How many times to feed a baby parrot

Hand-Feeding Baby Birds | VCA Animal Hospitals

General Information

Hand-feeding baby birds is only a substitute for parents raising birds, but it does have certain advantages. Hand-raised baby birds usually make better pets, as they have been completely socialized with humans. Hand-raised babies grow up with less fear of humans or other potential dangers such as cats, dogs and young children. Hand-feeding is a huge responsibility and requires time, patience, and commitment. Hand-fed baby birds are entirely reliant on you for everything. Hand-feeding is a job best left for the experienced bird breeder or aviculturist. If you’re considering hand-feeding a baby bird, you should contact your local bird breeder or veterinarian for help. This handout is designed to provide some basic guidelines on how to hand-feed.

When do I start hand-feeding a baby bird?

A chick may be removed from its parents any time before weaning, but many suggest leaving the babies with the parents for up to 3 weeks. Older birds may prove to be more challenging in their acceptance of hand-feeding.

Where do I keep a baby bird?

Precise temperature and humidity is essential for optimum growth of newly hatched birds. Initially, relative humidity greater than 50% is required. Hatchlings (without feathers) should be maintained at 95°-97°F (35°-36°C). As the chick gets older and develops feathers, it has a greater tolerance for temperature fluctuations.

Generally, the temperature can be lowered by one degree every 2-3 days as feathering progresses. Chicks with new feathers (pinfeathers) should be fine at 75°-85°F (24°-30°C) depending on the development of the feathers. Fully feathered and weaned chicks can be maintained at room temperature. If you are raising a chick, always monitor your bird for signs of overheating or chilling. Wings extended or drooping, and panting indicate overheating. Shivering and cuddling of chicks together indicate that they’re cold.

Poor growth or poor digestion (delayed crop emptying) may indicate poor health (including presence of gastrointestinal tract infections), improper consistency/mixing of hand feeding formula, improper temperature of formula, or improper environmental temperature and humidity. Good quality brooders are available that carefully regulate air circulation, temperature, and humidity. Paper towel, diapers, hand towels, or other soft, disposable products can be used to line the bottom of the brooder and provide secure, clean, dry footing for birds. The bottom liner must be changed frequently to keep birds clean. If the bottom texture is too smooth, chicks’ legs may splay out sideways, leading to permanent deformities. The brooder should be carefully checked to ensure that it does not contain anything for birds to get their wings or legs stuck on or that might cause injury or deformities.

What should I feed my bird?

There are numerous commercially available hand-feeding formulas for baby birds. You should choose one formula and use it until the baby is weaned. Changes in diet may be stressful on the baby's digestion. Be sure to discuss dietary choices with your veterinarian, an experienced bird breeder, or an aviculturist.

How do I feed my baby bird?

All food must be prepared fresh for every feeding. Food retained from one feeding to another is an ideal medium for the growth of harmful bacteria and yeast. Any food prepared or heated in a microwave oven must be mixed thoroughly to ensure that the food’s temperature is uniform and that there are no hot or cold spots. Food temperature should be at 102°-106°F (39°-41°C) throughout the mixture and should be measured with a thermometer. Food that is too hot may cause severe burns to the crop.

Food that is too cold may be rejected by baby birds and may slow down digestion. Hand-feeding formulas have specific directions on the packaging and explain how they should be mixed.

In general, the younger the bird, the thinner the mixture should be. A day-old chick requires a more dilute mixture (90% water), as it is still utilizing the yolk sac as a source of nutrition. Chicks older than one or two days, should have food containing approximately 70-75% liquid.

"All food must be prepared fresh for every feeding."

Syringes are probably the preferred feeding tool, but some bird owners still prefer a spoon with the sides bent up and inward. Accurate feeding volumes can be recorded with the syringe. Charting daily feedings is important. The natural feeding response of a baby bird is to rapidly bob the head in an up and down motion. This action can be stimulated with gentle finger pressure at the corners of the mouth. During this head bobbing, the trachea is closed and large amounts of food can be given relatively quickly.

If the bird is not displaying a strong feeding response, do not attempt to feed as there is an increased chance of aspiration of food into the trachea and lungs which can lead to death. The best time to feed is when the crop is empty. When full, the crop, which is the sac that hangs over the front of the chest at the base of the neck, will be visibly distended.

