Ideally your bird would be fed a good seed mix, chop, and fresh food for maximum variety. However, there are some clear advantages to chop and a couple for fresh food that I’ll outline now. I’ll note that there is no good research on the nutritional value of chop versus fresh food.
For those not familiar,…
I’ve presented research for years about the value of a low carbohydrate high fat diet not only for parrots, but for humans as well.
The way science often works is that you come up with a hypothesis, basically a supposition based on intuition, a little evidence, or perhaps nothing at all. Then, you gather evidence and see if it proves your hypothesis.
I’ve written extensively on bird diets and specifically about the…
Yes.
Are egg yolks good for your bird?
Especially!
I like when I can give short answers! Evidence for my answers mostly come from my previous articles, but I have some new references.
Let loose the hate mail.
Let’s start with this one. I know some bird owners that are…
The supplements section of a grocery store or health food store can be filled with over a thousand products, each with their own health claims. As a consumer, it can be hard to sort through it all, especially since there is little regulation in many countries.
This blog is about birds, though, which makes…
Many of the companies that make pellets have pictures such as these on their websites or as handouts that are given to vets. They purport to demonstrate what birds look like on seed diets and their radical transformation after being switched to pellets.
If a vet gives you a handout like this, now you know…
What are the top chronic diseases that parrots get?
Sound familiar? We can’t ignore the fact that parrots get the same chronic diseases we do. Yet we feed our parrots the same way we are told to feed ourselves. Eat a low fat diet,…
Most people agree that fresh foods need to be part of a healthy bird’s diet. In addition to leafy greens and fruit, an essential part of my birds’ daily diet is both fresh and dried herbs. I’m continually surprised how few people feed their birds herbs, despite the strong evidence for their healthy benefits.…
The background for the data used in this table is here.
Some tips on using the table:
I’ve long been frustrated that there are so many lists out there of safe and toxic plants, but nearly all of them don’t cite ANY references. It doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. On top of that, many of them disagree with each other and offer black-and-white answers when …