Parro’Talks Nutrition - Food Pellets
But first, WHY pellets‽
Majority of parrots unfortunately can’t be trusted to choose the best diet for themselves on their own. If given the choice, these little guys would eat nothing but sunflower seeds, which would exclude important vitamins from their diets and would significantly shorten their lifespan. Do NOT feed your parrot a full or even a partial seed diet. Seeds and seed mixes are high in fat, and low in vitamins, minerals, and protein that your parrot needs on a regular basis. Instead, a pellet diet is the way to go — pellets have an optimal mix of vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates, and fats that your parrot is going to need to best maintain its health. As a result, having a diet primarily consisting of extruded food (i.e., pellets) is recommended for a happy, healthy parrot.
What does Science say?
There’s a lot of research and differing opinions out there, but it seems that the ideal diet is anywhere between 50% pellets + 50% vegetables and fruits, to 80% pellets + 20% vegetables and fruits. Getting your parrot to eat pellets is an adventure — it can always be done, but it may take months, or even years, before a parrot will consistently and willingly eat pellets. Other times, they make take to eating pellets in a matter of days. The reason it’s so difficult to get your parrot to eat pellets (or anything new for that matter) is because at a young age, birds will rely on their parents to show them which foods are safe to eat, and which aren’t. As a result, the older your parrot gets, the more difficult it’s likely going to be to convert them to pellets since they’ve already made their mind up about what’s safe and good to eat, and what’s not.
Make those pellets palatable!
A few tricks to get them to eat pellets include putting them in apple sauce or water to soften them, (pretending) to eat them yourself, and making a big deal (using an excited, happy voice and lots of encouragement) if your bird even so much as pays attention to the pellets. DO NOT assume that if you leave your parrot in its cage by itself, that hunger will take over and the pellets will be eaten — some parrots are stubborn enough that they might risk their health before eating something they don’t want. The best way to introduce pellets to your parrot’s diet is to mix it in with its normal meal, slowly increasing the ratio of pellets to other stuff each week. Take it slowly! A lot of parrots will also prefer to make “parrot stew” our of their pellets, by dunking them in their water dish first. Inevitably, they’ll get distracted and leave a few pellets in there after each meal. Make sure these don’t sit for too long, and freshen their water at least twice daily.
Some personal recommendations (not sponsored)
Be aware that there are a bunch of different types and brands of pellets out there, all of which apparently have different benefits to your bird, but revolve around the idea of offering a more complete nutritional benefit to its diet. I know many people out there use Roudybush, Tropican, Harrison’s and Zupreem (and other brands). Ideally, you should select and use the one with the least amount of “filler” (e.g., ground soy or ground corn that bulk out the product while not adding much nutritional value), and artificial additives and colorings. However, if it turns out that for whatever reason, your parrot just won’t eat the pellets you’re trying, you should considering attempting to feed a different brand. Any pellet is going to be better than any seed mix out there, guaranteed!
