Parrot diet: One of the most common behaviors found in domestic parrots is that when they eat, they throw their seeds outside their feeder, thus dirtying their entire living space. Be careful, we are not talking about food leftovers but whole foods!
Have you ever asked yourself this question: Why does my parrot shed its seeds? Do you think it’s because he’s not a fan of what you offer him to eat? Do you think it makes him laugh to see you on all fours cleaning up his nonsense? we are going to tell you about all the causes that answer the question Why does my pet parrot throw its seeds, we will also discuss all the possible solutions to this problem!
parrot food
The diet of parrots is a factor to which we must pay special attention since it is through what it eats that it will maintain its good health. Bad feeding can suppose problems in the development of the animal, the appearance of diseases, and even the death of the animal, moreover, bad feeding is also responsible for the appearance of inappropriate behaviors.
The correct diet for a parrot is one that has been developed in a balanced way, it must be composed of varied foods that take into account the needs of the species which may vary depending on the age and time of life of the parrot. parrot.
In order to feed our parrot two options are available to us:
- Extruded food for parrots: this type of food is specially designed to provide complete nutrition to our animals. On the market, it is possible to find many brands in different formats to allow us to choose the one that suits us best. For us, it is an easy way to feed our pet but it is possible that our parrot refuses this type of food if he is not used to it since he was very young. If we decide to give this type of food, veterinarians tend to recommend giving our parrot extra greens and fresh fruit.
- Seeds, greens, and fruits: if we want our parrot to follow a diet more similar to that which it could have in its natural environment, we must give it a mixture of seeds on a daily basis, whether it is a package that we buy directly or by making our own seed mix. Seeds represent 50% of the total food that a parrot must ingest daily, greens 45% of the diet, and fruits 2.5%. The missing 2.5% are represented by the food supplements that we must offer to our parrot alternately, we find among these supplements, dried fruits, calcium (dry bones or calcium blocks for parrots), and grit (small stones that help in digestion of the seeds).
If you want to learn more about feeding parrots, you can take a look at this article: Fruits and Vegetables for Parrots in which you will learn what fruits and vegetables you can feed your parrot.
Causes that cause the parrot to throw away its food
Wondering why your parrot wastes so much food? Generally speaking, you could say that parrots are a bit “messy” when they feed, but in some cases, the amount of wasted feed is very high, so it’s normal to wonder why my parrot throws food.
One of the reasons why parrots throw away their food is because they seek out and select foods that seem to them to be of better quality. If we feed it seeds and vegetables, it will get rid of what it doesn’t like and eat only what it likes best. If you think your parrot is throwing away the food because he is picky, it might be best if you start feeding him extruded foods, but if your parrot hasn’t been used to it since he was little, changing your diet can be very complicated…
However, there are some fun techniques you can try to get your pet to accept and learn to like wood pellets, this same technique can be used to introduce any new food into your parrot’s diet. What you are going to have to do is try to treat the new food like you would treat a toy and introduce it the same way you would a toy! You can make little cries to get his attention and offer him to try to get the content out.
Boredom is another reason why a parrot wastes its food excessively. Parrots are animals that need mental challenges and new stimuli, they are very intelligent and therefore have needs that must be met in order to be mentally healthy and thus be happy. We need to make sure that our pet’s environment is enriched to the fullest!
Using toys, mirrors, or doing puzzles with them will make your pet feel completely fulfilled, plus it will strengthen your relationship in a healthy and fun way.
Another reason why your parrot may be throwing away its food is the monotony in the parrot diet. Always eating the same fruits and vegetables, or the same mixture of seeds can be boring for your parrot, moreover, never varying your parrot’s food is absolutely not healthy. In addition, it is interesting to encourage your parrot to look for food on its own, to do this we recommend that you hide small pieces of its favorite food in its cage.
Parrot feeding
In the continuation of our article Why my parrot throws its seeds we will show you 4 common mistakes made in parrot feeding that you must take into account if your parrot keeps throwing its food:
- The bowl looks like it’s full but it’s not. Some parrots leave the shells in the bowl giving the impression that it is always full. It is therefore important to remove the shells and change its food daily so as not to make the mistake that we are going to tell you about in the next point.
- Expired food. Leaving the same food for several days in your parrot’s salad bowl will result in our parrot no longer want to eat it…
- ” He just wants to eat seeds.” A seed-only diet is bad for your parrot’s health. Although this is a very difficult challenge, it is ESSENTIAL to vary your parrot’s diet.
- His salad bowl is dirty. In the same way that we keep his cage clean, his bowl must always be clean, without expired food, and not soiled by droppings.
We are sure and certain that your experience with parrots has helped you enormously to completely overcome these errors and we are convinced that you have other tips and advice, do not hesitate to leave us a comment in which you share your experience!
Cockatiel bird food
SOURCE:African Grey Parrot Pet