Because of our obvious love for these wonderful creatures, our understanding of parrots has changed greatly over the years. Take feeding, for example. It used to be that pet parrots were typically raised on a diet of seeds and nuts.
Owners would simply fill a cup with whatever "parrot mix" seed formula they purchased at their local pet store and watch their beloved pet gorge itself on the fat-heavy, vitamin deficient diet. Don't get me wrong, I sympathize with those bird owners, who, for lack of knowledge, shortened their bird's life because of an imbalance in nutrition. They were misled to believe they were providing food which contained all the vitamins and minerals the bird needed. All the while, the bird owner is thinking: "what a good job I'm doing of feeding my bird, why, he just gobbles up everything I put in front of him."
Well, of course he's gobbling it down like a kid with a bag of potato chips. That's because it is. You see, feeding your parrot a seed/nut diet is not much better than eating junk food. Typically, this diet is notably low in vitamins A & C, and has an unacceptable calcium to phosphorus ratio, which is needed to produce strong bones and healthy feathers. So, a healthy appetite is not necessarily a good indicator for a healthy bird. And, to be perfectly honest, I like junk food, too. I'd eat chocolate chip cookies WAY before I dive eagerly into a big plate of broccoli, but that doesn't mean it's good for me. Let's face it, a high-fat diet isn't good for us, either. In fact, that's a good rule of thumb: if it isn't good for you, it isn't healthy for your birdie friend, either. And while parrots prefer to eat these high fat foods, they cause obesity and believe it or not, eating disorders.
I may be preaching to the choir here, but we all want our birds to live long, healthy lives. With dietary knowledge, a parrot owner can improve his/her bird's well being and expand its life expectancy, too. Yes, life expectancy, but that's another subject for another time, so I won't go into that. However, I will say this: if you want your bird around, living to a ripe old age, you have to feed it right!
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Theresa Pascarella's Parrot Care topic, please visit the Discussions page.