Polly’s Crackers
Kraaa! Polly wants a cracker, Polly wants a cracker, Kraaa. There he goes again. The all too familiar sentence we often associate with parrots. Probably because we’ve seen this portrayal in lots of movies, in various shows, and even read it in written literature, that’s why we make the association.
Regardless, the specific concern we have here pertains to the diet of your pet bird, more specifically your pet parrot. Proper nutrition is very important, obviously, and this brings us back to the crackers thing. Are those things even suitable for parrots?
Surprisingly, the answer to that question would be, yes. Recent studies have shown that pet parrots may benefit more if you feed them with crackers or any food that you have prepared for yourself instead of the regular pellet diet.
It is a misconception, and we better put that away now, that birds including parrots eat only birdseed or those locally available bird pellets. While it is true that parrots will eat pellets, however, this type of food should only consist of about 65% to 80% of your pet’s diet. Another 15% to 30% should be vegetables and the remaining 5% or so can be in the form of seeds and fruits.
Parrots are pretty much like humans in terms of their diet. Your parrot needs to avoid foods that are high in sugar or fats. They can also get seriously obese so carefully regulating your birds diet is one of your top priorities as a pet owner.
Your pet might find radishes, carrots, radicchio, cooked potatoes, kale, parsley, tomato, green beans, eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens and sugar snap or snow peas very interesting to eat.
Aside from vegetables, fruits like apples, berries, mango, honeydew, pineapple, banana, pears, peaches, oranges, cantaloupe, pomegranate, and berries are good to the health of the bird.
Another thing that you might want to do is to feed your pet parrot in ways that mimic the natural world. You need to pull out some creativity magic from your hat when it comes to feeding your bird. Parrots are very active and curious birds, and feeding your pet with fruits and vegetables hanged from a string or stick will keep it from getting bored.
Balancing a diet rich with proteins, vitamins, and minerals is the general idea. However, specific parrot species might need more care than others. This is another reason why you should get to know your pet even more.
So the next time Polly asks for crackers, give him a couple of bites along with other foods.
Tags: animal diets, pet care, pet food, pet owner, pet parrots