Food Nutrition Table for Parrots

by Heike Ewing Ott

Have you ever wondered if certain foods are better for parrots than others? Did you know that some foods are toxic to parrots and should never be fed? Whether you feed your bird pellets or not, the foods at the top of the list will benefit your bird the most. And the foods at the bottom of the list should never be given to birds.

Note: This list is based solely upon my own personal experience and what I have read. I make no guarantees about its accuracy or suitability for every bird, or its completeness.

Groups of foods are ranked by nutritional value, not by how much they like it!

Great Stuff!:

Whole wheat breads Oats Corn Brown rice
Cornbread Peas Most Beans Broccoli
Cauliflower Carrots Asparagus Spinach
Whole wheat or Vegetable pasta Turnip Greens Mustard Greens Peppers (Bell, Jalapeno, chile, etc.)
Parsley Egg noodles Bulgur Wheat Cheerios
Wheat Germ Cooked Chicken and Turkey Potatoes Egg, cooked
Apple Yogurt Cottage cheese Banana
Pumpkin Seeds Pine Nuts Life cereal Kashi
Papaya      


Good Stuff:

Grapes Oranges Grapefruit Lemon
Lime Cherries Pomegranate Peaches
Nectarine Watermelon Cantaloupe Honeydew
Blackberries Blueberries Pears Pineapple
Romaine Lettuce Red Cabbage Butter Lettuce Greenleaf Lettuce
Turnips Radishes Bread Pasta
Biscuits Millet Cucumber Tomato
Squash Zucchini cooked Rice Almonds
Canary Grass seed Garbanzo Beans Granola cereal (no sugar) Water Chestnuts
Oatmeal Mango    


Good Limited: (Good Nutrition, but high in fat)

Brazil Nuts Peanuts Peanut Butter Walnuts
Pecans Cashews Cooked beef and pork Macaroni & cheese
Sunflower seeds Safflower seeds Cream Cheese hard cheeses
Pizza      


Neutral Stuff: (not bad for them, but not much nutrition)

Lettuce Cabbage Celery Crackers
white bread flour tortillas Bagels Biscuits
Popcorn Onions Mushrooms Hominy Grits


Neutral Limited: Not =bad= (ie not toxic), but high in fat, salt or sugar

French fries Potato chips Tortilla chips Sausages
Lunchmeat Cookies Cake Muffins
Pretzels Frankfurters Gatorade Kool-aid
most breakfast cereals butter/
margarine
most canned foods, soups, etc Ice cream
Doughnuts Pastries    


BAD stuff: (toxic or possibly harmful)

Avocado Chocolate Caffeine Alcohol
Carbonated drinks Milk (they can't digest it) dried fruits (containing sulfides or sulphates) most houseplants
catnip marijuana Gatorade  

 

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8 Comments on Food Nutrition Table for Parrots »

July 29, 2007

Harht @ 10:52 am:

HERE IS THE TOXIC/UNHEALTHY PARROT FOOD LIST I HAVE COMPILED:

TOXIC OR UNHEALTHY BIRD FOODS

Avoid anything high is salt, sugar, and fat content.
Alcohol
Apple seeds
Apricot pits
Asparagus
Avocado (entire plant and fruit)
Beans - Kidney, Lima
Beans, any dried
Butter
Caffeine
Carbonated beverages
Cherry pits
Chocolate
Cigarrete tobacco
Egg Plant
Gatorade
Milk/cream in large quantities
Nectarine pits
Olives
Onions (raw or cooked)
Peach pits
Pear pips
Plum pits
Raw Peanuts
Rhubarb
Tobacco
Tomato (entire plant and fruit)
Houseplants (most are toxic, not all)
dried fruits (containing sulfides or sulphates)

It is best to get the lists of SAFE plants, woods and foods and just stick with them. Otherwise, check with your vet for anything not on the SAFE list!

To be extra safe, peel AND core fruits. Peels contain pesticides and should be disinfected with either Avicine or Citricidal. Certain fruits and vegetables have seeds that are toxic to parrots. Sometimes products can be found on organic produce.

Here are important links concerning things that are toxic to your bird:

LIST OF PLANTS TOXIC TO BIRDS:
http://www.birdsnways.com/articles/plntstox.htm

LIST OF TREES TOXIC TO BIRDS:
http://www.mdvaden.com/bird_page.shtml
(This does not mean lumber! Consider all treated lumber as possibly toxic)

LIST OF COMMON HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS TOXIC TO BIRDS:
http://www.avianlove.com/content.php?content_id=9

LISTS OF THINGS TOXIC AND NON-TOXIC TO BIRDS:
http://www.parrot-and-conure-world.com/non-toxic-for-birds.html

RECIPES FOR PARROTS
http://www.parrothouse.com/recipes.html

September 4, 2007

Kay Tomlin @ 11:18 am:

Thank you! I just found everything that was being fed to my new three yr, old Quaker Parrot was wrong. He was given to me by my niece…MY other problem is the bird was pulling feathers…..any suggestions?

September 7, 2007

Shelia @ 1:11 am:

A few common causes of feather pulling are disease/allergies, malnutrition/inadequate diet, stress/anxiety, lack of sleep (less than 10-12 hours per day), boredom/lonliness/neglect, sexual frustration/hormonal changes, or by environmental factors. Feather plucking is found only in pet parrots which points to the bird's reaction to pluck as psychological. It can also become a habit. Below are three informative websites to help you determine the cause of the feather plucking. Each site covers the issue at a different angle and are all worth checking out.

http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww4eii.htm (covers many causes and solutions)

http://www.petparrot.com/ParrotCarePlucking.htm (covers disease, stress, and boredom, and illustrates a simple, homemade bird vest to help deter plucking)

http://bird-elicious.blogspot.com/2005/10/feather-plucking-feather-plucker_20.html (covers mostly allergies and the use of vitamin C)

September 26, 2007

Avis @ 5:21 pm:

I just bought an african grey and would like his area to be as close to his natural habitat as possible. I was wondering if my spider plant and money tree(pachira species) will harm him if he nibbles.

November 2, 2007

sabrnia @ 1:34 pm:

i have gren parrot very sweet and i really liked how you put the good and bad food for them

November 29, 2007

jbel @ 1:50 pm:

very helpful posts, my baby quaker is very happy and talkative! he seems to have a strong liking for banana bread, is that okay?

December 4, 2007

kiwibaby3p @ 2:29 pm:

I just got a rescued sun conure 3yrs. old and I bought Hartz parrot gourmet diet from winndixie for him. I take out the sunflowers and peanuts though. it has all kinds of stuff in it ex., raisins, pellets, coconutetc. is it okay to feed him strictly that or does he need other stuff too? thankyou to all those who take time to reply!

January 23, 2008

Carol Kirsch @ 7:06 pm:

Thank you for the info here. I have 3 quakers Kiwi Quakey and Tiki Kiwi and Quakey just love Jalapeno peppers and it amazes people when they see them eating it when I tak them with me to the Flea Market every weekend for their big time out. They also like carrots, cucumbers, apples, Chex cereal and Cheerios, and they like bread mashed potatoes,popcorn,pizza chinese wonton soup, chinese LoMein noodles, sunflower seeds, cashews oatmeal grapes cooked rice french fries few lunch meats corn,potato chips and all the good stuff I give them a little bit of each everyday and I go can I take you order Kiwi,Quakey and Tiki and it's so cute they will chrip and talk and let me know what it is they want each night these little guys (quakers) are simply the most amazing and intelligent little guys there is. My 3 quakes even eat better than me, I make sure that they have simply nothing but the best each and everyday they are the little loves of my life, my feathered children indeed.

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