Feeding Your Parrot: Do's & Dont's - Family - Pets

Making your new parrot comfortable and relaxed with their new surroundings is a must. A popular misconception on bringing new birds home is that they are not eating because of their new surroundings. Since they are scared, try giving them different treats until you find one they like. You can then move on to different food that your parrot in particular will like.

The proverbial saying "Polly wants a cracker!" is true in a sense. Crackers are a favorite of parrots but try putting a small amount of honey on the cracker first, and your new bird will love it. This will help the parrot feel comfortable and think that this new place is alright. It's also better to use salt free crackers as too much salt in a parrot's diets is not good for them and should only be given in small amounts.

Be sure to keep clean, fresh water daily in order to help get them comfortable. Parrots will play with their food or just be messy in general. They don't like things in their water any more than you would. Sometimes, it may be necessary to change their water several times a day.

The cage will need 3 removable trays for food and water. One will be for water, one for dry food and one for other types of foods. Make sure the trays are cleaned daily to avoid bacterial contamination. Even dry seeds, if left too long in the food tray can become sour and make the parrot sick.

Purchasing less than desirable food for your pet will not make the parrot eat it. Parrots are finicky eaters so you just have to keep trying different types and combinations for your particular parrot. Many parrots require quite a bit of nutrients, including vitamin A for their immune system; phosphorus and calcium to prevent calcium deficiency and protein. Fruits, some dairy, vegetables and even some meat are now being recognized as essential to the proper diet of parrots.

Parrots need to be feed twice daily and needs to resemble natural foraging habits to ensure a healthy eating schedule. The best time to feed parrots are just after dawn and just before dusk. This will sometimes alleviate the problem of not eating. Parrots may very well like the food he is being given; however, it's just not the right time.

Keep small amounts of seeds or pellets handy for the parrot to munch on during the day, but only put fresh fruits, fresh vegetables or cooked beans into the food tray morning and night. You will need to adapt to the parrot's schedule instead of your own.

Refrain from feeding too much junk food to your parrot. While they may like pretzels, pizza or popcorn, the amount of salt, fat and calories are not good for them and then they will not eat the healthier foods at mealtimes.

Parrots are extremely attuned to the owner's attitude to some foods. If the parrot senses that the owner doesn't like a certain vegetable or combination of vegetables, the parrot may not like it either so be sure to make yourself comfortable with feeding parrots "people food" as well as nuts.

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