription.

It's fair to ask, which food is better? The one that is vacuum-packed, even if it is more expensive than usual. Grains must be reliably protected from moisture and the adverse effects of the external environment. The expiration date of the feed is extremely important!

Before giving food to birds, carefully inspect the contents of the package, check for an unpleasant odor. The ideal option would be to sprout a few seeds from the package.

It is very good if the feed consists of millet (70%), oats (10%), and the rest is the addition of wheat, canary, flaxseed, there are feeds with hemp seeds.

Egg food for birds is a fortified product, well suited as a dietary supplement (can be given along with cereals).

Granulated food today causes a lot of discussion. It is believed that the granules contain the entire necessary complex of vitamins and minerals, which cannot be said about grain feeds. If you feed your bird with pellets, then you don’t have to worry about food additives, grains, vitamins, and so on. At one time, your pet will receive the necessary food for a healthy life. But, it is not so easy to transfer a parrot to granulated food. Is that to start feeding like this from the very beginning. Read the forums, weigh the pros and cons, and then decide whether it is worth weaning the birds from the traditional way of eating.

Parrots are wonderful creatures, with proper nutrition and care, they will delight you with their singing, talking or just being present for many years. Take care of the birds as your best friends, and they will be eternally grateful to you.

You have a little feathered pet in your house! How to feed a parrot in order to maintain its health and cheerfulness for a long time? After all, nature provided the birds with all the nutrients - fresh grain, small insects, fruits. Let's figure out how to choose the right diet at home for your new friend.

The basis of the diet of birds, including parrots, is grain, and the easiest way to maintain the longevity of a pet will be industrial ready-made feeds.

The best food for parrots

Industrial parrot food is distinguished by the fact that it contains the full range of nutrients, minerals and vitamins for a pet, is easy to use, easy to find and purchase in stores.
All feeds are divided into two types:

1. Vegetable feed. Includes cereal products, fresh and dry fruits. Birds are very fond of food in the form of grain mixtures, sticks, crackers. They will allow the parrot to feel full and self-confident.
2. animal feed. May contain insects, cottage cheese and other animal protein. Needed by birds in special cases, for example, when recovering from an illness, laying eggs, intensive growth of chicks.

The daily dose of grain feed for small budgerigars should be about 20-22 grams, for medium ones no more than 35 grams, for large ones up to 50 grams. Try not to overfeed the bird, because being in a cage, the bird becomes less mobile, and, therefore, prone to obesity.

Among domestically produced feeds, the VAKA brand is popular - a balanced diet, represented by a wide range of products for both small representatives of the species and medium-sized parrots.

Well-known brands of imported feed include: Rio, Padovan, Nutri Bird, JR Farm, Vitacraft. Each brand is widely represented, and in addition to the main diet contains products for feeding during molting, egg laying, diseases, for adult birds.

When choosing food, make sure that the packaging is airtight, tightly closed. The mixture should be homogeneous, without foreign impurities and additives, there should be no smell.

Properly selected food will be the basis of the pet's diet. But for proper digestion, health and strength, the bird needs to diversify its nutrition with vitamins, herbs, and mineral supplements.

parrot diet

Grain mixtures are the basis of a parrot's diet, but what else can you feed a bird to please her? For proper digestion, excellent health and good mood, supplement your pet's diet with the following elements:

1. germinated grain. In the autumn-winter period, when the immune system can fail, feed the bird with germinated grain. To do this, soak the seeds and let them swell.
2. Green food. Fresh and dry leaves of plants will strengthen the health of the bird.
3. soft food. With mixtures rich in protein, feed your pet parrot not only during the laying of eggs, but also to maintain the beauty of the bird at least 1-2 times a week.
4. Fruits and vegetables. How to feed a budgerigar to please him? Fruits and vegetables, cut into slices! They will not only become a delicacy of the bird, but also enrich their body with natural vitamins.
5. nuts. They are rich in fats and protein, can be present in the bird's diet as a treat.
6. Vitamin supplements. Especially in winter, it is desirable to diversify the parrot menu with vitamin preparations in order to even out the balance of nutrients. It is better to use industrial preparations. Also, as an additive, lemon or vegetable juice, honey added to the drinker is suitable.
7. Mineral Supplements. To replenish minerals, add mineral supplements to the feed in the form of crushed eggshells, chalk, sepia, or calcium gluconate tablets. Charcoal is good for poultry.
8. Water. An obligatory component of the parrot's diet, control the constant presence of water in the pet's feeder.

