Before you read about the food for lovebirds, you have to know the importance of food for lovebirds. If you simply want to give some food to your parrot then you can give anything but if you want your parrot healthy and strong then you have to be more curious about the best food for lovebird parrots.
We provide different types of food, including pellets, fruits, vegetables, seeds and some more. But on different occasions we change the food for lovebird parrots, like in summer, in winter or during breeding time, so we need to know complete details of what is the best food for your lovebird parrots and in which season we need to change it.
Following are different types of food that you can provide for your lovebird parrot. Each food contains different types of vitamins and minerals. So don’t skip any type of food from their diet and provide them all types of food so your parrots stay healthy and strong. If we do not provide them quality food, then parrots can’t face different disease. You can learn about different types of diseases in parrots.
Fruits for Lovebirds
You want to give the best diet for your parrots and for this purpose you’re trying to know, what are the best fruits, that your lovebird parrots eat and stay healthy and active all the time. Well, you know there are different types of fruits which confuse you, lovebirds, usually not eat any food for the first few days, they start tasting it early 2 to 3 days. If they feel good, then they eat specific fruits on a regular basis. Fruits, no doubt, are the healthy food of lovebirds. Soon lovebirds are attracted to the fruits that they love to eat. You can give apples, guava, grapes and many more in their daily diet.
Fruits list that you can add to your lovebirds food diet.
Apples Guava
Grapes Mango
Banana Papaya
Oranges Barries
Melons Peaches
Berries Pears
Vegetables for Lovebirds
Similarly, lovebird parrots love to eat vegetables to stay healthy and strong because vegetables are the biggest source of nutrients for them. We listed some vegetables that you can give them.
Vegetables list that you can also add to your lovebirds food list
Spinach Parsley
Carrots Dandelion
Green Peas Radish
Cucumber Sweet corn
Tomatoes Broccoli
Sprouts
Can lovebird Parrots eat nuts?
We highly recommend you add nuts in your lovebirds food diet.
Adding nuts to their diet will give them a lot of nutrition, and they will also enjoy having them.
You can give nuts to them as a treat because nuts are high in fat, so the intake should be limited.
Here is the list of different types of nuts you can give them once to make their day more enjoyable.
- Shelled and unshelled peanuts
- Hazelnuts
- Almonds
- Cashews
- Walnuts
- Brazil nuts
- Pine nuts
- Macadamia nuts
Precautions to Take Before Feeding Nuts to Your Love Birds
Your lovebirds enjoy nuts a lot, but still, you should be extra cautious while feeding them.
We made a list of steps you should follow to ensure their safety.
- Avoid giving them roasted or salted nuts with oils and added flavors.
- Give them fresh nuts that are unseasoned and unsalted.
- Nuts can cause an infection in parrots known as aspergillus, resulting in shortness of breath, chest pain, difficulty breathing, and fever. You can avoid this infection by carefully checking the nuts before feeding them to your parrots.
- Before giving them nuts, you should thoroughly wash them under hot water. Washing them under hot water will remove the molds.
- Make sure to check the expiry date of the nuts. Please don’t feed them nuts that are 12 months old; the chances of the mold present in old nuts are very high.
- Although it is very uncommon for parrots to have allergies to nuts, checking before giving them nuts will save you from trouble in the future.
- Give them a tiny piece of nut, and if you notice itchy eyes, runny nose, and itchy skin, then your parrot is allergic to that specific nut.
Pellet food
A bird pellet is the best food you can give to your parrots. It contains all the important nutrients, including balanced fats, vitamins, and minerals.
Many good quality pellet foods are available in the market. You can choose them according to the age of your parrots. Make sure to check the nutritional values or the ingredients it contains are natural or not and if it is free of preservatives and additives. Keep in mind that mature lovebird parrots have different food than baby parrots.
Please read all instructions and information at the packet’s bottom before feeding it to your parrots. Choose local pet stores instead of grocery stores to buy pellet food. Local pet stores have way more knowledge about availability food. The staff will guide you about best available pellet food in their store.
Seeds
You can also give a high-quality seed mix to your lovebirds. There are a variety of seed mixes available in the market like
- Millet
Best mix seeds for parrots - Canary grass seed
- Hulled oats
- Niger seed
- Flax seed
- Sunflower seeds
- Safflower
- Grape seeds
- Soybeans,
- Rye,
- Canary seed
- Whole brown rice
- Fennel seed
- Poppy seed
- Sesame seed
If you are thinking about giving it to your parrots, you should know that all these seeds don’t have much nutritional value, so you can only give them seeds as a treat and also give them food with more nutritional value.
Check the expiry date of the seed mix before offering it to your parrots. Don’t give them the seeds if they are more than 13 months old.
Check if the seed mix contains a small amount of milo. Milo seed is used as a filler in bird seed mixes and has similar nutritional values as corn.
What Are the Foods That You Should Not Give Your Parrots?
Parrots have a similar taste to humans and want to try all the food we eat, but you should not offer them anything available in your home before making sure that it is safe for them.
