Parrot Diet Information
Safe and Unsafe Foods
Safe vegetables include: alfalfa, arugula/rocket, artichoke, asparagus, beets, bok choy, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage (red/green/chinese), capsicum, carrots, cauliflower, chard, chickweed, chicory/radicchio, chili peppers, collard greens, corn, courgette, cress, cucumber, daikon radish, dandelion leaves, eggplant, endive, escarole, green beans, green peas, jicama, kale, kelp, kohlrabi, lettuce (dark green/red leaf/romaine), mustard greens, okra, pak choy, parsnip, peas (green/snow/sugar snap), peppers plus seeds (red/green/banana/bell/chili/jalapeño/serrano/hot/sweet), pumpkin plus seeds, radish, rapini, romaine lettuce, rutabaga, spinach (feed occasionally), squash (yellow/acorn/butternut) plus seeds, spinach (in small amounts), sweet potatoes (not regular potatoes), swiss chard, tatsoi, turnip greens, watercress, yams, zucchini.
Fresh fruits include (note that all pits and seeds of fruits should be avoided as they contain arsenic and other toxins): apples, apricots, bananas, blackberries, blueberries, cactus fruit (prickly pear), cantaloupe, cherries, clementines, coconuts (feed occasionally), dates, damson, dragon fruit, fig, gooseberries (feed occasionally), grapes, greengage, guavas, honeydew, jackfruit, kiwi, kumquat, loquat, lychee, mandarin, mango, mulberries (feed occasionally), nectarine, oranges, papaya, passion fruit, paw paw, peaches, pear, persimmon (ripe), pineapples, plantains, plums, pomegranate, raisins (soak first), rambutan, satsuma, starfruit, strawberries, tangerines, watermelon.
Safe plants/herbs include (in small amounts): acacia blossoms, basil, calendula, chickweed, chicory, coriander, dill, fennel, oregano, parsley, sow thistle, thyme
Safe Spices: aniseed, cayenne pepper, celery, chili, cinnamon, cumin, dill, fennel, paprika, red pepper, turmeric.
Safe Grains & Flours: almond, amaranth, barley, buckwheat (whole), coconut, garbanzo, kamut, millet, oats (whole not rolled), quinoa, rye, spelt, sweetcorn kernels, teff, wheat
Safe Seeds: alfalfa, annual meadow grass, cabbage, canary, canola, chia, clover, fenugreek, flax, hemp (must crack the husks prior to giving to them), kale, meadow foxtail, millet, millet sprays (used for training or treat), mustard (yellow, red, and black), niger, orchard grass, perennial ryegrass, poppy, poverty brome, pumpkin (must soak and germinate first), radish, rapeseed, red clover, rough bluegrass, safflower, sesame, soft brome, sunflower (shelled for parakeets), velvet grass, timothy grass, yorkshire grass
Safe Legumes (these are to be either cooked or sprouted, not hard and dry. Also many beans are toxic to birds, so don’t experiment): adzuki beans, black-eyed peas, chickpeas (garbanzo), green peas, lentils (all types), mung beans, yellow peas
Safe Nuts: almonds (feed occasionally), brazil nuts (feed occasionally), cashew, hazelnut, macadamia nut, pecan, pine nut, pistachio, walnut.
Other Safe Foods: blackstrap molasses (feed sparingly), eggs (hard-boiled or scrambled, with or without the crunched up shell), mealworms, chicken (fully cooked and unseasoned and only a small amount like a fingertip’s worth every 2 weeks), cooked pasta (in moderation and unseasoned), cooked quinoa (in moderation and unseasoned), cooked rice (in moderation and unseasoned), tahini.
Avoid these vegetables, fruits, plants, herbs and other ingredients, as they are toxic: alcohol, avocado, barnyard millet, black locust, blue/green algae, breakfast cereals, caffeine, calla lily, castor bean, celery, chocolate, christmas cherry, cockspur grass seed, coffee beans, chocolate (including beans), dairy products, diffenbachia, dill, dried beans/legumes, eggplant (ripe fruit ok), elephant’s ear, ergot, fennel, foxglove, fried foods, fruit seeds/stones/pits/pips (from apples, apricots, cherries, lychees, nectarines, nutmeg, peaches, pears, and plums), garlic, ginger, greasy foods, japanese millet, jerusalem cherry, jimsonweed, junk foods, leeks, lily of the valley, locoweed, milkweed, mistletoe, mushrooms, nightshade, nutmeg, oak, oleander, onions (all onions), peanuts, pearl barley, philodendron, poinsettia, pokeweed, potatoes, rhododendron, rhubarb, rolled oats, salty foods, sugary foods, tea, tobacco, tomato leaves/vines/stems/fruit, virginia creeper, water grass seed, yew.
Picky Eaters: Birds are notorious for being picky eaters and it takes persistence and finding the right way to get them what they need. If they won’t eat the raw fruits and vegetables as a whole, you can try chopping them up in a food processor. If that doesn’t work, you can try slightly steaming the veggies or you can look up how to make bird bread where you can make a safe bread filled with vegetables, seeds, eggs, and other safe foods.