Post by Jane on Jun 2, 2005 6:16:38 GMT -7
I thought I would bring together some of the information I have included in various posts on the forum so that it is all in one place and can provide a basic guide to the African Grey diet, including foods to avoid.
African Greys in the wild eat a large variety of seeds, berries, nuts, vegetation (leaves, flowers and roots), and the fruits of the oil palm. They also eat insects and grubs that they come across, and forage both in the trees and on the ground. They are omnivores and will eat whatever is available.
In captivity they don’t have to forage so they will pick out their favourites from what they are given. Sunflower seeds in themselves are not bad for them; they do contain good nutrients but a diet that is predominantly sunflower seeds IS bad because it doesn’t supply everything they need.
Pellets are produced to try and provide a well balanced basic diet but many Greys will not eat them and there is some controversy about an all pellet diet. A good quality seed mix can provide the basis of the diet, supplemented by fresh vegetables, fruit, beans, rice, pasta, lean chicken and meat, fish, egg, tofu, nuts. The chicken, meat and egg should always be well cooked.
Greys are notorious for being picky about food, especially new foods so it is important to try different methods of presenting them – cut up, grated, mashed, cooked or raw, hot or cold – as food will sometimes be rejected in one form but eaten in another.
Foods they can have far outnumber those they can’t. Fruit and vegetables such as peppers, chilli peppers, carrots, sweet potatoes, various squashes and pumpkin, cantaloupe melon, apricots, mango, papaya, greens such as kale, watercress, spinach, chard and broccoli are all particularly good for beta carotene which is converted into vitamin A in the body. Most other fruits and vegetables are also suitable, the ones to avoid are avocado pear, mushrooms, raw onions, raw potatoes and rhubarb. The stones should be removed from fruits such as cherries, apricots, plums and peaches and the seeds from apples and pears. Generally speaking vegetables are better than fruit because they have more nutrients and less water. Grapes are particularly high in water and sugar so should be limited. Iceberg lettuce has very little nutritional value.
Calcium absorption can be a problem. Some foods such as spinach are high in oxalates which can inhibit the absorption but are a good source so should still be fed in smaller amounts. Other foods containing calcium include broccoli, peas, black and pinto beans, sesame seeds, almonds, sunflower seeds, cheese and yoghurt.
As well as the previously mentioned fruit and vegetables to avoid, the other things which should not be fed are chocolate, alcohol and anything with caffeine. Salty foods, high fat foods, and carbonated drinks should be avoided. Certain beans such as lima kidney, black, navy, soy and pinto contain an enzyme which must be destroyed by cooking and they should not be fed raw. Dairy products contain lactose, the natural sugar in milk. Birds do not have the enzyme lactase which breaks this down, so dairy products, (apart from yoghurt and hard cheese which they can have in small amounts because the lactose has been converted) are best avoided as the long term feeding of them can cause severe inflammation.
Jane
African Greys in the wild eat a large variety of seeds, berries, nuts, vegetation (leaves, flowers and roots), and the fruits of the oil palm. They also eat insects and grubs that they come across, and forage both in the trees and on the ground. They are omnivores and will eat whatever is available.
In captivity they don’t have to forage so they will pick out their favourites from what they are given. Sunflower seeds in themselves are not bad for them; they do contain good nutrients but a diet that is predominantly sunflower seeds IS bad because it doesn’t supply everything they need.
Pellets are produced to try and provide a well balanced basic diet but many Greys will not eat them and there is some controversy about an all pellet diet. A good quality seed mix can provide the basis of the diet, supplemented by fresh vegetables, fruit, beans, rice, pasta, lean chicken and meat, fish, egg, tofu, nuts. The chicken, meat and egg should always be well cooked.
Greys are notorious for being picky about food, especially new foods so it is important to try different methods of presenting them – cut up, grated, mashed, cooked or raw, hot or cold – as food will sometimes be rejected in one form but eaten in another.
Foods they can have far outnumber those they can’t. Fruit and vegetables such as peppers, chilli peppers, carrots, sweet potatoes, various squashes and pumpkin, cantaloupe melon, apricots, mango, papaya, greens such as kale, watercress, spinach, chard and broccoli are all particularly good for beta carotene which is converted into vitamin A in the body. Most other fruits and vegetables are also suitable, the ones to avoid are avocado pear, mushrooms, raw onions, raw potatoes and rhubarb. The stones should be removed from fruits such as cherries, apricots, plums and peaches and the seeds from apples and pears. Generally speaking vegetables are better than fruit because they have more nutrients and less water. Grapes are particularly high in water and sugar so should be limited. Iceberg lettuce has very little nutritional value.
Calcium absorption can be a problem. Some foods such as spinach are high in oxalates which can inhibit the absorption but are a good source so should still be fed in smaller amounts. Other foods containing calcium include broccoli, peas, black and pinto beans, sesame seeds, almonds, sunflower seeds, cheese and yoghurt.
As well as the previously mentioned fruit and vegetables to avoid, the other things which should not be fed are chocolate, alcohol and anything with caffeine. Salty foods, high fat foods, and carbonated drinks should be avoided. Certain beans such as lima kidney, black, navy, soy and pinto contain an enzyme which must be destroyed by cooking and they should not be fed raw. Dairy products contain lactose, the natural sugar in milk. Birds do not have the enzyme lactase which breaks this down, so dairy products, (apart from yoghurt and hard cheese which they can have in small amounts because the lactose has been converted) are best avoided as the long term feeding of them can cause severe inflammation.
Jane
