Dietary Needs of a Severe Macaw

[JewelsinMo]

Hello All, I have an 8 month old Severe Macaw named Marty that I just brought into my life. He is a joy, but I want to ensure that I am feeding him properly. He is currently on a seed mix which is what they fed him at the Pet Store, as well as some fruit pellets. I have read primarily that pellets are better -is that correct?

I am also feeding some oatmeal in the mornings with banana, sweet potato, melon, or apple. Or he loves scrambled eggs, but I am unsure how often this should be given and should it be just the well cooked yolk or is the entire egg ok?

Today I fixed some brown rice and a 15 dried bean mix that I cooked up for him. Also have read peas, beans, corn. He is not at all interested in leafy greens and I am aware he should have. How to get those into him when he is not at all interested? Also got some plain Greek yogurt to mix with fresh frozen blueberries.

Have also been giving red seedless grapes, slightly cooked carrots and some nuts, such as pistachio (unsalted), walnuts, and almonds.

Do I have the bases covered with the exception of the leafy greens and is there anything that should be added immediately?

Your input is very much appreciated!

Sincerely,
JewelsinMo

[Cedardave]

Hello,
I would stay away from the seed mix to much.We feed our severe harrisons pellets as well as most of what you have mentioned.Look for a good pellet...the best seem to be available from your avian vet..depending on where you are in the world.As for the rest of your list it sounds good to me.For the leafy greens we mix fresh kale, broccoli and add some carrots.Sometimes the kale is the last to be eatten,but it usually will.It may take a while so be persistant.

[Pajarita]

I don't feed pellets, I don't think they are the healthiest option although I will admit they are the easiest. I feed mine gloop, a dish made out of cooked whole grains, pulses and cooked and diced or chopped veggies along with raw produce (one fruit, one veggie, one leafy green) for breakfast and a small, measure portion of a good quality seed mix doctored with human grade, roasted nuts.

Egg white is not too bad if you feed it VERY sparingly but egg yolk is bad for them. It's too high in cholesterol and because parrots never consume any food with bad cholesterol in the wild, Nature did not give their bodies a mechanism to get rid of the excess so it ends up in their circulatory system and liver - not good!

I also would not give him yogurt. Birds don't eat dairy products so, although we used to use yogurt as a source of calcium for them (back in the day when we did not know enough), there is really no need to do it nowadays, especially if you are going to feed pellets which already have calcium AND vit D3.

Oatmeal is good but it needs to be the plain, old fashioned one, without sugar. And, yes, do give him corn on the cob, I haven't met a bird that doesn't love it!

As to how to get him to eat leafy greens, let me tell you that, in my personal experience, this is the hardest thing to do. I put chopped broccoli and kale (very nutritious and not too high in oxalates) in their gloop and that's how I ensure they get enough good fiber and the benefits of a green veggie because a number of my birds don't touch the leafy greens I give them daily. Oh, they would eat raw broccoli and happily munch on the Swiss Chard and bok choy stalks as well as the romaine hearts (they love crunchy stuff) but some of them would not touch the leaf part of them.

[GreenWing]

Fresh food of variety is best. I like Pajarita's "gloop" but I don't gloop my CAG's food, I mix it and she gets fed twice a day.

Hard seed, like safflower, is necessary for the crop but you want more fresh food than seed. I am a believer that pellets are okay as a supplement... that is... don't have your parrot on an all seed/pellet diet. Chance usually gets only a few Harrison's pellets a day but now that I'm out of Harrison's I haven't been giving them to her. In the future should I choose to still use them as supplements I'll go with TOPS. Harrison's is okay in my mind but the soy content bothers me... especially for a female parrot.

Chance gets some seed with a few pellets mixed with fresh food for one meal, her second meal of the day is entirely fresh food.

See these topics:

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=8997&hilit=parrot+food+list

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=9201

(I'd BBcode it but I'm too lazy, lol)