Planning for your bird's diet should not be a problem if you and your family have a healthy diet. In fact, we have heard from several of our bird owner friends that preparing the proper foods for their bird has helped improve their diet.

The only foods that your bird must avoid are

• avocado

• chocolate

• iceberg lettuce (head lettuce has very little nutritional value and tends to concentrate pesticides and E. coli)

• foods with a high fat content

As a general rule, we feed our pet and breeder parrots 50 to 60% of what we call soft or wet food, approximately 30 to 40% of one of our seed-free mixes. Some of our birds, like the macaws receive a small amount of dry seed.

Soft Food

The soft food includes fresh fruits and vegetables, rice and beans and sprouted seeds and should be fed daily. We prefer to feed the soft food in the morning, but you may prefer to feed at night so that the bird eats when you do. Any soft food should be removed from the cage within two hours of preparation because mold and bacteria will develop. This is especially important in the summer and warmer months, since the growth rate of these microorganisms is accelerated by heat.

If you decide to feed in the evening you will find that your bird enjoys eating when you do. Parrots are extremely gregarious and intelligent; they see themselves as family members and will actually eat better when they observe you eating. This is also the time to share some healthy people food with your baby parrot.

Remember though, to avoid fatty foods, including fried food, heavy sauces and rich desserts. Otherwise, do not hesitate to offer a variety of foods, including pasta, potatoes, veggies, fruits and some meat (not fried). Your bird will enjoy pulling the meat from a chicken leg and actually will relish working on the bone (the little cannibals).

If you have a vegetarian diet, you would probably not wish to offer meat to your bird. You will undoubtedly know how to provide the proper protein balance with legumes and rice.

Other Food

Pelleted food, seed or a mixture of both should be available to the bird at all times, except when fresh food is offered. At that time, we like to remove the dry food so that the baby will concentrate on the nutritious fruits and veggies.