How often and how much do I feed?

The amount and frequency of feeding depends on the age of the bird and the formula fed. The frequency of feeding for young birds is greater than that of older birds. The following are general guidelines. With newly hatched chicks, the yolk sac is the source of nutrients for the first 12-24 hours post-hatching. Chicks less than one week old should be fed 6-10 times per day (every 2-3 hours).

During the first week of life, some birds benefit from feeding during the night. Chicks that have not yet opened their eyes may take 5-6 feedings per day (every 3-4 hours). Once birds’ eyes open, they can have 3-5 feedings (one every 5 hours). As their feathers start to grow in, they may be fed 2-3 times per day (every 6 hours). Their crops should appear full when they’re done.

Feeding between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. is not necessary at that point when birds are sleeping. The best indication of a healthy, growing chick is a good, strong feeding response at every feeding, with the crop emptying between feedings, and the regular production of droppings (feces). Weight gain should be monitored and recorded at the same time each day using a scale that weighs in grams with 1-gram increments to detect subtle increases or decreases. Birds’ weights may fluctuate up and down daily but should trend upward over a period of days to weeks. Birds that are not gaining weight should be checked by a veterinarian as soon as possible.

When should birds be weaned off hand-feeding formula?

Deciding when to wean a bird off of formula is often a difficult decision for both the bird owner and the bird. As a bird gets older and develops a full complement of feathers, it should be encouraged to wean off formula and to eat more on its own. Some babies start weaning themselves by refusing certain feedings.

Birds should be offered a variety of foods including formulated pelleted diets as well as fresh fruits and vegetables to encourage exploration and experimentation. As food introduction continues, hand-feeding may be withheld at certain times, often starting with the mid-day feedings. As time goes on, the morning feeding may be withheld and ultimately the evening feeding. Some birds learn quicker to eat on their own by watching other birds or older babies eat.

Should I be concerned about disinfection?

Baby birds have poorly developed immune systems and are more susceptible to developing infections. The brooder should be disinfected regularly. All feeding utensils must be cleaned, disinfected, and dried thoroughly between feedings. Using separate feeding utensils for every individual bird is recommended.

How do I know if something is wrong?

If you suspect something is wrong with your bird, you should immediately contact your veterinarian. Signs to watch for include:

Chirping or crying all the time
Fussing a lot and not sleeping
Listless, droopy wings or head
Not accepting food
Lack of feeding response
Slow or lack of crop emptying
Poor weight gain
Slow growth
Abnormal posturing or abnormal wing and/or leg positions
Abnormal or lack of droppings
Wetness or food on skin over the crop (indicating a possible burn)

How To Take Care of A Baby Parrot (from Hatchling To Juvenile)

(Last Updated On: March 13, 2023)

Caring for baby parrots (chicks) requires knowledge, patience, and consistency. Ideally, baby parrots should be weaned by their parents to reduce the risk of health and behavioral problems.

Some wild parrots, like macaws, care for their young for about 12 months, teaching them survival skills, such as learning to fly and feed independently.

Parrots learn to fly (fledge) before weaning, where they develop the necessary skills to find and eat food. During the weaning process, baby parrots will transition from crop milk (or formula) to solid foods.

Adults hold their young in position with their feet and beaks to assist with weaning. So, you can replicate this process by finger-feeding baby parrots moist and warm food, such as cooked carrots and yams.

If feeding is withdrawn prematurely (known as force-weaning), behavioral and health problems can arise. This can lead to stress-related sickness, hyperresponsivity, and highly-strung behavior.

Parrot Growth Stages

There are 5 development stages of a baby parrot’s growth:

Neonate (hatchling).
Nestling.
Fledgling.
Weanling.
Juvenile (pre-adolescent).

Neonate

During the first stage of life, newly-hatched parrots (hatchlings) are born with closed eyes. They’re also naked, blind, and deaf, so they rely on their owners.

In the wild, hatchlings are fed food that their parents regurgitate. Without a mother and father, owners must give chicks a special hand-rearing formula through a syringe.

Nestling

When the baby parrot reaches the nestling stage, it opens its eyes but remains dependent on its owners.

Imprinting occurs during stage 2. When the chick first opens its eyes, it bonds deeply with its parents. If another parrot isn’t present, the baby parrot will imprint on its human owner.

