|
I started keeping parrots in the
late 70's. Back then there wasn't much information about proper diets
and the common wisdom was "seed only". We've sure come a
long way!
First, let me tell you about the
nutrition information available on another website: The
Parrot University. Steve Hartman is a large-scale parrot breeder
in Ohio. He's got decades of experience and has amassed a huge amount
of information. His website is a great place for information and I
encourage you to explore it. Here's a direct
link to his article about diet (it's excellent!).
I wasn't going to have a
"nutrition" page, knowing that there are so many good sources out
there (like Steve's website), but I keep
getting asked (on bird forums and online discussion groups) what I feed my
birds... so here you go:
Large Macaw (B&G)
Daily:
-
Pellet food (a
specific formula designed for macaws). Laka always has
a bowl of dry pellets in her cage. This is kept separate from
other foods so that she doesn't smear or drip wet foods in the
bowl. We check her dry food and just top it up when it's getting
low.
-
1/2 c of "basic soft
food" each morning. (recipe)
She often eats all this and wants more, but we've found that if we put
too much in her bowl she wastes most of it. So we give a
"serve" in the morning and top it up later in the day if her
bowl is empty in the afternoon.
-
2 T or so of cooked/mashed sweet
potato (about every other day). Sweet
potato is offered frequently to ensure she's getting plenty of vitamin
"A".
-
fruit - what she gets varies,
could be apples, grapes, pear, mango, rock melon (known
as cantaloupe in the US), honeydew melon, kiwi. I tend
not to serve red fruits (cherries, strawberries,
raspberries) simply because they stain.
-
Nuts - 3 per day most
days. Occasionally 4. (almonds, walnuts,
hazelnuts, macadamias. She won't eat brazil nuts, but the Catalina
I had in Ohio loved them). I don't give her peanuts, as
I've heard that there is some evidence to suggest that macaws can become
sensitive to peanuts and develop a food allergy reaction. Almost
all nuts are given to her in the shell - macadamias, however, we have to
crack for her because she can't open them if there isn't a crack in the
shell (macadamia shells are very round and smooth,
impossible to open).
Treats (also daily, but
not everything shown here every day):
-
Seeds (as treats),
mostly sunflower seeds.
-
I buy frozen
corn-on-the-cob (cobs cut into
halves or thirds) and offer a cob
every now and then (I microwave
the cob, then let it set a good 20 minutes to make sure it's not too
hot). This the bird enjoys
as a treat and also a toy.
-
green leafy goodies (lettuce,
spinach, basil, cilantro, carrot tops, etc.)
-
cucumber, zucchini,
celery stalks
-
fried rice (in
my experience, all parrots adore fried rice)
-
chicken and other meats
(but very small portions). I never met a macaw who didn't
appreciate a little nibble of cooked pork.
-
cooked pasta and egg
(boiled or scrambled/fried)
-
Then there's the
occasional pretzel (I rub the salt
off first).
We'll let her taste just
about anything EXCEPT: avocado, alcohol, foods with
sugar, coffee or other caffeinated beverages, and foods that have much
salt. She's an adventurous eater and will try anything,
especially if she sees us eating it.
One thing I've noted:
except for apple slices, my macaws seemed to waste fruit and other foods if
the size is too big. So... a lot of fruits and treats get cut up into
small diced sizes and served in small portions to reduce waste.
Red-Sided Eclectus
Conures (Green-cheek, Black
Capped, Sun) and Cockatiels
Canary
Recipe
for Basic Soft Food: My
basic "soft food" is half cooked legumes and half chopped
veggies. The veggies are there for vitamins and general
nutrition. The legumes add protein (which the birds
would be getting from eating bugs and such if they were living in the
wild). I cook
up large quantities of beans (legumes) in my
crock pot (rinse the beans then cook in water for 6-8
hours - and I usually throw in a couple of tablespoons of beef bouillon,
having found the birds seem to like their beans better with this flavor
added). The beans I cook include chick peas (aka
garbanzo beans), kidney beans, black beans, black eyed peas,
broad beans, etc. When I was living in the US I would buy
"15-bean soup mix" at the grocer and used that. I haven't
seen 15-bean soup mix in Australia, so I make my own mix. Once
the beans are cooked, I drain them and spoon them into small freezer tubs to
cool (you want the beans to cool fast - be aware that
cooked legumes can grow bad bacteria REALLY fast, so don't leave them
sitting around). I fill each tub with half beans and half
frozen veggies (buy a good veggie mix - corn, peas,
carrots, broccoli, etc. I find that veggies sold as "stir
fry" often have a great mix and the quality is excellent).
then freeze them in portions that will last about 2-3 days, thawing them in
the frig as needed. |
