I'm going to start by jumping into the seed controversy, not because I think they should assume a mammoth proportion in your bird's diet, but because, in spite of their nutritional value, and in spite of the fact that they're a great source for the components needed for the body to utilize fat-soluble vitamins (fats are a necessary nutritional element - all fats are NOT evil!), there are some folks who seem to have the mistaken idea that seeds shouldn't be fed to parrots at all!

Most parrots are designed to eat seeds, that's a very basic fact of life. Depending on the species and the environment in which they're found, there are lots of other goodies they eat and utilize in their daily lives. But...they eat seeds, their beaks are designed to crack seeds, their systems are designed to extract nutrition from seeds, their innate and instinctive behavior tells them exactly what to do with seeds, and they appear to derive a great deal of satisfaction from the very act of hulling and eating seeds. (Some would argue that depriving parrots of seeds is cruel, even.) The difference, however, is that "in the wild" what they eat is alive. It's growing. It's full of nutrition and enzymes and life. What we pick up in a plastic bag off a store shelf doesn't compare. Oh it has nutritional value to varying degrees, and some of it is even fresh. But it doesn't have everything our birds need. A quality mix will attempt to remedy this by offering a greater variety of seeds, each with its own nutritional profile, plus grains, nuts, and dried fruits and veggies; that's a good start.

But you know the best way to serve seeds - and grains, and legumes - to your birds? Germinated! Full of nutrition and life! Also known as "soaks" (as opposed to the "sprouts" you'd see on a salad bar) there is no dry, processed, or cooked food that can contain the live enzymes that our parrots need for full utilization of nutrients within their systems. But we CAN give them that and it is so easy...and so important that I've devoted a couple of pages to it: my Simple Sprouts page, and a comprehensive list of sprouting resources available on the web.

And now for the pellet controversy! I just have a few thoughts on them:
1 - They aren't necessary. They are a convenience for those whose birds don't get their nutritional needs met from real foods. The claims that we can't keep our birds healthy without them is bunk.
2 - The claim that they are 100% nutritionally complete is ludicrous. 100% nutritionally complete for which species? Different species designed to extract their nutrients from completely different diets in completely different environments are supposed to ALL have their exact nutritional needs met by a single food? One very large pellet company confirms that every size of pellet they offer is identical except in size! In addition - NOBODY knows what the nutritional needs of every species IS! How can one make a claim to provide for an unknown?
3 - Vets and aviculturists are finding more and more health issues arising from forced nutrient intake, since some parrots are receiving too much of some elements and not enough of others - once again, because every species doesn't have the same requirements, and nobody knows what those requirements are.
These are my main issues with pellets; some of the articles I list go into greater detail and discuss other views. But their marketing is great; if you can convince people that they couldn't possibly know what their bird needs, that they couldn't possibly fulfill those needs, that seeds and other natural foods are bad for birds, and that only you hold the key to their bird's future good health - then that's great marketing. But great marketing doesn't necessarily mean great nutrition. Having established that, however, I want to add that while seeds aren't evil, while natural foods aren't evil, neither are some pellets. Some pellet manufacturers use whole natural ingredients and have omitted the synthetic vitamins and chemical additives in an attempt to provide a healthier pellet option and I certainly applaud their efforts. I still don't believe that pellets should make up the major portion of any bird's daily diet, but certainly if one feels a need to feed them in addition to natural foods, there are some very good options now out there.

In addition to a good dry mix and seed/grain/legume soaks, veggies and greens add color, nutrition, and loads of healthy variety to your bird's diet. Because Vitamin A deficiencies are common in parrots fed predominantly dry diets (and that includes "pellets"), veggies high in these vitamins should be part of your bird's daily staple. These include mostly yellow, and dark red and green vegetables as well as some fruits. A daily meal of fresh or frozen/thawed veggies, plus dark leafy greens is usually relished by parrots.

While none of my birds are particularly fond of many fruits, berries are a big hit in my flock! And most berries offer a lot of bang for the buck when it comes to antioxidants and other healthy nutrients. We have a fruit feast once a week or so around here. Fruits carry a lot of sugar (natural or not, it's still sugar) and that's not something I find my flock needs a lot of.

