What Do Electus Parrots Eat?

Unlike the African grey parrot, the macaw and the cockatoo, eclectus parrots are not seed eaters and therefore require a different diet. In the wild, these parrots are arboreal, meaning they live high up in the trees, and forage for food in the canopies of the rainforest. While seed-eating parrots search for food on the forest floor, eclectus parrots rarely venture down to the ground.

  1. Fruits and Vegetables

    • Eclectus parrots consume a wide variety of fruits including apples, pears, bananas, kiwis, strawberries, grapes, guavas, passion fruit, melon, paw-paw and mango. They might also enjoy eating the mango seed. Their diet should also include vegetables, such as bell peppers, green beans, snow peas, carrots, celery, silver beet storks and sprouts from mung beans and gray sunflowers. Eclectus also enjoy eating chiles in moderation. Fresh weeds, such as dandelion flowers and roots, are beneficial during their breeding season and when they are raising young.

    Preparation

    • Owners need to wash all fruits and vegetables thoroughly in clean water. It is better to purchase organic foods that are free from pesticides. Whenever possible, owners should seek out foods native to the parrots' natural habitat, such as sandpaper figs, hawthorn, cotoneaster berries and grevillea blossoms. Eclectus parrots like to carry their food onto their perch to eat, so cut pieces of fruits and vegetables shouldn't be too small. Food can stay in the parrot's bowl for up to 24 hours, after which the owner should remove anything uneaten and wash the bowl.

    Corn and Seed

    • Owners can add cooked, drained and rinsed corn to the parrots' fruit and vegetables. The daily feed for each bird should be about one cup of fruit mixed with a handful of corn, as well as a separate bowl containing 1/3 of a cup (in winter) or 1/4 of a cup (in summer) of a seed mix made for this bird species and 1 tbsp. of sunflower seeds. Sunflower seeds contains a high amount of fat, so moderation is necessary to avoid weight issues.

    Danger Foods

    • Some breeders recommend against feeding pellets to a eclectus parrot because of the manmade vitamins they contain that can damage the bird's liver. A good diet of fruit and vegetables provides the parrot with all the vitamins it needs. Owners should avoid feeding commercial foods that contain preservatives, additives or artificial coloring, and ensure they always read the labels on products carefully. Processed foods are not treats for the birds. They contain high levels of fat and provide little nutritional value.