This stage is vital for development because it needs visual, touch, and sound stimulation.

Fledgling

The fledgling stage is when a parrot learns how to fly.

Some parrots start to lose weight as they’re more preoccupied with flying than eating. As a result, they’re dependent on their parents (or owners) for food.

Weanling

In the weanling stage, parrots consume solid foods independently. Weaning parrots learn to forage and develop skills, enabling them to care for themselves.

Juvenile

Parrots become pre-adolescent and can fend for themselves. They’ll eat solid foods without the need for formula. They’ll be independent of their parents but won’t have reached sexual maturity yet.

Juvenile parrots won’t have their full adult color at this stage, which develops after the molting season.

The parrot should be at least 8 to 12 weeks old before it’s given a new home.

What Do You Feed Baby Parrots?

Hagen Avicultural Research Institute artificially incubated psittacine eggs, and babies without parents were hand-fed for 3-5 months.

To do this, mix a hand-rearing formula in boiled water that had time to cool. Stir out all the lumps and bumps to form a smooth, thickened mixture.

When hand-feeding baby parrots, the temperature of the food must be below 45°C before feeding; if the food is under 40°C, there’s a risk of it fermenting and causing infection.

However, most chicks will be cared for by their parents during their initial life stages.

Once the parrot has reached the weaning stage, it needs these foods:

Soaked and sprouted seeds.
Cooked sweet corn kernels.
Soft vegetables.
Fresh fruits.
A selection of greens, including chickweed and dandelion leaves.

It takes a while for a baby parrot’s digestive system to become robust enough to cope with dried seeds and pellets. However, leaving a small dish of pellets for parrots to forage through is safe.

Baby parrots shouldn’t be given water as they can drown.

They receive sufficient hydration through regurgitated foods and hand-rearing formula, so they only need water bowls once they move onto solid foods at about 4 weeks old.

Baby Parrot Feeding Schedule

According to VCA Hospitals, the amount and how often you feed a baby parrot is age and growth rate-dependent. Young birds need regular feeding and eat more often than older birds.

The following guidelines set out how much food the average baby parrot needs. All feeding should be carried out between 6 am and midnight:

1-2 weeks: Feed 6-10 times daily, every 2-3 hours.
2-3 weeks: Feed 5-6 times daily, every 3-4 hours.
3-4 weeks: Feed 4-5 times daily, every 4 hours. The bird can be put into a cage with a low perch and a shallow water bowl at four weeks old.
5-6 weeks: Feed twice daily. Soft seeds, fruits, vegetables, and pellets can be added to the cage.
7 weeks: Place the bird in a large cage with pellets in cups scattered across the floor.
8 weeks: The weaning process should be over. Then, provide nutritionally complete pellets.

After feeding, examine the crop. While the bird has few feathers, you can see if the crop is full. However, an examination using the thumb and index finger enables you to check the crop’s fullness.

Healthy parrots should respond well to every feed, and the crop should empty between feedings. They should also produce regular droppings.

How To Keep A Baby Parrot Warm

When a parrot is old enough to live in a cage, the ideal temperature is 65-85 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures below 40 degrees are dangerous for birds, leading to health problems.

Similarly, temperatures above 85 degrees cause heat stress, and parrots also need appropriate ventilation to remain cool and comfortable.

Keeping young chicks warm is more complicated, as the slightest temperature change can be life-threatening. Without parents, you must provide the baby parrot warmth to ensure it survives.

To keep a baby parrot warm, follow these steps:

Make A Brooder

You’ll need a container for a baby parrot to live in. You can get a commercial brooder or make one with a plastic container. Opt for metals or plastics that are easy to sanitize.

Choose a brooder that allows a baby parrot to move about as it grows and develops.

Fill It with Substrate

Cover the floor of the container with a substrate. Small parrots do well with folded-up newspaper on the bottom of the brooder, but you can use paper towels.

Avoid wood shavings or cat litter, as curious chicks will eat it.

Heat The Brooder

If you’re using a commercial brooder, it’ll already have a thermostatically controlled heating function.

If you’ve made your own, line it with a heat mat. Ensure the chosen heat source has a thermostat so you can adjust the temperature.

