So, you have welcomed a feathered pet into your house. After welcoming, are you worried about what to feed and what not to feed? Then this is for you.
Not only you, many bird owners worry about the bird food and always thrive to give proper nutrients to the bird.
It’s always interesting to feed birds and many prefer buying the bird food directly from bird breeder.
Many of the bird lovers think that bird food is only available with the bird breeders and the birds feed on this bird food only. This is a false illusion as many of you do not know what exactly birds eat.
Normally food for the birds varies from seeds to small insects. But, some birds like humming birds feed on nectar. When you bring a bird into your house, it’s not necessary to bring bird food from bird breeder; you can prepare bird food at your home and feed your pet bird with this bird food.
Normally the birds feed on seeds and fruits but the secret is birds also love to eat “green food or vegetablesâ€. Birds love to eat cucumber, lettuce, carrots, cabbage and rye grass. Feeding these items to the birds will not cost you too much as you are not spending money for buying bird food. Before feeding the bird, make sure that you clean the vegetables properly.
Fresh fruits also make good bird food. The birds love the apple core because of the presence of seeds. They love pears, plums, guavas and also pumpkin. Never tend to feed the bird with citrus fruits as they will not eat.
Make sure the bird food does not contain excessive nitrates because this can be dangerous to the bird health. Other than these regular seeds, vegetables and fruits, there are other home made recipes which birds can feed on.
Things to know when feeding a bird food:
- Never give peanuts to parrots
- Each species of bird have different bird food requirements, consult your Vet when feeding household recipes
- Vegetables can be fed to birds in any form: cooked or raw
- Feed birds according to their requirements: feed them what they love to eat not what you love to feed them
- Always properly clean the fruits and vegetables as the presence of pesticides can harm the birds
- Do not feed excessive fats, sugar, and salt
- Never feed caffeine, alcohol, chocolate, avocados, fava beans, sprouted limas and navy beans
- Feed commercial pellets: corn, Niger seeds, safflower seeds, sunflower seeds etc.
Preparing home made bird food:
Recipe1#: Mix cornmeal with three eggs (add shells- calcium for the birds), add vegetables and raw fruits. Bake the mixture and feed the bird when cooled.
Recipe2#: Mix 1 part of millets, white rice and brown rice, soak them in water for 20 minutes and cook them.
Recipe3#: Give the bird boiled egg without removing the shell or crush the shell and provide it to the bird. Be sure you do not give boiled egg more than once in a month.