Lastly, there's the "I'll have a little of what you're having, please" - also known as the "What's yours is mine" - factor. If any of us are eating something that's not explicitly bad for them, then whichever birdies are with us at the time get a bite or two - or more if it's something really healthy. In spite of the lengthy lists of "foods birds should never eat" foods out there, a bite or 2 of most things are just fine and give us an opportunity to reinforce the flock bond.

25% dry mix - I use the cleanest mixes with the greatest variety I can find for most of my birds. For the lovebirds and cockatiels, they get a very basic mix of clean seeds and grains and an occasional sprinkle of budgie-sized pellets which I keep in a salt shaker. The adult birds' mix contains seeds, grains, nuts, and dried fruits and veggies. They pick through and eat their favorites and leave the rest...but that's ok, because, in The Big Picture, this is but a small part of their overall dietary intake, and because they vary what they eat. and what they leave. Just because WE don't know why they do this, doesn't mean that THEY don't know :).

50% "salad" - This is the main meal every day, and contains a variety of soaks (seeds, grains, and legumes - mostly seeds and grains, light on the legumes), a combination of fresh and frozen/thawed veggies (at least a dozen different ones each day, with many of them rich in the carotenes), chopped greens (usually turnip greens or kale or carrot tops, but also others as I have them), and a sprinkling of herbs and spices which vary by the day. This is offered in the late afternoon or early evening, and every single bird waits expectantly for their "salad" every day, and then devours every last bite.

25% cooked/processed foods - This includes birdie breads, Beak Appetite, Itty Bitty Birdie Bites products, cooked beans'n'rice (weekly at the most), the occasional "omelette" (basically an egg scrambled with lots of goodies in it so that the egg just becomes a binder for the good stuff), a few pellets, etc.

On top of this (yes, I know that would go over 100%) are the bites of foods in the "I'll have a little of what you're eating, please" - also known as the "what's yours is mine" - category, the fruit offerings, and other foods offered smaller amounts yet still part of The Big Picture.

I'm a firm believe in "anything in moderation". I know there are lists around the 'net that abound with foods we should NEVER feed our birds (I've even read that green peppers are "toxic to birds" - gasp! Where do they come up with some of this stuff?), and the list grows longer with every week. Not being a hysterical female by nature, I take it all with a grain of salt. Even the avacado sacred cow has no room in my pasture. While I've never fed it (I don't like it, and it's expensive here), I know of many aviculturists who have, before the internet came along and told them it would kill their birds. That said, everybody has their own degree of risk they feel is acceptable, and their own ideas about what even constitutes a risk for that matter. Go with what you're comfortable with. If you have your own reasons not to feed something, then by all means, don't. Do your homework, push the hysteria to the side to see if there is anything actually supporting it, and then make your own choices.

So psitticine nutrition involves a big picture. A dozen sunflower seeds is no big deal, for example, to a large parrot that consumes a cupful of veggies and sprouts every day. A drop in the bucket, overall. Feed a dozen sunflower seeds to a greencheek conure, however, and the whole balance thing becomes much more skewed. But don't worry if your bird pigs out on one food for a meal or even a day or two. Using the greencheek/sunflower seed example, if 50% of one meal is sunflower seed, but that's all the sunflower seed he has all week, it's not such a big ratio, is it. Since parrots don't meet (or not meet!) all of their nutritional needs in one meal, or even in one day, always keep in mind The Big Picture when considering whether your bird can have a little of what you're having. That hunk of yellow cake that my grey ate night before last was less than 1% of his total dietary intake (by weight or by volume, take your pick) this week...what's the big deal? (And before I'm misquoted, I'm NOT recommending that any bird be fed a meal of 50% sunflower seed, or hunks of yellow cake! These are simply examples to prove the points.)

In a nutshell: Provide a large variety of healthy food choices. Never depend on a single food to meet your bird's nutritional needs. Believe in your own ability to feed your own birds properly using real foods instead of believing those who tell you can't. Keep in mind The Big Picture, and don't sweat the small stuff. And check back here for updated information, articles, and links as they are added!