Birds are highly intelligent, beautiful creatures. Many people enjoy bird watching in their backyards, while other people enjoy keeping them as pets. While all birds have dietary elements, each of them have unique tastes, their own cravings, and different abilities allowing them to obtain different types of nutrition.
- Canaries: A canary’s diet consists mostly of seed, which provides them with basic vitamins and nutrients. They love fruits and vegetables! Canaries should also be fed pellet food to have a well-rounded diet.
- Cockatiels: Like Canaries, Cockatiels eat a variety of grass seeds and fruits. They love berries and vegetables with a high water content, like lettuce and celery.
- Finches: Wild finches consume various seeds and, in certain seasons, a multitude of insects, so seeds and pellets are a major part of a pet finches’ diet. They also enjoy fruits, berries and other vegetation.
- Parrots: Most parrots are florivores, meaning most of their nutrients come from plants. Their primary diet consists of seeds, fruits, nuts, bark, roots and berries. Parrots are highly intelligent and need daily stimulation, creating challenges for them to get through in order to eat is okay!
- Hookbills: Members of the parrot family are also referred to as hookbills. Because of the hook-like curve in their beaks, these birds are able to crack the tough shells of certain nuts, seeds, and fruits. A party-mix of seeds, pellets, and fruits are a dietary staple for hookbills, but you can also incorporate unshelled nuts into their diet to make eating more entertaining for these birds.
- Parakeets: Parakeets are high energy birds that need a well-balanced diet to keep them moving! Birdseed that is made up mostly of millet, seed, and oat is perfect for parakeets. Parakeets love crispy vegetables like leafy greens, carrot tops, and broccoli. On occasion, parakeets can enjoy unsalted nuts like almonds, pecans and walnuts.
In general, it’s okay to feed a bird the following fruits and vegetables: Apples, bananas, berries, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, corn, grapes, green beans, kale, mango, papaya, pears, peas and spinach. Always remember to thoroughly clean any fruits and vegetables you are giving to a bird.
Never feed a bird: Avocado, chocolate, foods with excessive salt or grease, coffee, or alcohol. These foods are toxic to birds and can cause health issues.
No bird should live on a diet of seed alone. Spice up the diet of the birds you’re feeding with these ideas!
