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love-birds food

two LovebirdsLorries parrots standing on a stick

See the lovebirds’ hooked beaks? These powerful jaws can crack open a huge variety of nuts and seeds. Favorites include flax, oats, peas, Niger, and silver millet (which is different from millet spray). You can also buy pre-packed seed mixes. Some are marketed especially for love birds, though you can also buy it canary or budgie seed mix.

However, don’t feed your love bird an exclusive seed or nut diet. Seeds lack many important nutrients, and most aficionados recommend giving a pellet mix instead. This has a more complete set of vitamins and minerals. All in all, seeds should only constitute about 10% of the total diet, which should include pellets as a base. Also be sure to give small daily serving of vegetables and fruits, which are rich in phytonutrients. Phytonutrients strengthen the immune system and are not typically found in pellets. This also injects variety into the birds’ diet, so it doesn’t get bored with its meals.

You can give your pet red and green bell peppers, broccoli, silver beets, corn on the cob (or corn kernels), bananas, apples, celery, mung beans, snow peas, and chick weed.

love birds food-Food to Avoid

Just because something’s good for people doesn’t make it good for birds. In fact, there are many “treats” that can actually kill a lovebird or make it very, very sick. If you’re not sure if a food is safe, ask your veterinarian. Better safe than sorry!

Never give your pet apple seeds, avocado, peach pits, or rhubarb leaves. Chocolate and coffee are also harmful, and avoid giving chips or any salty food. Birds can’t secrete salt as efficiently as we do, and it can stay in their system for a long time, contributing to a number of diseases.

love birds food-Treats

It is okay to give your pet treats. After all, this is a way of lavishing affection, and sometimes a little bit of millet spray or a chunk of a favorite fruit can be just enough motivation for a love bird to complete a trick.

When giving a treat, break it into bite-sized pieces. At least you know you won’t be over feeding it. It also prevents it from being too distracted by the treat that it loses interest in the rest of the training session.

Also remember that a treat is just that—a treat. It should not replace the regular diet, or be so filling that the bird no longer eats its pellets.