You can also use a desk lamp over the brooder, which uses a red bulb that won’t disturb the chicks. The temperature inside the brooder should be:

1-5 days: 96°F.
Days 5-10: 95°F.
From 10 days until they’ve developed some feathers: 91°F.
When they’ve most of their down feathers: 84-89^°F.
When the wings and head are mostly covered by feathers: 78-82^°F.

Once the chick reaches 3 to 4 weeks of age, it can regulate its body temperature.

At this stage, you can remove the heat source. To keep a baby parrot warm, ensure the room’s maintained at the right temperature.

Do Baby Parrots Sleep A Lot?

The majority of parrots are either tropical or subtropical.

They live near the equator, which gets 12 hours of darkness each night. So, parrots are awake from sunrise to sunset and need between 10 to 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep each day.

Baby birds need more sleep (up to 20 hours) due to growth and development. Although it’s hard to know how often they’ll sleep, chicks will rest as much as they need to.

It’s not uncommon for baby parrots to only wake up when fed, sleeping at all other times of the day.

How To Set Up A Parrot Cage

Parrots live in cages from around the age of 7 weeks. As they’re still growing, selecting a cage that’ll provide enough room for them to be comfortable when fully grown is important.

Follow the cage setup advice below to get started:

Bar Spacing

Parrots can get their heads stuck or escape from cages if the bars are set too far apart.

Small parrots, like budgerigars and parrotlets, need bars spaced 1/4″ to 1/2″ inch apart.
Medium-sized birds, like cockatiels and Senegals, need bars spaced 1/2″ to 5/8″ inch apart.
Large parrots, like Amazons and Macaws, need 1 to 1.5″ inches between the bars.

Find a cage that allows a parrot to roam freely without too much restriction.

Perches

Parrots are always on their feet, even while sleeping. Therefore, perches are an essential part of the cage’s setup. In the wild, trees and branches provide resting spots of all shapes, sizes, and widths.

Allowing a parrot to adjust its feet to the widths of the perches ensures it stays supple and flexible, preventing health problems like bumblefoot (pododermatitis) later.

Rope perches can be adapted to fit the cage. Also, add a Pedi perch to the cage for a couple of days per week so the parrot can keep its claws filed down to a comfortable length.

When adding perches to the cage, space them out to provide options. Parrots prefer high perches and tend to ignore all others in the cage.

Food and Water Bowls

Most cages have at least 1 food and 1 water tray. However, with trays that rest on the bottom of the cage, parrots drop their food. So, adding a couple of upright feeders to the cage is a good idea.

Substrate

Line the bottom with a substrate like newspaper or paper towels to make cleaning a parrot’s cage easier.

How To Train A Baby Parrot

You’ll need to perform training to get a parrot accustomed to your presence and promote positive behavior. To successfully train a baby parrot, follow these steps:

Start Handling The Parrot

A parrot will need to become comfortable with you touching and holding it.

Always stand above the parrot so that it knows you’re in control. Then, encourage it to move onto your finger by placing it against its lower breast. You can begin to add commands such as “step up.”

When the parrot does what you want, reward it with a treat to reinforce the message.

Once you become comfortable around each other, practice laddering with your hands, which involves moving your hand to a higher position while encouraging the parrot to step up onto it.

Don’t Overfeed Treats

If you feed your parrot treats too often, it won’t associate them with training. There’s too much potential for over-feeding, and your bird may reject its regular food.

Discourage Biting

Parrots shouldn’t be allowed to bite or behave aggressively. Biting differs from a gentle nibble, where the parrot will use its tongue to touch your skin.

Also, many parrots use their beaks to balance and may use human hands to coordinate themselves. If the parrot moves toward your hand, don’t assume it’ll bite, or it may become nervous.

Don’t shout at the bird if you get nipped. Instead, remain calm and say “no” firmly, placing your hand (palm facing forwards) in front of the parrot’s face as a stop gesture.

If the parrot bites and refuses to let you go, blow on it with a sharp puff of air to make it release. Then, place it back in its cage without a treat.

How To Entertain A Baby Parrot

As parrots spend a significant amount of time in their cage, you must provide entertainment and enrichment to keep them mentally and physically healthy.

There’s plenty you can do to keep a parrot occupied, including:

Toys

The first stages of a parrot’s life are crucial to its environmental awareness and development. The bird could develop behavioral problems if it isn’t nurtured. This can be avoided with the following:

Puzzles.
Toilet paper for parrots to shred.
Paper sticks.
Chewable objects.
Ladders.
Preening rope.
Bangles.
Building blocks.

