Some pelleted diets are better than others but how does one make that decision? Have you ever taken the time to look at the ingredients list? To be honest, I went by what was suggested to me and sounded good. Never once have I taken up a bag of bird Food and truly read the ingredients…. until this year, that is. This year I’ve learned so much and started to pay attention to the back of parrot food bags.

First, you want to pick a bag that has the most natural ingredients. Next, you want to focus on how the food was processed (Currently, I’m being told TOPS is the only pellet company that is cold-pressed. Cold pressed processing helps to keep the most of the nutrients inside of the pellet instead of losing it in a hot pressed process.)

When looking at the ingredients of a bag, look for the type of preservatives they use. Synthetic ones aren’t good. BHT and BHA are two that I try to keep out of our own human lives so why would I want my birds to have it? Ethoxyquin, is another one that some have said to be dangerous for our birds. And of course another debate is Propylene Glycol. This is very sweet tasting so it makes sense for it to be put into the parrot food however I personally do not want to eat anything that is used in antifreeze for a car. You can also find it in brake fluids.

At the end of the day, I feel a bird’s diet should not consist of anything “fake” but with that being said some preservatives are needed to keep contained food fresh. Just make sure they are safe.

Parenting Parrots