![]() Another issue is that sunflower seed, as well as many of the other seed in parrot seed mixes and peanuts, go rancid rapidly and can be a perfect medium for growing aspergillus, which is a species of mold. ![]() On average a dried sunflower seed is about 36% fat. One is the high fat content of sunflower seed. There are a few of things I believe do have relevance in the argument. I also think the pelleted diet industry would rather see you feeding your birds pellets rather than any kind of seed. ![]() I am sure the safflower industry would rather see you feeding your birds safflower. The push against sunflower seed has been around for decades, and I think there are a lot of motives. The best an individual can do is try to provide a base diet to meet known nutrient requirements for parrots in general, while keeping in mind the parameters and/or limitations of their husbandry practices, and then educate themselves on what their particular parrot needs that's different. When you do think about the expansive differences in diets wild parrots eat around the world it really is a wonder that we have come as far as we have in such a short time with minimal research as compared to commercial livestock and poultry. I am sure we could do a better job at looking at some of their natural foods and trying to emulate the amino acid and fatty acid profiles, and other nutrient levels contained in those foods, yet keep the overall percentage of fat to a minimum as required by most captive parrots. These two circumstances present dramatic differences in exposure to natural light, fresh air, and average temperature, which individually or collectively will vary the dietary needs of a captive parrot. For example, a Moluccan Cockatoo kept indoors in New York will have notably different dietary requirements than a Moluccan Cockatoo kept in an outdoor aviary in Florida in order to reach the same level of nutritional health. Parrots kept in a warmer environment will not eat as much and may not be taking in enough nutrient if the diet is not nutrient concentrated. ![]() As a result, parrots kept in cooler environments will generally eat more food and in doing so also take in more nutrient because of the higher intake. As temperatures rise a parrot’s metabolism slows down because it doesn’t need to burn as much fat to stay warm. As temperatures fall a parrot’s metabolism speeds up to burn more fat to keep it warm. Parrots kept in cool places will need more fat in their diets than parrots kept in a warmer environment. Even the average temperature in a given situation can result in different dietary requirements of a captive parrot. ![]() You need to work your particular husbandry practices into the equation. Husbandry practices play a big role in what your parrot needs to eat to reach its optimal nutritional health, which is based on much more than what species of parrot it is. That brings me to the very important point that there are big differences in the nutritional requirements of a parrot and the dietary requirements of an individual captive parrot. We need to consider that many captive parrots don't have the same access to natural light and fresh air, which plays into their dietary requirements, as compared to their wild counterparts. Moreover we need to consider that there are vast differences in the foods that wild parrots eat, generally determined by their geographical location, and we simply don't have access to many of those foods. Captive parrots don't have the same caloric requirements because they don't forage long distances for food and are really, in the best of circumstances, sedate as compared to free flying parrots. First off I think we need to understand that we can't feed a captive parrot in the same manner that a parrot would feed in the wild. ![]()
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