Regularly rotate the toys and games to keep the parrot alert and entertained.

Exercises

Let the parrot out of the cage daily for a change of scenery.

Parrots that spend too much time in their cage may become withdrawn and reclusive. Allow them to walk around the house to stretch their legs and wings.

Assign time each day to interact, which will help you form a lasting bond with the parrot.

Parrot Playlist

Create a music playlist for the parrot to listen to when you need to leave the house.

Current Biology confirms that parrots can process the sound of music. They also spontaneously move to music, meaning they can dance. A study by Dr. Franck Péron found that Parrots seem to enjoy:

Pop music.
Rock music.
Folk music.
Classical music.

Avoid high-tempo electronic dance music because it leads t distress.

Signs A Baby Parrot Is Sick

Wild parrots avoid showing signs of sickness. Sick birds are the first to be attacked by predators if they sense the parrot is weak and easy to kill. As a result, it’s hard to tell when chicks are unwell.

That said, many symptoms indicate when a parrot is sick:

Poor feather quality.
Unusually fluffed feathers.
Changes in appetite or eating habits.
Changes to drinking habits; drinking more or less often.
Weakness and lethargy.
The crop isn’t emptying.
The crop isn’t getting full.
Vomiting.
Drooped wings.
Refusal to move.
Increased sleeping.
Inactivity.
Depression.
Bleeding or signs of injury.

If you notice one or more of these affecting the baby parrot, take them to an avian vet.

When Can Baby Parrots Leave Their Mother?

In captivity, baby parrots are normally ready to leave their mothers at around 7 to 8 weeks of age. Once a chick hatches, it matures quickly and, once weaned, is ready to leave the nest at around 8 weeks old.

Some breeders prefer to wait until 12 weeks before allowing a baby parrot to go to its new home.

Why Is My Baby Parrot Shaking?

Baby parrots shake and shiver when cold, scared, excited, or sick.

The most common reasons why a baby parrot would shake include the following:

Cold

Baby parrots must be housed in temperatures between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. The baby parrot will shiver to generate heat if the room is too cold.

A parrot shakes after having a bath. A parrot’s muscles contract involuntarily to generate heat and keep it warm. As soon as the parrot is warm, it’ll stop shivering.

Hot

The parrot will lift and shake its feathers to move cold air around its body to cool itself down. It isn’t technically shivering, but it appears that way.

Scared or Stressed

After moving the baby parrot to its new home, it might shake out of nervousness or stress, especially when it’s away from its mother for the first time.

Birds are sensitive to their environments, meaning small changes can unsettle them. Speak gently and move slowly to avoid frightening it further.

Unwell

Baby parrots hide their sickness, so it’s difficult to determine whether they’re unwell. Parrots can’t tell us when they’re ill and rely on us to pick up on it through their behavior and body language.

My Baby Parrot Is Scared of Me

Understandably, baby parrots take a while to adjust, especially after moving to a new environment.

As prey animals, they’re hardwired to fear their surroundings until they know you don’t pose a threat. Until that time, they’ll be wary and fearful of you.

Some parrots don’t enjoy being handled and never will. Attempting to win a parrot’s trust by touching it more often is unlikely to help and will only make it more scared when you’re nearby.

However, baby parrots can adjust to your presence if you avoid the following:

Don’t make loud noises.
Let it live in a quiet, neutral room.
Don’t handle them too often.
Keep other pets away.
Avoid disturbing them while sleeping.

Over time and with care and attention, a baby parrot should start to trust you, allowing you to begin building a bond with your new pet.

how often you need to renew the food, what should be given to the budgerigar during the day and how much food the birds eat

The quality of life of the budgerigar and its duration depends on the chosen diet. A bird is not a cat or a dog, and human food has become unsuitable for it. In addition, in some cases, the latter can be deadly for a pet.

In the article we will try to figure out which diet is suitable for a bird and how many times a day to feed a parrot? 9Ol000

How much food a bird needs per day

Breeders of recommend giving food to birds in the morning. Parrots themselves decide how many times to eat and how to deal with food during the day: eat immediately or spread over the remaining day (usually the second). But during the day, the pet must be fed with additional treats: fruits, vegetables, cereals and more.

