Most table food that we eat is suitable for your Parrot
(in moderation of course!)
Fruit and vegetables are healthy foods for us and them, and the following are a list of various foods we have tried successfully with our feathered friends:
Fruit such as: Banana, Apple, Pear, Melon, Strawberry, Raspberry, Blackberry, Cherry, Apricot, Peach, Nectarine, Pineapple, Mango, Grapes (although tasty, grapes have very little nutritional value).
Vegetables such as: Potatoes (either boiled or dry roasted, Chips or French Fries (as we call them today) are loved by our birds but are not really healthy, (but we all like a treat now and again!), Swede or Turnip (try mixing it with carrot if you want), Cauliflower, Spinach, Kale, Cabbage, Pumpkin (seeds as well), Vegetable Marrow & Courgette, Baked Beans, Butter Beans, Sweet Potato (boiled in water, then baked), Green Beans (boiled or steamed), Bean Sprouts Onions or Garlic (either fresh, dry roasted or boiled but not fried), Whole Wheat, Brown Rice, Pearl Barley, Oats.
Other foods such as: Natural yoghurt sweetened with fresh fruit is a very good source of beneficial bacteria and promotes optimum conditions within the digestive tract for natural, healthy flora.
Low fat or hard cheese can be a beneficial source of protein and oils if used with caution.
Why not try flavouring food with sparing amounts of cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, scrambled egg (with the crushed shells for calcium).
Special treats: If you get stuck for something as a change try homemade bread and butter pudding! I had Barney (one of our Green Wing Macaws) and Rupert (our Cockatoo) on either side of my chair and sat down to have some bread & butter pudding. As soon as they tasted it, it was gone and I didn't get a look in! All I can say is ' it looked nice' and I did manage to get some off my sweater! Worse than kids Eh! who would have em ?...
Foods that must be avoided
Avocado is highly toxic and fatal to your bird. Rhubarb, Olives, Aubergine (Egg Plant), Asparagus, Chocolate, are extremely toxic too. Avoid anything containing Caffeine (being allowed to partake in a regular sip of Tea or Coffee can eventually lead to cardiac problems and in certain cases can also lead to hyper-activity), Butter (because of its pure fat content), anything containing Alcohol (its not clever), Milk or Cream in large quantities.
If in any Doubt !!!! DON'T give it to your bird, there are so many good healthy foods for him/her.
Food Preparation: Use the same precautions you use for your human family members. Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Listeria, and other food-borne pathogens can and do affect parrots.
Did You Know... Healthy Birds on a healthy diet can heal themselves in most situations.
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Some facts every bird owner should know about avian nutrition
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- Between 50% and 75% of bird illnesses are avoidable by feeding any nutritionally superior diet – we of course suggest DeLuxe!
- Malnutrition causes reduced immune response and poor health.
- Malnutrition or poor health causes decreased absorption of nutrients and less efficient metabolism or nutrient processing.
- Malnutrition, disease or any other stresses (like travelling, changing cage etc) increases the body's requirements for nutrients.
- The bird's age, health status, reproductive status and replacement of feathers affect nutrient requirements.
- Proper maintenance of the pet bird and its environment is critical to continued good health. Daily cleaning/disinfecting of water containers is essential.
- The most common cause of bird illness is bacterial infections. The chance of acquiring infections is increased with vitamin supplementation of water and feeding soft foods (which are prone to bacterial and fungal contamination).
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Feeding Facts
(We at Midland Parrots feed our birds Nature-line Products)
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- Virtually no diet fed in captivity contains food items that the bird would naturally eat in the wild (these items are simply not commercially available).
- Most seeds, grains and fruits are deficient in a number of critical nutrients (ie calcium, vitamin A, vitamin D, etc).
- Fresh, deeply pigmented vegetables are much more nutritious than fruits.
- Generally, fruits should only be seen as a treat.
- Creating an optimally balanced diet is extremely complicated due to numerous interactions between nutrients as well as other dietary components.
- A seed-only food (unsupplemented) is NOT a satisfactory diet for any pet bird.
