Larger caged birds (conures, parrots, cockatoos, macaws) should be fed as
follows:

- Seeds and seed mixes should not constitute more than 20% of what your bird consumes daily.

- 80-100% of the daily diet should be comprised of table food
items:

Animal Protein Sources: Cooked lean meat (red meat, pork, poultry, fish,
etc.) dog/cat kibble, cooked eggs (yolk and white), cheese, cultured milk products (cottage cheese, yogurt, etc). Raw and even pasteurized milk should not be offered because they contain coliform bacteria. Furthermore, many caged birds are sensitive to milk sugar, which is present in milk but not in cultured milk products.

Whole Grain Products: Dry cereals, cooked cereals, rice, uncooked oatmeal, granola, breads (whole wheat in particular), muffins, pasta (cooked or uncooked), crackers.

Nuts, Trail Mix: In moderation (nuts are rich in oils and fats.

Fruits and Vegetables: Fresh, frozen-thawed or canned are all acceptable.
Fresh fruits and vegetables are the most nutritious.

Remember: When birds eat a lot of fleshly fruits and vegetables, they excrete excessive fluids in the form of urine, which is normal and to be expected. This increased urine in the droppings is polyuria, not diarrhea!

"Junk Food" Items: In moderation.

Remember: Salty foods are acceptable for pet birds as long as they are given in moderations and as long as fresh water or fruit juice is always available.

The following foods can be prepared and offered to large psittacines (conure, parrot, cockatoo, macaw) on a daily basis. This list has been compiled with consideration to ease of preparation, economy of time, and maximum nutritional value. You should offer at least one item from each of the following food groups daily.

WHOLE-GRAIN FOOD
(Replaces seed mixes and nuts)

Make up a mixture of any combination of the following ingredients (equal volumes of each) and store it in an air-tight container:

- Chex (TM) cereals (rice, corn, wheat, bran, graham)
- Shredded Wheat (TM)
- Cheerios (TM)
- Puffed cereals (wheat, rice, millet)
- Kashi (TM) Cereal
- Granola
- Uncooked (dry) pasta (mix different shapes and colors for
variety)

Your bird's individual preference for the various cereals may vary somewhat and depend on its body size.

ANIMAL PROTEIN

- Cheese (grated or chunks; refrigerated in sealed container or plastic bag)
- Cooked lean meat
- Canned lean meat (chicken, turkey, water-packed tuna)
- Hard-boiled egg (chopped or quartered and refrigerated in sealed container or plastic bag)
- Milk bones
- Bird pellets(add several handfuls to the cereal mix mentioned above)

VEGETABLES

- Fresh vegetables are most nutritious. Cut up ahead of time and refrigerate in sealed plastic bags or airtight containers.
Legumes (peas, beans, etc) and other dark green and orange vegetables are preferred.
- Thawed, frozen mixed vegetables (takes minutes to thaw when added to warm water). Cooking the vegetables, although reducing their food value, may be advisable to reduce numbers of potentiallly harmful bacteria.
- Canned vegetables are least nutritious of all choices.

FRUIT

- Fresh fruit is most nutritious. Cut up ahead of time and refrigerate in sealed plastic bags or airtight containers.
- Dried fruit.
- Canned fruit is least nutritious of all choices.

These suggestions are made to accomodate bird owners who are bewildered by the apparent complexities of offering a balanced" diet and who have very little time each day to prepare and offer the "right" foods. Bird owners who do not cook or eat at home will find these suggestions helpful because they can prepare all of these items with only moderate initial preparation and offer them daily with little effort.
 

Good hygiene is an important part of husbandry for caged birds because most are confined to a relatively small living space. Consequently, droppings often accumulate on cage parts and perches, and tend to contaminate food and water cups, resulting in bacterial proliferation and mold growth.

Perches should be kept scrupulously clean at all times. Soap and water, cleansers and sand paper may be used to clean them, if necessary.
Cage-bottom coverings should be changed daily. Cages should be given a thorough scrubbing and cleaning at least once a month. Sanitizing products work best if the cage and perches are first given a thorough soap and water scrubbing to remove all of the major contamination. Diluted chlorine bleach can be used if thoroughly rinsed off afterwards.