Under no circumstances should you overfeed your budgerigar. As a result, obesity will appear, which is extremely difficult to treat. It is better to underfeed slightly than to overfeed.

Basic food

The classic diet of budgerigars consists of grains. Nothing can replace it. If the bird is voracious and eats the prescribed norm at a time, then it is more expedient to divide it into two parts: one for the morning, and the second for the evening. It is impossible to interrupt feeding for more than a day.

What food do you feed parrots?

MAKE YOUR SHOP

In pet stores you can always find specialized grain food for budgerigars. The set of ingredients may be different, depending on the age of the pet and its condition. When choosing food, be sure to check the expiration date and tightness of the package.

Popular grain mixes:

Padovan;
"RIO";
"Verseille";

Grain mixtures must be free of foreign matter. Feed must be carefully checked and, if necessary, sieved.

Particles of stone or glass can damage the bird's esophagus, and this is fraught with protracted treatment.

How often should vegetables be given?

Some budgerigar owners boil vegetables. This approach is fully justified, but only if the bird is sick or in a serious stressful situation. Healthy birds need fresh food.

The fact is that when cooked, all vegetables lose some of their vitamins and minerals. And the latter are necessary for an active pet to replenish energy. An exception may be cabbage, beets and peas. Before serving, they are blanched: doused with boiling water and soaked in it for several minutes.

Poultry-friendly vegetables:

carrots;
marrow;
squash;
swede;
tomatoes.

Pre-blanch:

cabbage and its varieties;
fresh peas;
beets;
turnip.

Never give your budgerigar fresh potatoes. The gastrointestinal tract of the bird will immediately react negatively to starch and other components of the product.

Fruits

Before you treat your pet with fruits and berries, you should remove the hard peel from them, and remove the seeds from the fruits, otherwise the bird may choke. Some crops can be frozen and fed to a parrot in winter.

If the pet flatly refuses to eat fruits and berries, then you need to convince him of the opposite by showing ingenuity. For example, cut the treat into small pieces and put it in a favorite place for games and feathered gatherings.

Fruits and berries useful for a parrot:

pear;
apple;
banana;
orange;
peach;
lime;
plum;
cherry;
viburnum.

Budgerigars should not be given:

mangoes;
persimmon;
avocado;
papaya.

More information on allowed fruits for budgerigars in the video:

Germinated grains

The diet of budgerigars can be varied by sprouting classic grain food. This approach will enrich the pet's food with vitamins and minerals. Feed is germinated from oats, wheat and lettuce. This is easy to do at home, somewhere on the windowsill.

Incompletely germinated food, when the seeds are just beginning to hatch, provoke sexual desire in birds and increased activity.

It is worth considering that in many mixtures for every day, especially the premium level, seeds and nuts are already included in the composition. There is no special need to treat your pet with them, except perhaps as a reward or encouragement.

Porridges

Porridges contribute to the normalization of metabolism and act as a source of useful trace elements, and also have an extremely beneficial effect on the gastric mucosa. You need to cook them exclusively on water: you can not add salt or sugar.

If you have time, you can prepare more complex mixtures, including several cereals. But for the organization of good nutrition, mono-porridges will also fit. You can also add grated fruits, vegetables or legumes to the grits. The consistency of the finished product should be viscous, maximum slightly crumbly. It is impossible to store the mixture for more than 2 days in a refrigerator.

Healthy cereals:

oatmeal;
buckwheat;
barley;
millet;
barley.

Instant food is not recommended. The human stomach more or less calmly perceives such products, while the gastrointestinal tract of a bird may begin to fail.

Mineral Supplements

Many veterinarians recommend using natural, in the form of branch food, instead of industrial supplements. By pecking branches , the pet not only receives the fiber and microelements necessary for its body, but also grinds its beak.

It is more expedient to collect top dressing of such a plan away from the roads. Before putting the branches in the cage, they must be disinfected: doused with boiled water and dried in a natural way. In winter, you can buy top dressing at a pet store or germinate previously collected material (before the buds swell).

Useful branch fodder:

birch;
linden;
hawthorn;
maple;
elder;
viburnum;
cherry.

Birds must not be given branches:

bird cherry;
pears;
pine / spruce;
oak;
lilacs.

Sepia bones or common chalk can be used as pure minerals. The same pet stores also sell small mineral stones for birds.

