It is true; the wrong parrot diet can kill your beloved companion parrot. It is also true that the right bird diet can help your parrot live a long, healthy, and happy life. Only in recent years have we learned what foods should and should not be offered to our feather friends. If a parrot's diet contains good, healthy foods, many of the larger species can live to be 100 years of age or more. Even small parrots such as cockatiels will live much longer than expect. When psittacine birds were first kept as pet, people thought their life expectancy was short, only 10 years or so. This was because the bird diet being offered did not contain the nutrients required for the parrot to thrive. Seven Deadly Foods There are many bird diet selections which humans consume that are great for your parrot. However, there are seven foods that can provide deadly to your pet. These are: chocolate, alcohol, avocado, fruits seeds of any type, uncooked eggs, raw meat, or spoiled or moldy foods. There are some other foods over which there is some debate such as onions or garlic cloves. A parrot is extremely unlikely to eat enough of those items to cause a problem. Parrot Diet Items You Should Limit There are other human foods which a parrot should have only small amounts included in their bird diet. While a small bit of these foods will not cause harm, allowing the parrot diet to contain large amounts of these can impact the parrot's health. You will see these foods are also those which healthy humans limit in order to remain at optimum health. Any food which is high in fat must be limited. Wild parrots diets include very little fat. Think of your parrot diet much as you would the diet of a three year old child. A child could have a few potato chips even though they are high in fact, but you would limit the quantity. In a parrot's diet, you could allow a bite or even two from the edge of one single potato chip once in a while. Just do not let it become a habit so that every single day the parrot expects and gets potato chips. The golden adage "everything in moderation" is a good guideline to follow about parrot diet items to limit. Examples of foods in this group include: potato chips, fried foods, buttered vegetables or bread, ice cream, and cake or cookies. It is also important to limit the amount of salty foods in your parrot's diet. A very small amount of salt goes a long way when consumed by a parrot with such a small body. When you are cooking food for the family that you plan to salt, remove some of the veggies before you add seasoning. Many common foods can be found in unsalted versions which are better for people with certain medical conditions such as high blood pressure and are also better for your parrot's diet. Foods in this category include salted potato chips, corn chips, nuts, vegetables with added salt, many prepared foods such as microwave entrees, bacon, ham, and other cured meats, and salted popcorn. Your parrot diet choices should also limit foods which are high in sugar. Parrots can easily become little junk food junkies and want to gorge on sweets if permitted. While it is perfectly safe to permit a bird's diet to include a taste -- meaning one bite or two -- of a sweet treat, you must limit how much your parrot consumes to very small amounts. Foods in this category include: candy, sugar-sweetened juices, sweetened soft drinks, many sugary cereals, cakes, cookies, and ice cream. Good Parrot Diet Choices You may wonder what foods are good to include in your parrot diet. The answer is, basically, everything not listed above! A bird diet should include lots of different foods in order to ensure that a wide range of vitamins and nutrients are consumed. The more choices your parrot diet includes, the better health your parrot will enjoy and the longer life span your companion parrot can expect. Some of the good foods for parrots' diets that are really great for parrots are also the foods which are great for health-conscious humans. Vegetables, either raw or lightly cooked are healthy choices. Bits of pasta, cheese, rice, mashed potatoes or boiled potatoes, well-cooked eggs, and bits of well-done meats, poultry, or fish add variety to a bird diet. In fact, many parrots love to chew on a bone from cooked meat and even dig the marrow from the inside of the bone. Let your parrot's diet include lots of healthy foods.
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About the author: Mississippi 'Bird Lady' finally exposes her tested bird diet, biting and feather plucking techniques to easily get an amazing sociable and healthy parrot in your home. Don't reprint the same version as everyone else. Get your own unique content parrot diet article here.
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