- A nutritionally adequate diet for pet birds can be achieved with a variety of feeding methods:
- extruded diets (ie DeLuxe) are ideal sources of nutrition.
- Commercial, supplemented variety diets (ie Extra) are excellent sources of nutrition.
- Home prepared diet consisting of a wide variety of carefully chosen ingredients are difficult to use and at the same time correctly guarantee a good source of nutrition.
- Plain seed diets supplemented with vitamins, minerals, vegetables and fruits are difficult to use and at the same time correctly guarantee a good source of nutrition.
- A properly researched, complete extruded diet is the most nutritionally superior of all diet types since precise levels of nutrients can be controlled and each bite is complete.
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Health Care Facts
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- Learn to recognise normal behaviour and attitude as well as signs of illness.
- 'Bird-proof' your home. Make sure the cage is safe and the bird cannot escape.
- Make sure you have a contact number for your nearest avian veterinarian - a bird specialist.
- Regular veterinary check-ups may help prevent or detect major diseases or illness.
- If in any doubt about your birds health - contact an avian veterinarian.
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Bird Safety
Most of us today cook using Teflon nonstick cookware because it is easier to cook with and easy to clean. In normal circumstances is safe. If however it overheats then it lets off toxic fumes that are fatal to our birds.
This next article is worth reading.
Teflon Toxicity or Polymer Fume Fever
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic polymer used as a non-stick surface in cookware. The brand names Teflon, Silverstone, and T-Fal are the best known, but PTFE-coated products are also manufactured under other trade names.
As Dr. Peter Sakas states: Under normal cooking conditions, PTFE-coated cookware is stable and safe. When PTFE is heated above 530 degrees Farenheit, however, it undergoes breakdown and emits caustic (acid) fumes.
Most foods cook at lower temperatures: water boils at 212 degrees, eggs fry at 350 degrees, and deep frying occurs at 410 degrees.
However, when empty PTFE-coated cookware is left on a burner set on the high setting, it can reach temperatures of 750 degrees or greater. Thus, if a pan is being pre-heated on a burner and forgotten, or if water boils out of a pot, breakdown of the PTFE can occur. In other words, PTFE cookware has to be 'abused' to emit toxic fumes, but this is not as rare as it might seem; many people fall asleep after they put pots or pans on the stove to heat.
Birds kept in areas close to the kitchen will usually die very shortly after breathing the fumes. Even birds kept in another room are at great risk. Severe breathing difficulties, such as gasping for breath, may be seen just prior to death.
Humans, dogs, cats, and other mammals are somewhat less sensitive to the very serious effects of these fumes.
First Aid For Teflon Toxicity
1. Remove the affected bird immediately from the home and supply lots of fresh air. Unfortunately, other than this, no first aid exists.
2. Call your avian veterinarian immediately.
Teflon Tragedy Reminds Us That It Is Best to Not Keep These Pans in Homes with Birds
'On December 23rd 2004 I was using an old pot that had most of the teflon worn off of it to boil water to put a little moisture in the air. I was doing this for the people in the house as well as for my 9 year old Soloman Island Eclectus, Ruby. I do not like it when the air is real dry in the house.
It was about 11:00 pm when I fell asleep. At 2:30 in the morning on Christmas eve, Ruby started screaming for me. I ran to the cage and pulled of the cover. She was on the bottom of the cage, shaking like she was freezing. I picked her up and held her to my chest. She uttered a few tiny sounds, then she was gone. I walked into the kitchen, still holding her. To my horror, I saw the empty pot on the red hot coils.
I feel tremendous guilt over killing my baby. Please, everyone who reads this and is a parent to a parrot, believe with every ounce of your being, the dangers of teflon. The pot I was using was old and worn out, but still had enough teflon left to kill my baby from 30 feet away.
I was playing with her the night before, and she cried for me like usual when I put her to bed. She was gone in an instant, don't let it happen to you.' Jim in Tennessee.
Learn more about Teflon and the effects on your bird. Take a moment to look at the link below and make your own mind up.
