Safe Foods...
Eclectus can eat almost any fruit and vegetable that you can! They adore sprouted seed (I use the pigeon seed mixes you can buy from the local pet-shop). But what about the ‘fancy’ stuff, you know, all those exotic grasses and plants you have never really thought about...
Well lets start with the basics.... Canopy Aviary Eckie’s come to you weaned, and willing to eat absolutely anything and everything! Some fruits are: pawpaw banana kiwifruit passionfruit watermelon berries grapes *apples *cherries *peaches pineapple tomatoes *Pear mango dates *plum figs cantaloupe (rock melon) honey dew dragon fruit custard apple pomegranate lychee durian mangosteen soursop note: a star * means that you can not give eclectus the seed. So yes! eclectus can eat the seeds of the other fruits, pawpaw seeds are particularly healthy and they adore them. Citrus fruits can not be given excessively as it can cause digestion discomforts, a piece or two a week is nice as a variant though. Skins can be given too, but with this YOU MUST BE CAREFUL OF PESTICIDES. Many birds have died because of it being on their fruit and vegetables. Some foods hold in more pesticides than others such as: grapes, broccoli and carrots. To be sure, you can soak all fruit and veggies in 1 part vinegar and 3 parts water for 15-20 minutes (remember to rinse thoroughly afterward). This strips, or at least reduces the pesticides present on the surface. *water will not work as pesticides are generally made water proof. * Personally I soak AND remove skins, to prevent any accidents. Home grown veggies is a great way to reduce cost and increase nutrients, so-long as you watch the fertilisers that you use. Building up a compost pile is great, all those peels you take off can still be used to grow ‘safe’ fruit and veg! Ok, moving on to vegetables... Sweet potato corn cucumber carrots pumpkin zucchini bok choy broccoli beans peas Brussel sprouts beet root capsicum chilli (limited) squash garlic (in low quantities is really beneficial) kale (can be fed only one to twice a week; but not when the birds are breeding, moulting or have a calcium deficiency, as it reduces calcium intake. The same rule applies for celery and cabbage - both green and red). OK, walk down the grocery isles and search for new and interesting foods that you have never noticed before. Do some more research. Be CREATIVE in how you present the food. Mix and change the fruit and veg as you feel, unless specified otherwise. You can cook it (steaming holds in the vitamins and is a recommended method of cooking), chop it, slice it, grate it and even skewer it! (on a stainless steel kebab. Just watch they don’t unscrew the bottom off). Now remember I said that fruit and veggies aren’t everything a parrot needs? here are a few other ingredients to include... Quinoa Quinoa grows in South America, but can be found in most health food stores and some major supermarkets, it is one of the most nutritious grains. It contains: Calcium, Phosphorous, Vitamins E, B and Potassium. You can sprout it, or cook it with one part quinoa to two parts water, adding in berries or any vegetable you feel like, even cinnamon sticks! Wheat Grass Wheat grass is also common in health food stores. You can grow it yourself or buy it. Wheat grass contains: Chlorophyll, choline, potassium, Vitamin A (the same amount as what you find in carrots),C, E, B12 Iron, Folic Acid, Calcium and magnesium. It’s chlorophyll detoxifies the bloodstream by increasing the amount of oxygen, and cleans the liver. Liquid oxygen is also present, this improves circulation. Sprouted Seeds, Grains and Legumes I find that an easy pre-mix for sprouting is a pigeon seed mix that you can get from your local pet supply shop. When sprouting be careful of mould and the beans going rancid *especially in the tropics* and keep them out of the sun. I will later add a page which will tell you how to do this. Aloe Vera Aloe Vera is a nutritionally complete food with the highest nutrient content out of over 150,000 botanical specimens. Aloe is great for improving plumage, birds suffering from digestive or intestinal disorders, boosting the immune system. It is great for birds being diagnosed with or suspected of having fatty liver disease. Birds can eat it as fresh stalks, thin slices, or by adding drinking gel from a health food store to their water. Sweet potatoes Sweet potatoes are high in Fiber and complex carbohydrates and low in calories. They contain Vitamins C, B-6, beta Carotene and Potassium. Carotene is a powerful antioxidant that is known to prevent cancer and heart disease. Eggs and Chicken Eggs contain all nine essential amino acids. I give1/4 an egg (with the shell) per bird every few weeks, you do not want to give them too much. You can boil or scramble it, other times I give them a little bit of chicken or the bone, it may sound strange but once you read into it, it is quite a common practice and excellent as part of a well balanced diet. Many people like to cook food for their birds, I will soon put up a recipe book of nutritious recipes that you can use to ‘spice up’ your birds diet. |
Un-safe Foods...
