Having a meal with your bird can be a great bonding experience, but it is also crucial to maintain their health. When you tailor your bird’s food, you ensure that they are receiving all the necessary vitamins and minerals that they need. A deficiency can lead to serious health problems. Don’t fret though, ensuring your birds are kept healthy does not have to be time-consuming or expensive, there are many easy and healthy options to choose from.
Fruit And Veg
Just like humans, birds also need their fruit and vegetables. Almost all kinds of fruit can be consumed by birds. Fruits are a source of vitamins and minerals, and your birds will thoroughly enjoy eating them. As fruit is best served fresh, make sure you get rid of it after a couple of hours of offering it. This is to ensure that no bacteria grows inside the cage. A word of advice, don’t offer too many grapes as they are high in sugar.
In the wild, birds enjoy a variety of vegetables. So, as a pet, vegetables should also make up an ample part of their diet. Veggies add interesting textures, flavors, and colors to their diets. Broccoli is great and provides them with a lot of nutrients they would have been getting out in the wild. In their natural habitats, birds’ bodies can create a lot of vitamin D as they spend a lot of time in the sun. As a pet, this is greatly reduced, so they can be deficient. Giving them broccoli is a great way to ensure they get enough vitamin D.
Carrots are another great vegetable to offer, the beta-carotene helps support their eye health. For larger birds, wash and peel carrots, and for smaller birds, you can give them bite-sized pieces to chew on. Some may even need shredded carrots. Feed them raw carrots and avoid cooked ones, as they are best for birds in their raw state. The crunchiness provides them with jaw exercise.
Beans, Seeds, and Nuts
Beans are a great source of protein. They are also a great source of fiber, which is great for their digestive system. You could boil up some bean soup without seasoning it. Allow this to cool and offer it to your birds. They will love this, and it could become a new favorite. Seeds are also a great healthy option and the most well-known bird food. Seeds offer a ton of health benefits due to being high in protein and containing necessary vitamins and minerals. Moreover, wild bird seed mixes provide your birds with the variety they need. They need a balanced diet to thrive, so focus on offering a variety of healthy and nutritious foods.
Nuts, such as walnuts, have a ton of beneficial nutrients and are super tasty to birds. Birds often use nuts as a way to exercise their jaw and beak, especially on nuts that have shells. Trying to open up the nuts is a good face workout for them. When you give them nuts, make sure that they are clean and free from salt. If you need to freeze them to preserve them for longer, it is okay. Just ensure you give them enough time to thaw before offering them.
Pasta
An uncommon choice, birds actually love pasta! Pasta contains carbohydrates which are great sources of energy. You can boil some pasta and serve it alongside vegetables. If they prefer raw pasta, you can serve it with some nut butter.
Peppers
Interestingly, birds can take spice. It seems that birds do not have the necessary receptors to pick up on the spiciness of peppers. That’s why they enjoy eating them so much. Give your birds an entire pepper and watch them easily consume the entire thing.
Sprouts
If you want to give them sprouts, it’s best to grow your own. Sprouts have a ton of health benefits, and giving them store-bought sprouts may put them at risk of consuming pesticides. Growing your own keeps them safe from ingesting any potential toxins. When seeds, nuts, grains, or legumes are sprouted, this enhances their chemical compositions. This means that they become a lot more nutritious. Sprouts are an abundant source of vitamins E, C, B, and beta-carotene. If there are minerals, these become chelates which makes them much more bio-available.
If you are looking to keep your pets healthy, use this guide to help you figure out what to feed them. Fruits, vegetables, beans, seeds, nuts, peppers, pasta, and sprouts are just some of the nutrition-filled foods your birds can enjoy to fuel their health.