Dupont TM Teflon R
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Bacterial Alert - "The Kiss of Death"
by Marilu Anderson, Bird Nutrition and Behavior Consultant
Phone: (503) 771-BIRD
Our companion parrots LOVE our mouths - to kiss us, eat from our mouths, feed us, clean our teeth (they're all budding dental hygienists!) We love them in return - and want to kiss them back, share our food, nuzzle, and bond. Unfortunately, the human mouth is a breeding ground for many nasty pathogens harmful to birds, especially bacteria, like E. Coli. I constantly remind people NOT to let their birdies come in contact with their saliva, yet it keeps happening.
I know how hard it is to resist a cute little beaker and exploring tongue on our face and lips, yet the consequences can be deadly. I've known people who routinely fed their unweaned baby parrots from their own mouths, or who prechewed nuts for their birds, or regularly let their buddy clean every single tooth in the evening as they sit and watch TV together. It seems innocuous enough - most of us don't worry about catching anything from our birds and, in fact, there are very few diseases that WE can get from THEM.
But the danger we don't think of is from US infecting THEM!! We humans have very different digestive systems and immune systems from our parrots, so many of the common bacteria in our mouths and bodies that don't make us sick can be devastating to our birds. In fact, there's not many places on earth nastier than the human mouth!! (Just ask a doctor about the seriousness of a human bite!) Last year, some friends of mine lost one of their beloved Quakers, and spent many months nursing the other one back to health, due to an E. Coli infection from human saliva.
Just recently, another friend discovered that her African Grey has a bacterial infection from - you guessed it! - SALIVA!! Fortunately, it's mild, but he has to undergo a 10 day course of antibiotics nonetheless. So, please, please, PLEASE - resist the temptation to "swap spit" with your birdie - we can share our love in much safer ways that don't put our loved ones at risk of illness, or even death!!
For lots more information on parrots visit
www.yourparrotplace.com
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DISCIPLINE & TRAINING 
LINKS PAGE
YOUR BIRDY STORIES
Helpful Tips
Parrots need a variety of foods to provide them with a healthy balanced diet.
A good quality seed blend will supply much of your pets needs, but is not enough on its own. Below are some very simple rules for a healthy pet bird.
A simple guide to feeding Parrots:
* Give fresh water daily. Don't be fooled by a full bowl, it may just be husks.
* Clean the seed tray daily.
* Always give a cuttlefish bone or similar source of calcium.
* Feed fresh fruit and vegetables - up to 50% of the total diet.
* Feed mixed pulses, once boiled, on a regular basis.
* Avoid feeding dairy products such as cheese.
* Parrots are like children - they love treats, but don't spoil them.
* If in doubt, consult your veterinary surgeon.
Make Sure Your Parrot is Happy and Healthy
It is not enough to simply feed your pet well. They are intelligent and active birds and require a number of other pointers for a healthy life.
* Don't let them get bored, they can rapidly develop bad habits. There are plenty of good toys available to provide them with hours of fun.
* Keep their feet in good condition - either get the vet to clip the claws or get a conditioning perch which has a rough surface to wear down the ends of the claws. We suggest that you get the vet to clip claws, because not only can they bleed, but also if you do it yourself, your pet might sulk for a while.
* Talk to you bird - they love conversation. You might feel self-conscious at first, but both you and your pet will soon be having long conversations.
* Let them out of the cage regularly - they love the chance to stretch their wings and explore. If your bird is destructive, simply return it to its cage - they soon learn to regard this as punishment enough, but remember, a cage is their home and not simply a punishment.
* Wash your bird regularly. Some birds like to wash in a bowl of water; others prefer a shower from a domestic sprayer.
* Don't leave the bird in a draught - this can be lethal.
* Don't let you bird be too cold, but a constant room temperature is more important than a hot one.
* Never have a parrot in a conservatory; it is cold in winter and too hot in summer.
*Most parrots will prefer one member of a household to the others, this is quite normal, so don't be upset if it isn't you.
* If you have any doubts about the health of your bird, contact your vet.
* Joining your local Parrot Club or The Parrot Society is always a good idea, as you will meet other parrot-lovers and be able to discuss any problems or concerns you may have.
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