Bird Food

The first rule when buying bird food is to choose a mix made for your bird’s species. Budgie mixes are mostly millet and canary grass seed; canary mixes contain more rapeseed and linseed; cockatiel and parrot mixes include sunflower and pumpkin seeds and dried fruit. The wrong mix can lead a bird to eat too many fatty seeds it does not need.

Seed or pellets?

Birds fed only on seed tend to pick out the fatty favourites and leave the rest, which can cause vitamin A and calcium deficiencies. Pellets provide balanced nutrition in every bite and are often recommended by avian vets, particularly for parrots. Convert gradually over several weeks by mixing pellets with seed, and check droppings and weight to make sure the bird is actually eating.

Check the feeder every day: a layer of husks on top can look like full seed. Blow off the husks or empty the dish and refill with fresh food. Store seed in a cool, dry, sealed container and never use mouldy or moth-infested seed.

Alongside the main diet, offer a small amount of fresh greens and vegetables daily (rocket rather than iceberg lettuce, parsley, carrot, broccoli). Avocado, chocolate and salty foods are toxic to birds.

If you change food, mix the new one with the old over one to two weeks. Birds are creatures of habit and may refuse unfamiliar food at first; the amount of droppings on the cage floor is the simplest way to tell whether a bird is eating enough during the switch.