In order for your feathered pets to live for many years and not get sick, it is recommended to choose high-quality food for parrots. Many people choose food for budgerigars and birds of other breeds, listening to reviews from friends or the advice of a salesperson at a pet store, but this approach does not take into account the individual characteristics and character of the birds.
The information presented in this article and the rating of food manufacturers for ornamental birds will help you figure out what to feed your budgerigar, as well as larger cockatiels, lovebirds, grays, cockatoos, macaws and others.
How to choose food for a parrot
The main thing you need to look at when choosing food is its composition. Usually the basis is millet, oats and other cereals, but the bird’s diet should not be limited to them only. Supplements in the form of seeds, pieces of fruit or vegetables will significantly enrich the bird’s nutrition and provide its body with all the necessary vitamins and minerals.
Make sure that the food from an unknown manufacturer does not contain peanuts. There is too great a risk that it is contaminated with aflatoxin, which damages the liver of birds.
The amount of sweet fruits (for example, bananas, dates) in the mixture should be strictly limited so as not to cause weight gain for the pet. But viburnum is fraught with another danger - it can harm birds with weak kidneys.
Also, when purchasing, look at the condition of the packaging - it should be intact, without stains or faded pictures. This indicates proper storage of the food and ensures that it retains all the beneficial substances added by the manufacturer of the mixture.
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How to find and buy a mixture of grains for a parrot?
An alternative version has long been sold in markets and stores. The manufacturer offers a variety of grain mixtures, sticks and crackers for your choice. When purchasing ready-made food, be sure to look at:
- date of manufacture: never purchase a product that has expired
- admixture of additives, dyes. They have a detrimental effect on the bird.
- composition: there must be at least three types of grain.
- Packaging tightness
- Price. If the price is cheap, let it be alarming. Don't skimp on feeding. Balanced food is the basis for bird health.
The best food for small parrots
The menu of feathered pets is determined by the habitat of their relatives in the wild. Small budgies are native to Argentina and are accustomed to eating wheat, seeds, fruits, herbs, as well as buds and shoots of plants. And remember that the daily norm for them should not exceed 20 g.
Versele-Laga Prestige Premium Budgies – assorted cereals and fruits for budgies
4.9
★★★★★
editorial assessment
92%
buyers recommend this product
The assorted cereal contains at least 2% chia seeds, a source of fatty acids necessary for the pet’s lush plumage.
The composition also includes fruit granules and ground oyster shells for proper functioning of the stomach muscles, replenishing calcium and phosphorus in the bird’s body.
Pets are attracted by the pleasant smell of the granules - they eat them with pleasure. The mixture is sold in one-kilogram sealed bags with a zip fastener for convenient storage.
Pros:
- shiny clean grains;
- balanced composition;
- nice smell;
- convenient packaging.
Minuses:
- high cost (about 450 rubles per kilogram pack);
- The packaging does not indicate detailed ingredients.
Versele-Laga is not cheap, but if you take into account the small daily feeding requirement for a budgerigar, a pack will last a long time, and the costs will be quite small.
Triol is a cheaper option
4.8
★★★★★
editorial assessment
86%
buyers recommend this product
Triol parrot food belongs to the budget segment. Nevertheless, its composition is varied: white and red millet, hemp and sunflower seeds, oats, meadow grasses, canary seed, vitamins, iodine.
The food is sold both in the classic form of a grain mixture and with various additives: fruits, vegetables or honey. Thanks to this, you can diversify your pet's menu.
Pros:
- affordable price (on average 60 rubles per 450 g);
- several flavors to choose from;
- Available in most pet stores.
Minuses:
- no nuts included;
- cardboard packaging without a sealed bag inside.
Before giving this food to your parrot, it is better to look at the contents of the package and pour it into an airtight jar to avoid insects from getting into the mixture.
Padovan “Cocorite” – a balanced daily diet
4.8
★★★★★
editorial assessment
82%
buyers recommend this product
Cocorite is a good basic diet at an affordable price from an Italian manufacturer. In addition to the grain mixture (millet, shelled oats, canary grains), the composition includes pieces of apricots, pears and apples, ground shells and brightly colored cookie pieces.
Owners note an excellent appetite, healthy appearance, and activity of their pets throughout the entire period of feeding with Padovan mixtures. The food is sold in 500 g cardboard boxes with sealed bags inside.
Pros:
- high-quality packaging;
- there are vitamin and mineral supplements;
- Available at most pet stores.
