Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 2/3/2008

Question
Hi I got a pair of parakeets and I was wondering. I read on the Internet that parakeets need different foods besides seeds I was thinking the types;oats,fresh cut apple bits,fresh cut banana bits,green been in a can,salad,raisin brain,and bits of fruit;pine apples,pears,peaches,kiwi,. And I was wondering if you could give me a list of food types to give to my wonderful parakeets or if you could say the do's and don'ts' out of the list I wrote. I haven't tried any of these foods yet because I got my  parakeets today and I want to let them rest.

Answer
Hi, Troy,

The first thing you need to know is that birds won't eat foods they don't recognize as food.  Therefore, when you introduce new food(s) to them, they won't eat them at first and they may even be frightened of these new things!  Most fruit is mainly water, therefore, not very nutritious.  The most nutritious fruits are the melons and berries.  I haven't really found keets to be too fond of fruit, so instead of offering fruit pieces, I prefer to shred apples, etc., into a soft food mix of cooked brown rice.  To this mix of cooked brown rice I add any number of items, such as shredded zucchini, shredded carrots or sweet potato, green peas and beans, small pasta (no sauce), sometimes I add Grape Nuts dry cereal (or other nutritious dry cereal without sugar), etc., etc.  It would be good for you to study healthy human nutrition in order to give you an idea of what might be good to feed your keets.  My keets also love corn bread and other whole/multi grain breads, etc.  Canned goods are not good...use fresh and raw foods or frozen.  Canned goods have been cooked so much most of the nutrients have been cooked out and most contain way too much salt for birds.  Salad has no nutritional value unless you use greens other than iceburg or romain lettuce.  Greens such as kale, mustard/collard greens, spinach are much better to feed your keets.  They also need to be eating pelleted food.  Seed can be offered, but offer it only after your birds have eaten what is good for them.  Birds shouldn't be fed salt, sugar, caffeine, soda, fast or fried foods, avocado, chocolate, dairy products...anything bad for us is also bad for birds.  My website has more information:  www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo/index.html.  www.birdchannel.com is also a good website.

Chrys