From the arid grasslands in Australian to the humid rain forests of South America, nearly every species of wild parrot incorporates native seed into their diet. Seed has fiber, magnesium, potassium, and vitamin B6. It is rich in omega-3 fats and vitamin E. Seed helps maintain brain function, nourish red blood cells and fights inflammation. It is important to the well-being of our bird’s eyes, skin and feathers.

So why is seed so vilified in the companion parrot diet? There are a few very good reason:

You ...

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My severe macaw won’t touch fresh fruit.  Can I give him dried fruit? -Lonia G.,   Boston, MA

Dried fruits have a lot of advantages.  It lasts a long time, it is an easy snack if you are traveling and because there are no bacteria harboring juices, it works great in foraging toys and stays fresh in the cage all day. There are, however, some things you should be aware of.

When fruits are dehydrated, the process shrinks them to a fraction of their original size.  The concentration of sugar becomes very high and because they ...

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Image by Zdeněk Chalupský from Pixabay 

It is fall, which makes it cranberry season again. YAY!  I don’t think there is any other fruit my birds have more fun with.  When you think about it, it’s half food, half toy.  My birds enjoy playing with cranberries as much as they enjoy eating them.  I watched one of my cockatiels rolling a whole cranberry around with his beak for about a half hour once.  They are fun to drop from a height because they are firm and they bounce.  They make ...

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