Suggested diet for an African Ringneck

[Viatrixa]

While I'm a newbie, I also feel sort of iffy feeding our IRN protein rich things in the morning. We usually give him protein stuffs in the evening and veggies earlier on. He's not a picky eater so we've been lucky! I'd recommend experimenting with different gloop types; or even self made bird cookies / pellets (not the commercial kind). Seeds to our bird are more of a treat than anything; there's a reason people used to feed their pet birds primarily with seeds and they didn't survive for long. Nothing wrong with giving them some seeds now and then though!!!

The thing with self made gloops and things like that is that they are honestly quite easy to make and you can change, pick and mix ingredients for the featherbutt too. (Gloop can be human friendly as well!) Honestly I would simply recommend safe experimenting - see what your birdie likes. I know it's unrelated but I noticed that myself and the husband have started to eat much more healthier because of the bird - lots more salads and veggies in general.

[ParrotsForLife]

Indian Ringnecks are not picky eaters as you said yours is not and that is normal for them its great to have a non picky eater isn't it you can buy any fruit and veg and know they will love it.Im gonna start feeding pellets in the morning and seed later since im getting Mango to eat the pellets and he will be hungry in the morning to eat them.

[Wolf]

No I have not given you the wrong information about seeds, and in fact have not said any of what you are saying that I have. You are just being argumentative as usual. But you are still just a kid and feel the need to prove yourself, it is all OK.

[ParrotsForLife]

No I have not given you the wrong information about seeds, and in fact have not said any of what you are saying that I have. You are just being argumentative as usual. But you are still just a kid and feel the need to prove yourself, it is all OK.

Haha excuse me Argumentative? Im not trying to start an argument and no its not usual and im debating what you said you said seed is unhealthy which is not entirely true its part of a parrots diet and yes it is unhealthy to feed a all seed diet but not as part of the diet.And no I dont feel the need to prove myself you dont know me so you wouldn't know what im like.

[JessiMuse]

Well, I think it might depend, actually. Some parrots are partial ground foragers and granivores, and have adapted to having seeds as a part of their diet in the wild. Indian and African Ringnecks are not these kinds of parrots, so it might not be good to feed them much as a granivore species. It might also depend on the kind of seed as well. If I remember correctly, millet doesn't have as much protein as sunflower seeds do.

As for the question at hand, I personally think that there's no better diet than a diet similar to what the bird may eat in the wild. At the same time, that might be almost impossible, depending on the species. I'll be honest, I'm still new to the whole "nutrition" thing, so I can't really say much. Best advice I can give is to provide a nutritionally balanced diet, as well as a good variety. I'll it leave for the people who are better about this kind of thing than I am, to make better suggestions.

[ParrotsForLife]

Jessimuse you have gave the best information so far at least its something thats true and I guess thats because your on LFB where there is correct information.

[ParrotsForLife]

Seeds are high in protein and lacking in many nutrients such as essential fatty acids regardless of when they are fed, The nutritional values of a food does not change based on when it is fed.

Seeds are high in Protein haha thats funny because seeds are actually too LOW in protein sometimes I wonder where you get your information from.

[JessiMuse]

Eh, I wouldn't say everything there is correct. Anyone has the potential to be right or wrong. I think seeds and parrot nutrition are a couple of topics that need more studies on them. I'm really just sharing what I know and what I think.

Actually, I've been trying to construct a seed/grain mix for my cockatiels to match what they might eat in the wild, so I'm planning on doing research on that. Though, I'm having trouble figuring out where to start...

[Wolf]

Science has already established that seeds ar high in protein and that was the main reason for them being the cause of so many birds dying from fatty liver disease. Still like all of the rest of us they do need a certain amount of protein in their diet which is why seeds are recommended in limited quantities and that is what I have stated all along.

JesseMuse

The reason that it is so hard finding where to start is the lack of any definitive research on the diets of parrots in the wild. I have been trying to do the same thing for three years and as soon as you try to find out what they actually eat in the wild you run into problems. This is further compounded by the fact that their diets change as the seasons change and there is little to no information on what they eat during what season of the year.

All of this appears to be due to the fact that until reliable air transportation made the trade , both legal and illegal, in exotic bird a lucrative global industry, there was no financing available for any scientific research even though parrots have been keep in captivity for hundreds of years.

At least this is where I keep running into problems.

I can't even find such a simple thing as the actual protein requirements for any parrot other than a budgie at 8%, and a CAG at 10 to 14%. All that I can find beyond that is that it depends on the size of the bird. This information was found in an avian medical text.

[Pajarita]

There is a study on amazons that states that they need 17% during breeding - but, of course, we are talking about wild birds which require more protein than captive ones (all that flying back and forth and living under the elements, etc) and only during breeding season when the protein requirement is highest (they need to feed the babies which need a lot of protein to grow). We have nothing on their protein requirement for the rest of the year... and I bet the wild grays and budgies eat higher protein than the one listed on the book (which, I would assume, it's meant as maintenance for captive birds) during breeding season.