What an Umbrella Cockatoo Can & Can't Eat

Umbrella cockatoos are a species of white parrot with a yellow crest. These outgoing birds enjoy human companionship and prefer to be around people all of the time. To care for an umbrella cockatoo you must have a large cage and a lot of patience, but the cockatoo's diet is just as important. Feeding your umbrella cockatoo the correct diet helps your pet bird live a long, healthy life.

  1. Fruits

    • Umbrella cockatoos require a well-rounded diet, including fresh fruits. Only fresh fruit is suitable for umbrella cockatoos; a cockatoo's cage requires cleaning every day to remove left over fruit. All fruits are safe for umbrella cockatoos to eat. Providing a mix of fruit for your umbrella cockatoo is a good way to give your pet bird a wide range of vitamins; doing so also provides your umbrella cockatoo with a source of amusement and variety.

    Vegetables

    • Umbrella cockatoos enjoy a variety of vegetables; cockatoos require a mixture of vegetables in their diet to supply them with their nutritional requirements. The only vegetables umbrella cockatoos should never eat are raw onions, avocados and rhubarb. Feed your umbrella cockatoo green, leafy vegetables along with crunchier vegetables such as carrots and celery; they may enjoy using their beaks to bite crunchy vegetables. Limit spinach to avoid health problems as it prevents calcium absorption.

    Pellets

    • Umbrella cockatoos enjoy eating fruits and vegetables, but a diet of only these foods does not supply them with their required nutrients. Commercially purchased parrot feed pellets are a good base for an umbrella parrot's diet. Some parrot food pellets come in colored varieties. However, colored pellets often have added sugars. Organic parrot food pellets are the best choice for your umbrella parrot's diet. Find quality organic parrot food at organic pet food specialty stores.

    Foods to Avoid

    • Umbrella parrots can eat most of the things humans can; they enjoy having a wide variety of food. However, some foods are unsafe for parrots; these foods can make an umbrella cockatoo sick or even kill a cockatoo. Vegetables such as avacados, rhubarb and raw onions are dangerous for umbrella cockatoos. As with dogs and cats, chocolate has the ability to kill umbrella cockatoos. Caffeine in any form is dangerous for umbrella cockatoos. Umbrella cockatoos also cannot consume alcohol.