Food and water containers should be thoroughly cleaned once or twice daily before they are refilled. Bottle brushes work best for cleaning water tubes and bottles. Water tubes and water bottles with a ball valve at the drinking end (water bottles for rodents) are increasing in popularity. They greatly reduce the possibility of contamination of the drinking water with droppings, uneaten food and saliva, all of which contribute to massive bacterial proliferation within the water and its container. The corners of food and water containers are the most common areas for bacterial buildup.
Therefore, concentrate on those trouble spots while cleaning these containers.

Several sets of food and water cups should be maintained and used interchangeably. One set not in use can be soaking in a disinfectant solution. When possible, use a dishwasher for the final cleaning of these food and water containers because their extremely hot temperatures aid disinfection.

Rigid standards of hygiene must be maintained at all times. Disease-causing bacteria grow freely in most water containers. Small numbers of these bacteria from food, saliva, or droppings can quickly multiply into millions of organisms in a water container, yet the water appears normal to you.
Allow the water tap to run for about 3 minutes before filling the water container. Bottled water dispensers should be allowed to run for about 5 seconds before filling the drinking container. These bacteria do not affect most people but can have devastating consequences for caged birds if allowed to multiply.
 

Pet birds may be caged or allowed to remain on perches while the owner is home to supervise their activity. Birds should be confined to cages while their owners are away to avoid accidental injury and other misfortune. Unsupervised pet birds allowed "the run of the house" often get into trouble. Not only can they be terribly destructive to the home and its furnishings, but all homes contain objects that can be harmful (directly or indirectly) to pet birds.
These include mirrors, windows, walls, house plants, electrical cords, and items containing harmful chemicals.

Birds resting on open perches are usually content to remain there, and usually take flight only when frightened by a sudden movement or loud noise. Unfortunately, these "impromptu" flights are taken without a flight plan and birds usually wind up crashing intowalls, doors, windows or mirrors because of their confusion and poor depth perception.

The major source of poisoning of pet birds is lead found in curtain (drapery) weights, curtain pulls, leaded and stained glass, fishing sinkers and ammunition carelessly discarded in ashtrays or dropped on the floor, costume jewelry, and in the lead wrapping around the tops of wine bottles, to name the most common sources. Most caged birds seem to have an affinity for this soft metal and love to chew on it.
Poisoning results from eating even a small amount of lead. Lead poisoning can be successfully treated if diagnosed early enough.

Caged birds allowed unrestricted freedom in the home may eat house plants or chew on electrical cords, resulting in illness and injury. Some unsupervised pet birds chew on macramé, carpet and other similar fabrics and often swallow these materials, resulting in crop and intestinal impactions. Free-flying birds are also more vulnerable to injury from ceiling fans, hot stoves, and attack by pet dogs, cats and ferrets sharing the same household. It is wise not to underestimate the aggressiveness of our 4-legged friends, and to restrict contact between them and pet birds as much as possible.

Birds allowed unrestricted freedom and flight within the home may escape through open doors and windows. Most bird owners have the mistaken notion that their bird would never fly away and leave them. Unfortunately, birds that have escaped the owner's home easily become disoriented when outdoors.
This confusion makes return or capture of the escaped bird very unlikely.

The location of the cage and/or perch in the home is important.
Some birds thrive in areas of heavy traffic, where they receive lots of attention and are part of all of the "goings on." Others seem to prefer more privacy and solitude. A pet bird should never be kept in the kitchen. In addition to the obvious gas fumes and occasional smoke from cooking food, there is another, much more dangerous, threat to birds in the kitchen. Superheated Teflon and related brandname nonstick pan coatings emit fumes that are deadly to all birds. This "accident" happens most often when someone inadvertently leaves a pan, coated with a nonstick surface, on a lighted gas or electric range burner. The pan becomes hot and the non-stick coating overheats, emitting toxic fumes. Birds that inhale these fumes die quickly.

There are several other considerations when allowing birds unrestricted freedom and flight within the home. Birds flying about may end up in the toilet bowl or in an uncovered pot or pan cooking on the stove.
Free-flying birds tend to assume a more dominant posture in their relationship with people, and often become intolerably aggressive.