Minuses:
- one of the additives is cookies with dye, which is not very healthy.
Most birds do not eat cookies, but prefer to play with the brightly colored pieces. To be on the safe side, you can remove them from the mixture yourself and not give them to your pet at all.
Otherwise, this is simply an excellent and complete food that does not require the introduction of any other additives into the parrot’s diet.
NaturaList – pure grain mixture
4.7
★★★★★
editorial assessment
76%
buyers recommend this product
NaturaList for budgerigars is a new product on the bird food market. This is a grain mixture that can become the basis of a feathered pet’s diet. It contains: red and yellow millet, oatmeal, canary grass and flax.
There is nothing unnecessary here, which means the food is suitable for birds with allergies. In addition, due to the increased nutritional value of the composition, the feeding rate is reduced to 5-12 g per day.
NaturaList is supplied in a transparent sealed bag, which allows you to view the nutrition in the store and ensure the purity and quality of the grains.
Pros:
- economical consumption;
- transparent packaging;
- natural composition.
Minuses:
- no fruit or vegetable additives.
NaturaList can be used as a basis for feeding budgies, diversifying the birds' diet with fresh fruits and vegetables.
What vegetables and fruits can be given to a parrot?
Fresh vegetables and fruits are a natural source of vitamins, minerals, and beneficial components. Therefore, such fruits must be present in your pet’s diet. Experts say that almost any fruit that a person eats can be fed to a parrot. The list of fruits recommended for pets includes:
Before using, vegetables and fruits must be washed well. It is worth remembering that it is advisable to feed your parrot with seasonal fruits. To avoid problems with your pet’s health, you must avoid products that may contain nitrates and pesticides. For parrots, citrus fruits are a good vitamin complex. However, before eating, these fruits should be peeled, because they contain a lot of essential oils. It is better to give parrots citrus fruits in slices. Apples and pears have a lot of minerals, so such fruits should be present in the parrot's diet all year round. These fruits can be given raw, boiled, dried. Dried fruits should be soaked for two to four hours before giving to your feathered pet. Among the berries you can give your pet raspberries, currants, strawberries, cherries. But it’s better not to give melon to your pet, because eating it can cause intestinal upset. Bananas have a lot of carbohydrates, so their presence in the diet of a feathered pet is welcome. In order for your parrot to enjoy bananas, they must be peeled and cut into pieces.
Experts do not recommend feeding parrots fruits such as persimmon, papaya, mango. Tomatoes contain a lot of carotene, but parrots are not too fond of the pulp of tomatoes; they prefer to peck the seeds. Potatoes contain a lot of starch; they can be given to parrots in small doses, raw or boiled. Large doses of potatoes can harm a parrot. Carrots and beets are beneficial for the body of a feathered pet. They must be given to pets raw, grated and mixed with other products (crumbs, boiled eggs). Cabbage, which contains vitamins and microelements, should also be given to birds in its raw form. So that your feathered friend can enjoy cabbage, its leaves are cut into small pieces.
The best food for medium parrots
Medium-sized parrots are accustomed to eating grains, fruits, seeds and some plants in nature. The daily feeding rate for them should not exceed 30 g.
Fiory Parrocchetti Africa – for long-tailed birds
5.0
★★★★★
editorial assessment
98%
buyers recommend this product
Fiory Parrocchetti Africa is designed specifically for parakeets and supports their vibrant plumage. The composition is as close as possible to the diet of birds in their natural environment.
In addition to the usual mix of sunflower seeds, wheat, oats, yellow, white and red millet, there is saffron, cane moss, raisins, carruba, hempseed, corn and buckwheat.
Also, special granules were added to the mixture, which serve as a source of beneficial microelements and fatty acids.
This whole “vinaigrette” gives the food a pleasant aroma, which is so attractive to feathered pets - the mixture is eaten by the birds without a trace.
Pros:
- vacuum packaging;
- rich aroma;
- balanced composition;
- clean grains and granules without dust.
Minuses:
- It is expensive and not available in all stores.
Parrocchetti Africa is sold in packages from 0.8 to 3.2 kg. Buying food in large packages is more profitable.
Waka Lux - daily food for small and medium parrots
4.9
★★★★★
editorial assessment
89%
buyers recommend this product
The balanced food, developed jointly with poultry breeding specialists, contains millet, hemp seed, chumise and meadow grass, oats, canary grass, and flax.
