DIET
FOR ASIAN PARROT
By Dr Colin Walker BSc, BVSc, MRCVS, MACVSc
(Avian health)
At least 60% of the diet should be fruit, vegetables, sprouted seed, cooked meat
and hard-boiled egg.
The rest of the diet should be pellets and dry seed.
Dry seed mix:-2 parts canary, 1 part mixed millet (pannicum, red
pannicum, Japanese and French millet), ¾ part sunflower
and ¼ part oats.
Suitable vegetables include carrots, broccoli, capsicum, celery,
peas, beetroot, endives, silverbeet, squash, pumpkin and corn on
the cob.
Suitable fruits include paw paws, mangoes, bananas, oranges, apples,
pears, grapes and dried fruit (sultanas, raisins and figs).
Animal protein:- Hard boiled egg (shell and all), cooked chicken
bones, including meat and sinews.
Sprouted seeds and legumes (such as peas and mung beans)
Sprouting procedure
Soak seeds for 12 hours (preferably in a glass or stainless steel
container).
After 12 hours rinse seed until the water runs clean.
Leave seed in a warm place (repeat step 2 every 12 hours)
By third day seed should be sprouted and is ready to feed.
Rinse seed in household bleach diluted 1:100 for 10 minutes followed
by a final rinsing and feed.
If seed becomes sour at any time during this procedure it should
not be fed.
A vitamin/mineral supplement eg PVM powder can be sprinkled over
soft foods 2-3 times weekly. |