Owning a parrot means feeding that parrot a healthy diet to ensure a long, healthy life. The parrot food you choose can make a big difference in the amount of energy and vitality your parrot will enjoy as well as how many years the parrot will live.
Little was known about parrot food when parrots first become pets. People thought parrots lived only a few years, perhaps 20 or 30, but no one thought that large species of parrots could live to be over 100 years of age. Today, we know that with healthy, well-selected parrot food, even a small parakeet can live 15 years or more, cockatiels have been recorded reaching 29 years of age, and one African Grey in Alaska was documented as being 112 years old when it died.
Parrot food, for the basic, staple diet, comes in either pellets or seed mix. Many people prefer the pellets but if the parrot won't accept pellets, a good seed mix will work just fine. However, purchased parrot food in seeds or pellets is simply not enough to maintain a parrot's health and vitality.
Your parrot's food should be only about 50% seeds or pellets. The rest of the diet should be comprised of fruits, vegetables, and other "people foods". There are, however, a few people foods that simply can't be parrot food. These are known as the "seven deadly foods".
Never allow a parrot to eat any chocolate, avocado, fruit pits, raw meat or poultry, raw eggs, alcohol, or caffeine. These seven deadly foods can kill your precious parrot. You must also limit the parrot's consumption of any food that is high in salt, fat, or sugar. Parrots love food that is sweet or high in fat, so sometimes this can be difficult, but limit these foods to prevent obesity. Also, never feed your parrot food that might be spoiled or rancid and always remove fresh foods from the cage or play area before they can possibly spoil.
Many parrots love sharing meals with their human flocks. This is because in the wild, most parrots eat as a social activity. When your parrot sees food you are eating, if it is a tame, loving bird, it wants to taste your food. This is a great way to introduce new foods into your parrot's diet.
From personal experience, it is clear that parrots love milk and breakfast cereal. If the cereal happens to be a sugary type, let your bird have some milk and only one or two bites of the actual cereal. If the cereal is a healthy type, you can let the parrot have more bites. Many parrots simply love cheese and eggs. Many of the medium to large parrots love bits of well-cooked meat, poultry, and fish. They also love to crack a chicken bone and get the marrow out of the bone, which is quite good for them. All vegetables and fruits are good for parrots (except avocado!), as are rice, pasta, potatoes, and just about anything you can imagine that you eat. Just remember, if it is sweet, salty, or high in fat, limit the amount offered.
Purchase parrot food that is fresh and buy only small quantities so it will remain fresh. If your parrot suddenly stops eating a type of parrot food that it has loved in the past, especially if it is eating a seed-based diet, examine the parrot food for insects or bugs. You can test the freshness of the food by planting seeds and checking how many sprout. If few sprout, the food is old and therefore not very nutritious.