African Grey Diets
Information about African Grey Parrots
Species-specific Requirements for the African Grey:
- Some African Greys are prone to low blood calcium, so try to incorporate plenty of calcium-rich foods. Some suggestions might include:
- Even though most dark leafy greens are rich in calcium, broccoli, rapini, turnip greens, collard greens and mustard greens are better sources than spinach, chard and beet greens because of the high oxalic acid content that blocks absorption of the calcium in spinach, chard, and beet greens.
- Calcium-rich vegetable / fruits and greens are: bok choy, kale, parsley, mustard greens, cabbage, broccoli, carrots, dandelion greens, apricots, figs, endive, okra, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), pinto beans and kidney beans.
Please note that large raw beans - such as Anasazi, Black, Fava, Kidney, Lima, Navy, Pinto, and Soy - can cause toxicities when fed raw, causing digestive upsets for people and potentially for birds. Some experts recommend that large beans should be cooked to make them safe and digestible. Others counter that soaking beans for 24 hours starts the germinating process and that soaking makes the beans safe and digestible.
For those who do not want to take any risks, it's best to cook large beans thoroughly before feeding to your birds. These beans are not recommeded for general sprouting purposes. Certain uncooked dried beans contain enzyme inhibitors, are undigestible, and may cause visceral gout in birds. These enzyme inhibitors may prevent or decrease the utilization in the body of substances, such as trypsin and chymotrypsin, to produce nutritional deficiencies. Beans that can interfere with proteolytic enzymes are lima, kidney and soybeans. Cooking these beans for at least 2 hours destroys these enzyme inhibitors. Other dried beans do not appear to contain these enzyme inhibitors or, if present, are in low concentrations. To be on the safe side, it's best to cook ALL varieties of beans.
- Other food sources of calcium: Baked eggshells, crushed and sprinkled over the food, oatmeal, almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, sesame seeds, and tahini -- "nut butter" made of sesame seeds
- African Greys should be given carefully calculated quantities of calcium and vitamin supplements. It is a good idea to have the calcium levels of the african grey checked routinely (annually) by a vet.
- NOTE: Care must be taken with vitamin supplements not to provide too much calcium. It has been shown that calcium levels in the diet of over 1% decrease the utilization of proteins, fats, vitamins, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, iodine, zinc and manganese. At a level of 2.5% in the diet nephrosis, hypercalcemia, hypophosphotemia, visceral and renal gout, and decreased food intake have been observed.
- If your parrot is picky about eating his greens (as many are):
- Try Sprouts! My African Grey, lovebird and cockatiel LOVE their sprouts. Sprouted seeds are extremely nutritious and tend to be readily accepted by even the pickiest eaters ...I am using Simply Sprout -- it's an organic mix of seeds and grains that my pets love.
- Veggie Bites: If sprouting is not for you -- Veggie Bites are a great alternative.
- Superior Nutrition Food: Herbs Specifically for Bird Health & Healthy Dried Fruits & Veggies - Make Excellent Healthy Bird Treats & Food!
- Flax Seed: To restore the balance between Omega-6 and Omega-3 essential fatty acids in your African Grey’s diet, you may want to include Flaxseeds every day. Eating whole flaxseed rather than flaxseed oils because you get the whole package: the protein, fiber, minerals and phytochemicals along with the omega-3. Flaxseeds are also the best source of the phytochemical lignan. Lignan is documented to have anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral and anti-cancer properties. I sprinkle Flaxseed on my birds fresh food daily.
- Sunflower Seed: African Greys may become obese, which is detrimental to their health. Sunflower seeds are very high in fat and it is recommended to keep the quantity of sunflower seed down to a minimum. Birds generally favor sun flower seed over other nutritious food, which can lead to malnutrition. Reducing or eliminating sunflower seed from your pet's diet is recommended.
- Summary: In the wild, African Greys eat fruits, leaves, insects, bark and flowers. In captivity, they should eat a varied diet of fruits, vegetables supplemented with some seeds and nuts. Rice, cooked beans, corn, tortillas, pasta, potatoes, bread and cooked chicken are healthy foods for Greys. They also need extra calcium supplementation, so add bones, oyster shell, and cuttle bones to the diet. Now, the difficult task of getting him to eat his new diet. It is not appropriate to starve birds into eating what you desire. Instead, you need to appeal to their playfullness and curiosity. Texture and presentation are often more important than taste. Try cutting carrots and brocolli stems into silver dollar sized slices, then stringing together and hanging the string in the bird's cage. Try stuffing rice and cooked beans into rolled cardboard and taping them to the cage. More on "foraging" opportunities, please go to this website.
Generic Diets & Additional Food Items: Healthy Bird Treats & Snacks ... Superior Nutrition Food: Herbs Specifically for Bird Health & Healthy Dried Fruits & Veggies - Make Excellent Healthy Bird Treats & Food! ... Cooked Diets ... Splay Millet & Millet Accessories ... Mineral / Calcium Blocks & Accessories
| Pretty Bird African Species Specific Pelleted Mixes: Features all your African species' daily recommended doses of vitamins and minerals including an exceptional amount of Calcium for these species which require higher levels of this mineral. | ||
| Treats should be fed in moderation only ... | |||
| Foods to Feed Only in Moderation: |
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| Foods to NEVER Feed: |
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