by Pajarita » Tue Apr 09, 2019 10:53 am
You are 100% right, of course. I once had an argument with an avian vet who claimed that canaries (which are not only natural seed eaters but which have been domesticated and bred by humans feeding them seeds since the 1400s) had to be fed pellets. Ridiculous! All I can say is that anybody who claims that pellets are the best dietary option for any type of bird is somebody who has NOT done enough research on the subject or is one of those ignorant people who think man knows better than Mother Nature.
The natural diet of hooded parrots is seeds (and you can see them in almost every picture foraging in the grass for its seeds), berries (have you tried giving him wild blueberries or currants that are also very small?) and greens - just like most keets in Australia. Why don't you try making him a gloop of mostly grains (adding only some sweet corn and chopped broccoli) but choose small ones, like millet, steel cut oats and barley (the pearled one they sell in the supermarket is usually small in size)? Red rice will also do well, I think.