Parakeet Food
Although seed is an important Parakeet food, it isn’t the only food you should feed your pet. In the wild, seeds are only available for a short period each year, so Parakeets eat other foods for much of the time. Even feeding your Parakeet with seeds that have been fortified with vitamins etc… isn’t sufficient, because seeds are typically fortified by sprinkling a powder on the outside of the seed, and Parakeets remove the outer shell before eating the seed!
In their natural habitat (Parakeets originate from the Australian grasslands) they eat a staple diet of fresh greens, berries, and fruits – i.e. the foods that are readily available. Therefore, these foods should form a large part of your Parakeet’s diet. A good combination is as follows:
- 50% cooked beans, cooked rice, cooked pasta, and seed.
- 45% fresh fruit (pips removed) and vegetable (e.g. apple, banana, grape, broccoli, carrots, yams, spinach, dandelion greens etc…).
- 5% eggs, fish (no bones), and well cooked meat.
DO NOT give your Parakeet any kind of dairy products, because they are lactose-intolerant.
DO NOT give your Parakeet chocolate or avocados – it could kill him!
Only leave fresh Parakeet food (i.e. fruit, veg, meat etc…) in the cage for a few hours, because it quickly deteriorates, and it can attract pests such as flies. Empty and refill the seed cup daily – it is easy to think it is full, when in fact all it contains is the hulls of eaten seeds. Parakeets aren’t greedy parrots, so you don’t need to worry about over-feeding them with seeds. Make sure your pet’s water supply is regularly refreshed.
photo credit: MinivanNinja