There is also seaweed - a source of iodine, which prevents metabolic imbalances, as well as 7 vitamins (A, D, E, PP, group B). The food is sold in cans with airtight lids, packaged in 0.5 and 1 kg.
Pros:
- acceptable price;
- the fortified composition does not require additional feeding with fruits and vegetables;
- does not contain dyes;
- convenient packaging.
Minuses:
- Some cans still have sharp edges after removing the protective layer.
Waka Lux is suitable for both medium and small parrots, which is very convenient for owners of several birds of different sizes.
Rio “For medium parrots” - the main diet
4.8
★★★★★
editorial assessment
86%
buyers recommend this product
See review▶
This food is based on a rich mixture of cereals: yellow, red and black millet, canary grass, oatmeal, buckwheat, oats, flaxseed and paddy rice.
Bird owners praise the composition for its numerous additives. Among them are sunflower seeds, herbs and plants, algae, dried rowan and carrots.
The ingredients in the bag are clean and do not generate dust when poured. Feathered pets eat the food without leaving a trace. All this combined with a low price makes Rio one of the most popular mixtures among bird breeders.
Pros:
- affordable price;
- balanced rich composition;
- excellent quality.
Minuses:
- opaque bag without zip fastener.
Rio is an excellent choice as a staple diet for medium-sized parrots. And the issue of storing it is easily solved by pouring the mixture into a jar or using a clothespin.
Useful supplements for waves
Branch food
Birds should be given fresh branches of maple, aspen, oak, linden, poplar, and rowan. This is a source of microelements and vitamins, and they are also needed for grinding the beak. The branch must first be inspected for the presence of insects, cleaned of sharp twigs, and washed.
Mineral and vitamin supplements
When keeping volnushki at home, they often suffer from a lack of micro- and macroelements. The deficiency of these substances is especially difficult to tolerate during the period of egg laying. Good feed lime additives for birds can be purchased at specialized pet stores.
The mixture is poured into a separate feeder and must be available to the birds at all times. The parrot itself will feel when its body needs additional substances. You can also hang sepia or chalk in the cage, which the birds chew with great pleasure.
What to feed a budgie if you run out of food
It is advisable to satisfy your pet’s needs for vitamins by offering vegetables, fruits, and herbs. In autumn and winter, many birds experience a deficiency of important compounds. At this time, the introduction of synthetic additives into the diet becomes relevant. Strictly observe the dosage and follow the instructions so as not to cause serious harm to your pet's health. It’s better to do without artificial preparations, and by winter dry the berries, feed them carrots and apples, and grow herbs on the windowsill all year round.
Porridge
Millet is consumed by the parrot in the form of crumbly porridge, which is especially necessary when feeding chicks. You can also cook it during this period from oatmeal, rice or wheat.
The best food for large parrots
Large breed parrots are considered the most capricious in terms of food. They prefer the fruits and seeds of fruit trees, and also love to eat flowers, berries, and nuts. The daily norm of the mixture for such birds is 30-50 g.
Versele-Laga Prestige Parrots – the most popular food
5.0
★★★★★
editorial assessment
95%
buyers recommend this product
See review▶
Belgian food with a high grain content is designed for the daily diet of large parrots. The composition is developed based on the natural diet of cockatoos, macaws, grays, amazon and their closest relatives.
It contains several grains (buckwheat, oats, raw rice, wheat), as well as sunflower, hemp and pumpkin seeds, corn, pine nuts and peanuts. The mixture is sold in sealed bags of 1 and 3 kg.
Pros:
- there is no dust or debris in the bag;
- very rich composition;
- Convenient packaging with zip fastener.
Minuses:
- There are too many sunflower seeds here - apparently to reduce the cost of the mixture.
When purchasing Prestige Parrots, and other feeds containing peanuts, experienced poultry farmers recommend checking the surface of the groundnut.
There should be no dark spots on the beans that indicate aflatoxin contamination - only in this case can food be offered to birds without fear.
Vitakraft Premium Menu – poultry diet base
4.9
★★★★★
editorial assessment
92%
buyers recommend this product
See review▶
The complete Vitakraft Premium menu is intended for daily feeding of large parrots and does not require additional feeding. Cereals make up only a small part of it - mainly various seeds, dried vegetables, nuts and other plant products are used here.
Among the useful additives: honey, yeast, cod liver oil. This set of ingredients supplies the bird with all the necessary vitamins and microelements, maintaining its healthy appearance and bright plumage. The food is sold in tight sealed bags of 1 kg.
