Parrot feeding

A varied diet is vitally important as all the thought, time and expense that has gone into obtaining suitable birds and providing the best possible accommo­dation for them will otherwise be wasted.

Feeding a collection of parrots can be a costly undertaking and this is partly why the majority of breeders of parrots concentrate on those species which are likely to produce enough young to offset food bills. Whether or not the species kept are free-breeding, it should be borne in mind that it is much easier to provide a varied diet for a small collection of parrots. In urban areas it may be difficult or im­possible to provide sufficient wild greenfood, for example, to offer to all pairs during the breeding season and it may be equally difficult to find the space to grow spinach beet or other cultivated greenfood. Although such foods are not essential all year round, while chicks are being reared, they may well make all the difference between mediocre and superior young birds, especially if the parents refuse bread and milk. Similarly, of the birds which require plenty of fruit, only as many should be kept as one can afford to feed generously with this.

The cost and type of food necessary will play an important part in deter­mining the maximum number of birds in a collection. It is far better to keep a few pairs which receive a varied and nutritious diet than a large collection that has to subsist mainly on seed with the occasional addition of apple.

The time available for feeding is another aspect which must be taken into consideration: it is not the refilling of seed vessels which is the most time­consuming task but rather the prepar­ation of numerous small extras, especi­ally during the breeding season. A strict routine should be adopted in feeding a collection because it is less likely that an enclosure will be overlooked if the aviaries are attended to in the same order daily.

The actual process of feeding is a more enjoyable task with parrots than with most birds since many demon­strate so clearly their approval, or otherwise, of the food offered. Some species become very tame and wait on the feeding shelf to see which extras are on that day's menu. The evident enjoyment of a favourite tit-bit makes feeding a most rewarding task and the provision of such delicacies as a piece of cheese can be an important factor in taming and steadying some parrots. Among the larger birds in my collec­tion, there are very few which will not take choice food items from my fin­gers, even though they are not tame in the usual sense of the word. This does not apply in most collections of smal­ler birds, such as Grass Parrakeets and Lovebirds, which rarely develop any rapport at all with their owner.