Now let's determine which products can be used to feed parrots.

What can be from products

Feeding a parrot at home is not difficult, but you still need to remember some features when compiling a diet.
With self-preparation of the grain mixture, you can use:

• millet,
• sunflower seeds,
• meadow grass seeds,
• canary Seed,
• sesame,
• hemp seed.

By mixing several components, you can get a complete nutrient mixture.

But what can you feed a parrot, besides food? Safe treats for a parrot include pieces of:

• root crops (turnips, carrots, beets, potatoes)
• tomato,
• cucumbers, zucchini, squash, pumpkins,
• corn,
• apples and pears,
• berries (blueberries, cranberries, strawberries, raspberries, grapes, sea buckthorn, mountain ash),
• pineapple, kiwi,
• peaches, plums and apricots,
• greens (spinach, lettuce, wood lice, plantain, clover, nettle, burdock),
• branches of house plants (chrysanthemums, roses, bamboo, hibiscus, aloe).

If you properly feed the parrot, then he will live a long and active life, delighting you with his health and beauty. But there are products that are contraindicated for birds.

What not to feed a bird

There are several categories of foods that you can not feed a parrot. These substances are toxic to birds and can cause irreversible changes in the pet's body. These products include:

• mango,
• persimmon,
• papaya,
• parsley, garlic, green onions, dill and other herbs.

Is it possible to feed a parrot with the following foods is a controversial issue:

• Milk. Most parrots are lactose deficient, so drinking milk can cause indigestion.
• Bread. It contains salt, sugar, yeast, which can adversely affect the health of the pet. If you often feed a parrot with bread, you can provoke obesity.
• Salt. May cause damage to organs and tissues of birds.
• Meat. Parrots feed on insect larvae, so there is an opinion that they can be replaced in the pet's diet with meat, but the digestive system of parrots is not designed to digest meat.

Choosing the right food for your pet, you will keep his health and mood for a long time. Love and appreciate the parrot, and he will delight you with beauty and cheerfulness.

We all know that pet stores sell ready-made dry mixes for parrots. But is this food enough for them, or should their diet be more varied? This question should be asked by every caring and loving owner.

What do budgerigars eat besides food?

In fact, the diet of a parrot should be very, very diverse. In addition to dry, they need fresh, moist foods - fruits, vegetables, herbs, sprouted food, rich in nutrients and vitamins. In addition, they need sources of calcium - fat-free cottage cheese, boiled eggs, crushed chalk or crushed calcium chloride tablets. But first things first.

Allowed vegetables: carrots, turnips, pumpkins, melons, zucchini, squash, watermelon, beets, tomatoes, corn, cucumbers, beans, green peas, lettuce, spinach, bell peppers, cabbage. All this food is necessary for parrots, except for food, as a source of many useful substances, trace elements, and vitamins.

Of the forbidden vegetables - celery, eggplant, garlic, onions, spicy and spicy vegetables, radishes.

From fruits, parrots can be given an apple, pear, citrus fruits, plums, grapes, peaches, bananas, apricots, cherries, sweet cherries, berries (raspberries, currants, sea buckthorn, rose hips, strawberries, strawberries, lingonberries), pineapple, kiwi, pomegranate.

Beforehand, all fruits and berries must be washed well, some must be peeled. It is better to put them in a separate feeder, as well as other food products.

It is forbidden to give parrots such fruits: avocado, mango, persimmon, papaya. They can cause intoxication and poisoning.

There are many other things you can feed besides food. This, for example, grass: clover, burdock, plantain, tops of carrots, quinoa, meadow grasses. You can not give the birds parsley, dill, hyssop, cilantro, celery, that is, spicy and fragrant herbs.

Mineral nutrition for parrots

For your parrot to be healthy, mineral components must be present in its cage. These include:

Vegetable feed - the basis of nutrition (up to 70% of the diet)

Plant foods are divided into 2 groups - cereals and juicy. Cereals, in turn, are mealy (contain up to 6% fat) and oilseeds (contain over 14% fat).