There are a few things to watch out for when feeding your parrot, and a lot of it comes under watching that there is no excessive feeding of one kind of food. One of these lesser parrot foods is pellets, YES, PELLETS! Especially the coloured ones. Ok, they are not a complete ‘no-no’ but don’t rely on them! They should only form about 10-15% of your birds diet, this percentage includes dry seed. When choosing pellets I recommend the pellets provided by birdtricks.com, or Harrison's, Dr Ross Perry a world renown avian veterinarian recommends Harrison's pellets if any, and says that the golden rule of feeding is to "give a little of a lot" meaning, give them tastes of many different foods, and don't adhere to a platter you provide everyday. If providing these pellets or even kitten/puppy food you shouldn't give your bird supplements as well as too many vitamins can also cause damage. Ensure that you do get a bit of seed in everyday too, it is important! Just needs moderation like everything else. Almonds are a great nut high in calcium.
Now for the list... Avocado - do not give any part of this to any bird. It can kill them within minutes. Chocolate - it is toxic! Honey - it contains high levels of botulism. Caffeine - speeding the metabolism of an animal that already has high metabolic rate can cause cardiac distress and death (birds have a high metabolism rate). Alcohol - depresses the organ system and can be fatal in any amount. Salt/Table Sugar - natural foods already contain these compounds, by adding this to their food is making it too saturated. High salt can cause dehydration and kidney dysfunction. Dairy Products - birds are lactose intolerant, however small infrequent amounts as a nibble can sometimes be tolerated, and some birds love it. *this means a small beakful a few times a year maximum.* Peanuts/ Peanut butter - peanut shells can harbour fungus, buying raw peanuts and baking them yourself is a good alternative. Some birds have peanut allergies and this can not be found until they eat them. None of my birds have shown any symptoms from eating peanuts. Onion - can bring on digestive discomforts and in high quantities be cause anaemia. You can cook with it to put flavour into their food, but remove the pieces afterwards. Garlic - over indulgence is the main worry, however there are many benefits for giving garlic in small amounts infrequently, raw and cooked. Fruit Seeds and Pits from: apples, pears, peaches, cherries, apricots, nectarines and plums contain a cyanide-like compound, and should never be offered to your parrot. However seeds from: grapes, citrus fruits, squash, pumpkin, tomatoes, melons, pomegranate, mango and berries are LOVED by parrots, especially passionfruit. Cabbage - as mentioned before watch the dosage. Raw Rhubarb - has a very high level of oxalic acid, it is up for debate whether cooking makes it safe to eat, however I do not feed it to them just to ensure their safety. Asparagus - has been said to cause severe upsets in some birds. Eggplant - because of solanin, some say it causes stomach upsets, although many people have it on their ‘safe’ list. I believe it is safe occasionally when varying their diets, I grate a little bit to mix in. This food list is always changing but should be able to give you some idea of where to get started; basically don't feed the foods that have been determined as harmful, if you are not sure about something in particular, and cannot find any information offer a tiny amount to your bird and see if anything happens. Keep in mind that birds are major disguisers of illness so you need to know your birds really well before doing this. And as always, you can always ask me or someone else such as a vet or another breeder. Some of Canopy Aviaries FoodWater:
Provide your bird with fresh water every day, Eclectus love to drop their food into their fresh water, so it can spoil quickly. Fresh water or filtered water is better for your bird as most tap water has chemical additives in it.
Keep your water dishes clean by washing with warm soapy water and rinsing well. You can even rinse or wipe them out with vinegar to keep bacteria away. |
Copyright Canopy Aviaries 2011. All rights reserved | Powered by Weebly | Edited by Micaela Mahler