Quick Guide to Feeding Pet Birds

Poor nutrition is one of the biggest causes of disease and death in pet birds. Birds do not live well on simple diets, and information on pet bird nutrition can be complicated and sometimes contradictory. The answer isn't simple, but feeding your pet birds can be, with a little know-how.

Bird Seed

Not many years ago, the easy answer to feeding birds was bird seed. "Easy" but not good. Seeds are not unhealthy as part of a diet, but as the whole diet they're unbalanced and lacking in several important vitamins and nutrients. It'd be as if you ate nothing but bread. Bread isn't bad for you, but as a complete diet it doesn't fit the bill!

Pellets

The pet food industry attempted to solve the bird seed problems by creating "all-in-one" pelleted foods for pet birds, like kibble for cats and dogs. Pellets can be better than seeds, but as a complete diet they fail to live up to their labeling. Some brands are better than others: "all-natural" is the way to go, to avoid artificial coloring and preservatives that may be dangerous. Even the best pellets can't provide complete nutrition for any bird, however.

Thinking Outside the Box

The best foods don't come from a box or shiny package at the pet store, but might be found in your refrigerator. Fresh fruits and vegetables are full of nutrients that just aren't in dry seeds or processed pellets. Fresh is best, but frozen will do. The best fruits and veggies are the ones with the deepest colored flesh: think berries instead of grapes, peppers instead of cucumbers, collards instead of iceberg lettuce, and other "colorful" produce.

Sprouting is for the Birds

Blue-fronted Amazon

Credit: Lara deVries

Copyright: Lara deVries