A balanced diet can help to prevent many behavioural and health problems. When your bird is not well fed, malnutrition sets in, and it can cause preventable sickness that could lead to death. When feeding pet birds, you should try to mimic their natural feeding habitat. This primarily involves feeding what they would have eaten if they were free-roaming in the wild.
There are different categories of birds based on how they feed, they include:
- Florivores: They feed on tree barks, roots (Carrots), nuts, berries, seeds, and fruits. Examples of birds in this category are Red-faced parrots, Grey Parrots, Love birds, military macaws, blue and gold macaws.
- Granivores: Budgerigars (Parakeet), cockatiels, Pigeons, doves, canaries, and hyacinth macaw are Granivores and they feed basically on seeds and grains.
- Omnivores: They have more versatile feeding options. They do well with Insects, fruits, invertebrates, or seeds. Red-tailed Amazon and some cockatoo’s fall in this category.
- Nectarivores: These are birds that feed on nectar, pollen, seeds, and some insects. Lorry and Lorikeet are in this category.
- Frugivores: They mostly feed on fruits, flowers, seeds, and nuts. Birds in this category are Blue-throated macaws and Green-winged macaws.
These food options are from natural sources and with the categories above, you know what to feed your bird. There is also a commercial veterinary-formulated diet that you can feed your pet birds. They are usually designed for different birds and you can find them in most pet shops.
Foods To Avoid Your Pet Birds
Foods on the do-not-feed list for companion birds include chocolate, avocado, onions, apple seeds, mushrooms, table salts, caffeine, alcohol, and high-fat junk foods.