Juicy: various herbs, leaves, berries, fruits, root vegetables and tubers. They contain a lot of water (from 40 to 90%), which causes a refreshing effect.

grain feed
Mealy feed

• Millet- 60% of the total amount of feed.
• Millet (millet without shell)- in the form of crumbly porridge.
• oats- 20-40% of the total amount of feed, regular not shelled.
• Wheat 30-40% 2 times a week. Semi-ripe or sprouted. To germinate grains of wheat or barley, they should be washed and poured with warm water. In the evening, the water is drained, and the grains are washed in running water. Then again fill with water and leave until the morning. Usually, by this time, the grains germinate, and they can already be fed to parrots.
• Corn- 20% of the total amount of feed. May cause obesity, so do not give much.
• Peas - In immature raw or canned form, peas should not be given. Be sure to boil and steam.
• Plantain and dandelion seeds They should be prepared in advance. To do this, plantain spikelets are collected in bunches and hung to dry. And from dandelions, seeds are harvested when white fluff appears on their heads.

Oilseed feed

• Sunflower seeds- no more than 15% of the feed. Very nutritious due to the high oil content. So don't give too much.
• nuts- 5% 2-3 times a week. Highly saturated with fat, excessive consumption can lead to indigestion and obesity. Walnuts are very useful during the mating season.
• Hemp - Not more than 5%. Before giving to a parrot, it is necessary to boil for 10 minutes and dry.
• Flaxseed - 1-2% in grain mixture. Very nutritious and medicinal. Good for the intestines. Its decoction is recommended to be given instead of drinking when coughing. Large amounts lead to diarrhea.

succulent feed

• Carrots, carrot tops - Fresh, grated in small slices. Needed in autumn, winter, during the period of feeding chicks.
• Cabbage- Finely crumble, or give whole leaves. When plumage appears, it is advisable to give every day.
• Beet- Raw, grated. Especially useful - winter-spring.
• Tomatoes- Only ripe fruits.
• cucumbers- Promote the absorption of food. In the form of slices.
• Bell pepper- In the form of slices, without peeling off the seeds.
• Watermelon, melon, pumpkin- Helps improve digestion and heart function. The seeds are also helpful. They are dried, and before being given, they are crushed.
• Apples, pears, bananas, plums, peach, apricot, kiwi, pineapple- Fed in slices, pitted.
• Grape- 3-4 berries a day.
• Oranges, tangerines, grapefruit, lime, pomegranate- Give by dividing into slices, peeling off the peel.
• Lemon- Juice is added to drinking water in a few drops (protects against infections). Whole slices should not be given.
• Fig, pumpkin, pattison, zucchini, zucchini with seeds, Rutabaga, Turnip.

Berries

Freshly frozen berries should be thawed before being given to parrots. Otherwise, birds can catch a cold very easily.

Fruit stones, as well as bird cherry berries, contain hydrocyanic acid, which is toxic to birds, so you should not feed them to parrots.

Greenery

• Dandelion - The leaves contain many vitamins (far from the road).
• Spinach- Do not give in large quantities - causes diarrhea.
• Salad- Lots of vitamins.
• Asparagus- Young shoots.
• green onion- Prevention of worms, dysentery.
• Nettle- Boil young leaves for 2-3 minutes, chop and add to wet food.
• Young shoots or branches of plants - Shoots of fruit trees, as well as rowan, currant, raspberry, viburnum, birch, willow, ash, aspen and linden.
• Needles- Grind, then mix with the grain mixture. Not more than 2 times a week - 5% in the composition of the mixture.

Feed of animal origin

• Eggs (chicken or quail)- Adults - 1 p. at 2 weeks, young - 1-2 p. per week, be sure to cook for 7-8 minutes.
• Dairy products- No more than 3% fat. Giving with a spoon without restrictions
• Cottage cheese— No more than 3%. 1-2 times a week, 2 tablespoons.
• Honey- 0.5 teaspoon per week in drinking water or porridge. It can stand in a cage for 2-3 hours, then it is thrown out.

Mineral feed

• Eggshell - Rinse, boil, and dry the shell. Grind in a mortar and sift through a sieve.
• Chalk - Fodder chalk, mixing it with sand or adding to the wet mix at the rate of 0.2 g per day. You can also give parrots slaked lime (not earlier than 7 months after slaking) or dry plaster, inserting pieces of it between the bars of the cage.
• shells- Clean, dry and grind.
• Bone flour- Add to wet mixture.
• Salt - Dissolve in water 1 g per 0.5 l, not more than 2 times a week.
• Charcoal - Or activated. In shredded form.

Drink

• Bottled still water is the best option.
• Filtered water - If bottled is not available.
• Decoctions of chamomile, rose hips - The decoction is brewed in proportion: 1 tablespoon of dry chamomile herb or rose hips per 200 g of boiling water. Infused for 30-40 minutes in a water bath.
• Vegetable and fruit juices (of allowed)

Water must always be fresh!