How much extruded parrot food should you feed your pet bird daily?

While the HARI Flock eats 100% Tropican extruded parrot food daily, when considering what to feed pet birds we recommend that the daily diet for parrots consist of 70% Tropican Extruded Pellets and 30% enrichment foods such as: seed & nut mixes, fresh fruits and vegetables, leafy greens, sprouts and of course Tropimix Enrichment Parrot Food!

Note that this is a recommendation and can vary depending on your birds’ lifestyle, life-stage, species, weight, and predisposition. Always speak with your Avian Veterinarian for any health concerns. Breeder and Juvenile parrots might require a little more Tropican Parrot Food.

Once your bird has converted to a pelleted diet, Tropican extruded pellets should be offered in clean dishes ad-lib throughout the bird’s living quarters. You can also provide foraging opportunities by hiding the food in toys or foraging trays. To monitor your pet bird’s daily consumption of Tropican, keep extruded diet in separate bowls/dishes from the 30% enrichment foods. This will also help reduce spoiling the food.

Should every parrot species be fed a daily recommendation of 70% of Tropican?

While Tropican diets offer an excellent foundation in optimal nutrition for most parrots, caretakers need take into consideration species specifications, as well as lifestage levels, for their birds. Some parrot species do well with a higher percentage of seed in their overall diet. For those birds, and especially birds fed predominantly seed diet, we recommend that caretakers offer PRIME Vitamin and Mineral supplement. Plus, breeding parrots or juveniles need a higher level of proteins and other nutrients for optimal health.

Enrichment foods – The Remaining 30% of the Diet

Let’s talk about the remaining 30% of your bird’s diet, the enrichment portion. Perhaps the 30% ratio of enrichment food for your parrot doesn’t sound like much but keep in mind, the HARI recommendation of 70% Tropican to 30% enrichment food in your birds daily diet is in reference to caloric needs and not volume.

Enrichment Foods: Fruits and Vegetables

Our parrots love their fruits and vegetables, and of course, caretakers love to offer these yummy items to their parrots. While fruits and vegetables, organic or not, seem like a natural part of any parrot’s enrichment diet, we do caution caretakers about using proper hygiene in produce preparations. We especially want to share our concerns with overfeeding too much fruit and vegetables that contain high amounts of naturally occurring sugars.