Feeding

We feed all our parrots a mixture of fruit & vegetables (chop), Vetafarm Essentials pellets, and Small Parrot seed mix. Some of our parrots also enjoy Millet Sprays. Each parrot is individual with its’ own individual likes and dislikes that only over time will you learn.

“Chop” refers to a finely chopped mix of cooked and uncooked food such as vegetables, grains, and seeds that you can feed your pet parrot. The mix allows you to incorporate a diverse array of nutritious ingredients into your parrots’ daily diet that you otherwise couldn’t include every day without an enormous amount of waste.

The “chop concept” is a method of preparing chop and feeding your birds that provides them with the nutrition benefits of chop while freeing you from chopping vegetables twice a day, every day. Not only can you make a big batch of chop all at once, but you can freeze it in meal-size portions taking a serving out the night before to thaw in the refrigerator for the next day’s meals. It’s not unlike making a large batch of spaghetti sauce and freezing it for later use. If you’re going to make it, you might as well make a lot of it. 

Chop mix is easy, quick, convenient, and extremely nutritious for your parrot. But it is only as nutritious and healthy for them as the ingredients you choose to put in it. The wider the variety and the more nutritious the ingredients, the better it will be for your flock. 

To put the “chop concept” into action, you’ll start by setting aside the time to make a big batch of chop, bag it into individual servings, and freeze it. Depending on how big the batch is, how many birds you are feeding, and the ingredient’s freezer life, a big batch can last weeks or even months. 

Chop mix may look very unfamiliar to your parrot when first introduced so they might need some help to realize that it is in fact food. For parrots with a favourite fruit or vegetable, this can be cut into coarse pieces and mixed into the mix prior to feeding. If they pick out these favourite pieces, then they will likely put their beak on and get a taste for other ingredients. Always throw out uneaten chop after 24 hours.

For parrots that do not eat fruit or vegetables yet, their seed mix can be mixed in with the chop. How much will depend on the parrot. For really fussy parrots, 3 parts seed: 1 part chop might be a starting point. Once they are familiar with the new diet, gradually reduce how much seed you are adding and increase the chop as they eat that. You will probably find they do not eat all of it initially, but with time, become more adventurous. You can also add fresh sprouts to the chop mix before feeding, a favourite for many parrots.

Do not give excessive amounts where your parrot can exclusively pick out favourites and not be hungry for the new foods. A rough guide for small parrots is 1 – 2 tablespoons of chop per day.

The ingredients to include in your chop mix are entirely up to you. Do your research on healthy food for your species of parrot to learn what is healthy and nutritious for them.