If you are visiting this page then you have more than likely found a feathered friend or are interested in some additional ideas of healthy feeding for birds. Birds can eat many healthy foods that we normally eat and we have incorporated some of those ideas on this page. Feeding a vast variety of fresh whole foods will allow our birds not only to thrive but will improve their overall quality of life. A proper diet is vital in parrots just as it is in you and I. These foods are usually provided to our birds in what is known as 'chop'. Chop is simply a healthy blend or mix of finely chopped fresh vegetables and/or cooked foods that is fed to birds.
Chop is a great way to introduce new foods even to the pickiest of eaters and offering a variety of different foods, colors and textures is a great way to accomplish this. When making chop, I tend to think of the colors in a rainbow and incorporate these colors into their meals. For example, choose 2 or 3 dark green vegetables such as Turnip, Collard, Mustard, Kale, Bok Choy, Kolrabi, Brussel Sprouts, Okra or Broccoli. Then choose some red, orange, yellow food items such as bell peppers/capsicum, butternut squash, yellow squash, acorn squash, cauliflower, red cabbage or carrots. Add some berries or a fruit to their meal such as blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, cantaloupe, kiwi, papaya, pomegranate, honeydew or apple. Some birds may prefer certain textures and may like their foods finely chopped, grated or shredded, some may like to hold their foods while others may like a combination of both. Please feel free to experiment to find out what it is your bird enjoys.
You will find that many bird owners use food processors or choppers to cut up their vegetables while others simply use a sharp kitchen knife. Please use whatever works best for you. If you are feeding one bird then you may not need to make as much food. Simply cut off a few pieces of dark leafy green vegetables, chop up a few colored vegetables and combine them together. Perhaps add a little sliced or diced fruit and/or berries afterwards to top it off. Remember to make sure the vegetables make up the bulk of what they are eating and not overdo the fruit
Preparing foods for our feathered friends can be creative and a lot of fun. Attached below you will find some food charts to help get you started and provide additional ideas of foods that can and cannot be fed and have also included a few meal ideas.
MEAL IDEAS
Parrots Have Extremely Sensitive Respiratory Systems and Some Common Household Items Like Those Listed Below Along With Its Fumes Can Be Deadly To Your Bird.
Keep Your Bird Safe While In The Kitchen By Using Safe Cookware Such As:
- Stainless Steel
- Cast Iron
- Glass
** Be certain cookware states BOTH PFOA AND PTFE FREE and not just one and not the other. It Must State Both. Otherwise, do not use.
- Glass
** Be certain cookware states BOTH PFOA AND PTFE FREE and not just one and not the other. It Must State Both. Otherwise, do not use.
ITEMS THAT HAVE CAUSED DEATH IN PARROTS
- Cedar Cooking Blocks / Planks
- Non Stick Aluminum Foil
- Non Stick Cookware
- Non Stick Oven Liners
- Self Cleaner Mode on Oven
- Teflon
- Cedar Cooking Blocks / Planks
- Non Stick Aluminum Foil
- Non Stick Cookware
- Non Stick Oven Liners
- Self Cleaner Mode on Oven
- Teflon
HOUSEHOLD ITEMS THAT ARE TOXIC OR DEADLY TO BIRDS
- Ammonia
- Antifreeze
- Ant Syrup or Paste
- Arsenic
- Asbestos
- Auto Products
- Ant Syrup or Paste
- Arsenic
- Asbestos
- Auto Products
- Bathroom Cleaners
- Bleach
- Boric Acid
- Camphophenique
- Candles
- Carbon Monoxide
- Carpet Cleaners
- Carpet Freshner
- Cedar Block for Cooking
- Charcoal Fluids
- Chlordane
- Chlorine
- Cigarette Smoke
- Clinitest Tablets
- Copper Brass Cleaner
- Corn & Wart Remover
- Deodorants
- Detergents
- Diazinon
- Disinfectents
- Drain Cleaners
- Epoxy Glue
- Felt Tip Markers
- Flea Products
- Floor Polish
- Formaldeyhide
- Furniture Polish
- Garden Sprays
- Gasoline
- Gun Cleaners
- Hair Dyes, Hair Permanents & Sprays
- Herbicides
- Insecticides
- Iodine
- Kerosine
- Lighter Fluid
- Lye
- Matches
- Melaleuca Oil
- Model Cement
- Moth Balls
- Muriatic Acid
- Nail Polish Remover
- Nitrogen Dioxide
- Non-Stick Oven Liners
- Non-Stick Aluminum Foil
- Oven Cleaner
- Oven (Self Cleaning Mode)
- Overheated Non-Stick Cookware
- Paint Thinner / Paint
- Perfume
- Pesticides
- Photo Solutions
- Pine Oil
- RX Drugs
- Rodenticides
- Rubbing Alcohol
- Shaving Lotions
- Shellac
- Shoe Polish
- Snail Bait
- Spot Removers
- Spray Starch
- Strychnine
- Sulfuric Acid
- Super Glue
- Suntan Lotions/Oils
- Surgical Acrylics
- Tea Tree Oil
- Teflon
- Turpentine
- Wax
- Weed Killers
- Window Cleaners
- Bleach
- Boric Acid
- Camphophenique
- Candles
- Carbon Monoxide
- Carpet Cleaners
- Carpet Freshner
- Cedar Block for Cooking
- Charcoal Fluids
- Chlordane
- Chlorine
- Cigarette Smoke
- Clinitest Tablets
- Copper Brass Cleaner
- Corn & Wart Remover
- Deodorants
- Detergents
- Diazinon
- Disinfectents
- Drain Cleaners
- Epoxy Glue
- Felt Tip Markers
- Flea Products
- Floor Polish
- Formaldeyhide
- Furniture Polish
- Garden Sprays
- Gasoline
- Gun Cleaners
- Hair Dyes, Hair Permanents & Sprays
- Herbicides
- Insecticides
- Iodine
- Kerosine
- Lighter Fluid
- Lye
- Matches
- Melaleuca Oil
- Model Cement
- Moth Balls
- Muriatic Acid
- Nail Polish Remover
- Nitrogen Dioxide
- Non-Stick Oven Liners
- Non-Stick Aluminum Foil
- Oven Cleaner
- Oven (Self Cleaning Mode)
- Overheated Non-Stick Cookware
- Paint Thinner / Paint
- Perfume
- Pesticides
- Photo Solutions
- Pine Oil
- RX Drugs
- Rodenticides
- Rubbing Alcohol
- Shaving Lotions
- Shellac
- Shoe Polish
- Snail Bait
- Spot Removers
- Spray Starch
- Strychnine
- Sulfuric Acid
- Super Glue
- Suntan Lotions/Oils
- Surgical Acrylics
- Tea Tree Oil
- Teflon
- Turpentine
- Wax
- Weed Killers
- Window Cleaners