How to properly water birds

A parrot should always have access to water. Some mistakenly believe that water should be changed as soon as it runs out of the drinker. But the latter can be designed for several liters. The liquid settled in a closed container is filled with harmful microelements. Therefore, water should be changed daily.

During the hot summer months, the fluid needs to be refilled twice a day. Regular tap water or boiled water is not suitable for budgerigars. Neither the first nor the second contains the minerals necessary for the bird. The best option is industrial bottled solutions without gas, enriched with potassium, magnesium and sodium.

Parrots can also be juiced: manually from fruits and vegetables, taking into account the above lists. Those products that are sold in ordinary grocery stores are not suitable, because they contain a high percentage of sugar. As an alternative to hand-pressing, store-bought juices for young children can be used.

Conclusion

When feeding budgerigars, there are a few simple rules to follow in order to improve your pet's quality of life:

Always discard old food before introducing new food.
The daily allowance must be observed strictly. Any indulgence in terms of food can lead to obesity.
If the parrot does not eat the main food, then it makes sense to replace it with a better one, as well as an expensive one. At the same time, the foundation cannot be abandoned.
Do not give sweets or strong-tasting foods to birds: no biscuits, garlic, etc.

Feeding medium sized parrots | Articles of the Bambi veterinary clinic

Birds weighing from 70 grams to 200 grams are classified as medium parrots. These include parrots Corella, Rosella, Nymphs, Kakariki, Senegal parrots and others. Often they try to classify lovebird parrots as average, but this is not true. If you have a lovebird weighing 70 grams, then this is a pathology associated with excess weight, it should be shown to a veterinary ornithologist.

The daily requirement for grain feed for an average parrot is 30-35 grams per day, if this is converted to other measures, then this turns out to be 2 tablespoons per day per bird. Medium parrots should be fed in the morning. At night, before covering the cage, the grain feed is removed. If your feathered friend did not eat everything during the day, then the next day I would recommend pouring less grain food than the norm. For the health of a parrot, it is important that he eat all the cereal components in a row. Each cereal contains a certain composition, and together they create a balance of substances needed for the body. If the bird is given the opportunity to eat as much as he wants, he will have the opportunity to choose and subsequently this will lead to an imbalance in the body. Plus, such feeding creates the prerequisites for the appearance of excess weight. In the future, this will affect the immune system and you will have a direct road to an appointment with an ornithologist. Feed should be used without added vitamins and minerals. Try to take feed without chemicals, that is, the feed should not contain colored pieces, colored grain, granules and dragees.

In addition, the parrot can be fed with grain porridges boiled steep without salt and fat in water in the amount of one teaspoon.

Each granivorous bird must have a mineral feeder and a mineral stone must hang in the cage. This rule is also true for medium parrots. Many import and Russian manufacturers offer mineral food for parrots. Here it is important to know the composition and size of the particles in the mineral feed. Since mineral food in the form of sand and powder is not suitable for medium parrots, it is inconvenient for a parrot to take it with its beak. It should be bigger. Mineral food for parrots can be in a separate feeder for a long time, it needs to be changed as it becomes dirty and replenished as it decreases. Before buying mineral food for your parrot, you should always consult with an ornithologist.

It is important that your parrot gets extra vitamins. Vitamins in the form of vegetables, fruits and greens do not fill the body's entire need for vitamins. Now pet stores are full of different vitamins for birds. See the composition, it is not recommended to use vitamins in the form of grains processed with vitamins, they are difficult to control and there is a high probability of an overdose. The more vitamins in the composition, the better. There are vitamins in TB, they also have their own difficulties, it is very difficult for a parrot to make them eat and you have to add them to the feed. When added to feed, there is a risk that the bird will not receive them in the amount that is needed. At the moment, the most optimal vitamins are drinking vitamins in liquid form. It is more convenient to add them to the drinking bowl, each company has its own dose and course of application. If you have difficulty choosing a vitamin, seek the advice of a veterinarian ornithologist.

The water in the drinker must be damp, if the water is from a tap, then it must be defended for two days so that the bleach disappears. You can use filtered water, or you can use regular bottled drinking water. It needs to be changed every day, if the house is very warm, then the water is changed 2 times a day. When using vitamins in a drinking bowl, the water is also changed 1-2 times a day, depending on the temperature of the room.