Wild Parrots |
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Pet Parrots |
Wild Parrots
- Fly 2 to 3 miles between feeding sites
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Pet Parrots
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Wild Parrots
- Forage 4 to 6 hours per day
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Pet Parrots
- Pelleted diets can provide all of the caloric needs of a bird in less than 1 hour
- Seeds contain even greater caloric density and seed-based diets tend to cause obesity and malnutrition
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Wild Parrots
- Spend time with each food item. This cockatoo snipped off a branch complete with leaves, flowers, and seed pods. It is holding the food branch in one foot and balancing in the tree with the other foot. It spent 20 minutes leisurely examining the branch and nibbling on its edible parts.
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Pet Parrots
- Pelleted diets are nutritionally more complete, but relatively uninteresting
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Wild Parrots
- Feed on greater than 60 plant species including fruits, blossoms, leaves, seeds, and nuts
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Pet Parrots tend to become:
- Picky eaters
- Seed junkies
- Fearful or phobic of new foods
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Wild Parrots
- Nutritional status and longevity unknown
- Obesity rarely observed
- Rarely appear bored
- Feather damaging behaviors rarely observed
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Problems Seen in Pet Parrots
- Obesity
- Boredom
- Feather damaging behaviors
- Other problem behaviors
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Images |
Rationale |
Let your bird do the shredding. |
Fresh Vegetables are Great Food
- Lots of variety to choose from
- Good source of vitamins and minerals
- Good source of dietary fiber
- Low fat
- Relatively easy to get
Generally, if you can eat it fresh, so can your birds. Exceptions:
- NO AVOCADO. Avocadoes are toxic to birds.
- Probably best to avoid raw onions
- Pits from cherries, plums, and apple seeds (I know these are not vegetables, but the tip still holds) contain
cyanide-like compounds
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Bird-shredded vegetables at the bottom of the cage |
Rationale
- Increases the amount of time your pet parrot is kept occupied
- Tip: You do not need to chop your bird's vegetables into bite size pieces. Let your bird do the work.
- Provides a protective effect against boredom
- Provides a protective effect against feather damaging behaviors
- Provides a protective effect against "problem" behaviors
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Foraging toys
- Designed to challenge birds to "work" for their "treats"
- Stimulates the bird's brain
- You can view more objects like this at www.thebirdbrain.com
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Or you can try this!
- Make your own piñata
- Wrap treats in balls of paper
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Cooked beans and grains are also interesting and nutritious food for birds |
Or you can try this!
- Set up feeding stations in different parts of their environment
- Play "hide and seek" with treats
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Got other ideas to share?
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