Pros:
- no dyes or preservatives;
- rich composition based on the natural diet of large parrots;
- convenient packaging.
Minuses:
- Not all pet stores sell it.
Ornithologists and parrot breeders recommend using Vitakraft Premium as the basis for the diet of healthy feathered pets.
Fiory Pappagallini
Our top five opens with Fiory Pappagallini, a food of Italian origin for budgies. It is enriched with honey and vegetable granules. This is a balanced and varied diet for birds, containing more than 10 different seeds. Among them are pumpkin seeds, which budgies love so much, as well as very rare safflower seeds. Safflower produces rather oily seeds and is eaten in Asia. These seeds relieve constipation and also improve pigmentation.
The granules contain: beta-glucans. They are linear chains of glucose that stimulate the immune system as a whole; organic selenium is a very important mineral. It is actively involved in the protection of cell membranes that connect cells to each other; kelate minerals. They have a variety of immunostimulating effects that promote cell development.
Ingredients: shelled sunflower seeds, maize, shflower, wheat, broken rice, barley, pumpkin seeds, buckwheat, whole oats, flax, whole and shelled peanuts.
Pros: competent composition. There are many useful substances that help maintain the health of the bird’s body. Balanced, clean food free of debris and pests is packaged in an internal sealed bag, thanks to which the taste is preserved for a long time. Pleasant grain smell.
Cons: Too much flax, which birds don't eat. Little canary seed. A bit overpriced.
The best special foods for parrots
Birds at different periods of life may need a special diet with a high content of vitamins and microelements.
Vitakraft Menu for kids – for budgerigar chicks
5.0
★★★★★
editorial assessment
72%
buyers recommend this product
Vitakraft has developed a special diet for budgerigar chicks. In addition to grains and seeds, eggs and derivatives are added to the feed as a source of valuable proteins, as well as calcium, minerals, yeast, honey, oils and fats.
All this ensures harmonious growth and proper development of chicks in captivity. The mixture is recommended for feeding young parrots up to one year old and is sold in dense bags of 500 g.
Pros:
- enriched composition;
- economical consumption;
- no preservatives or flavors;
- Convenient zip-lock packaging.
Minuses:
- Not every store has it.
Vitakraft for kids is suitable for daily feeding of budgies from the first days of life to one year. The only inconvenience is that the owner of the chick needs to take care of ordering food in advance.
Rio "During the molting period" - the best food during the molting period
5.0
★★★★★
editorial assessment
94%
buyers recommend this product
See review▶
Rio enriched food is given to budgerigars and parrots during the molting period (for each group of birds the manufacturer has its own type of this food).
Birds often experience this process painfully and become irritable and capricious when it comes to food. Therefore, sesame, Abyssinian noug, calcium and algae were added to Rio’s rich cereal mixture to make shedding faster and the pet to feel better.
Pros:
- clean grain mixture;
- rich composition;
- economical consumption (7-12 g per day);
- inexpensive.
Minuses:
- there is no fastener on the bag;
- not suitable for large parrots.
Buyers consider the Rio diet during molting to be the best in terms of price-quality ratio. However, an additional course of vitamins during the period of plumage change will not hurt.
What are the benefits of sprouted grains for a budgie?
In the wild, budgies most of the time feed on all kinds of shoots and unripe seeds. Food made from sprouts, the composition of which is as close as possible to their natural diet. During the birth of a plant inside the grain, its biochemical composition changes, the content of vitamins B and E increases, and enzymes are formed that improve the digestion process.
It is especially important to supplement the diet with sprouts during the breeding season. However, if you are not confident that you will be able to maintain the required quality of the product, it is better to avoid this additive altogether. If the technology is not followed, dangerous microorganisms and fungi can easily grow in it. Igor Ignatenkov
How to prepare food from sprouts?
To prepare it, it is recommended to take raw oats and mixed grain feed in a 1:1 ratio. After washing, the composition is filled with water and infused for about a day. Then the unusable floating grains are removed, and the remaining ones are thoroughly washed and poured into a sieve. It is placed above the dish with the next portion of the mixture so that the evaporating moisture moistens its contents. After 24 hours, these seeds are moved to a seedling box for a day at a temperature of about 22 degrees. It is necessary to carefully monitor the condition of the seedlings and the cleanliness of the tray to prevent mold from forming.
What to feed a budgie if you run out of food