Here is a list of food you should not give your parrots at all
- Egg Plant
- Chocolate
- Mushrooms
- Garlic
- Dairy
- Potato chips
- Carbonated beverages
- Fried Food
- Salt
Egg Plant
The eggplant contains solanine, which is poison. It can cause gastrointestinal and neurological disorders in parrots. If you have already given eggplant to your parrots, then they will soon experience symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, and stomach cramps.
Chocolate
The chocolates contain theobromine, which is an alkaloid with a bitter taste and can be found in cocoa and chocolate. Chocolate can stimulate the heart and central nervous system and also increase the flushing of fluids in your system.
In general, even a small quantity of chocolate is toxic to parrots. It contains fat in the form of butter, it also contains milk and parrots, which cannot digest lactose, and chocolate can cause weight gain in them because chocolate contains a large amount of sugar.
Mushrooms
Mushrooms are fungi and contain amatoxin, which may cause digestive issues in parrots and also cause neurological damage. Raw or cooked, both types of mushrooms are dangerous for your lovebirds.
Garlic
Garlic contains two compounds known as alliin and alliinase. Both of these compounds are present separately in garlic by a cell wall and cutting it can break the cell wall and mix both of the compounds and create another compound known as allicin.
Allicin doesn’t immediately affect the health of your parrots, but is harmful over time. Consuming too much garlic can cause an upset stomach in your parrots and hemolytic anemia.
Dairy
The enzyme lactase is not present in parrots, so they are lactose intolerant. Avoid giving them dairy products, even in small quantities. Dairy products can cause upset stomach and diarrhea in your parrots
Potato chips
Packet chips are high in sodium, additives, and artificial flavors and are extremely unhealthy for not only parrots but for humans too.
If your parrots like potato chips, you can make them yourself by baking or air-frying the thin slices of potatoes. Parrots can eat potatoes in moderate amounts, so giving them hygienic homemade oil-free potato chips will not cause them any harm. Do not add salt, butter, or any other seasoning to their chips.
Carbonated Beverages
Carbonated beverages contain large amounts of sugar and caffeine, preservatives, and artificial colorings that parrots cannot have.
Fried Food
Fried food isn’t a good choice for your parrots. Avoid sautéing, deep frying, and using butter in their food. The preservatives used in frozen fried food are the reasons that lead to digestive issues, weight gain, and food poisoning.
Salt
The amount of salt given to your parrots should be minimum to none. Please don’t give them pure salt food that has been salted. The excess intake of salt can lead to hypernatremia in parrots. The symptoms of hypernatremia are excessive thirst, excessive urination, tremors, seizures, and death.
Grains
You can also feed a large variety of grains to your parrots, such as wheat, barley, pasta, cooked brown rice, quinoa, whole wheat bread, whole wheat cereal, and oats. You can also offer them cooked beans, lentils, and peas. All these grains are a great source of nutrients.
What is the Best Food for Lovebird Parrots in Winters?
Cold weather can be hard to tolerate for your parrots. Parrots in the wild can tolerate cold weather very well but for pet parrots it can be very difficult but you can offer them some of their favorite treats to make them love winters.
Peanuts
Peanuts are a perfect nut to offer your lovebird parrots because they are a good source of protein, calories, and fat. Offer them fresh peanuts, and don’t give them roasted or salted peanuts.
Fruits
Offer them a variety of fruits like apples, citrus fruits, and pears for vitamins in the water.
Black-Oil Sunflower Seeds
It is the best thing to add to your parrots’ diet in winter. Black-oil sunflower seeds are fatter than any other seeds, making them a good choice to offer your parrots.
What is the Best Food for Lovebird Parrots in Summers?
Summers can be a lot to tolerate for your little birds. Your parrots will need fresh, and refreshing treats to stay cool and healthy in the scorching summer.
Here are some of the treats you can offer your lovebird parrots to make their summers more fun and exciting.
Sweet Potato Balls
Sweet potatoes are the favorite of every parrot. You can feed your parrots both raw or cooked.
Sweet potatoes are full of nutrients and minerals and also taste great. Just offer your parrots, one or two slices of sweet potatoes avoid weight gain from them.
Mint Leaves
Mint leaves are excellent for parrots, especially in summer it can be a very healthy and refreshing drink for them. This herb helps parrots in digestion, and it also helps them calm down if they have anxious behavior. Taking mint leaves will also make their breath fresh.
FAQ’S
Can I feed papaya to my parrots?
Fresh fruits offer many nutritional benefits to your parrots. Papaya is not safe for parrots but also has many health benefits. However, avoid giving them the skin of the papaya because it contains latex, which can cause an allergic reaction to them. Peel the skin of the papaya before offering it to your parrots.
Do Parrots like corn?
Parrots like sweet food and corn are also one of them. Corn is the perfect sweet food you can offer your parrots without worrying about getting them obese and diabetes.
Corn also has a lot of health benefits and contains fiber, vitamins and minerals, and antioxidants. You can offer them both raw or cooked corn.
