Why Your African Grey Parrot Needs Calcium Supplements

Feeding the right food is the most important aspect of owning an African Grey parrot. The right diet will determine the health and stress level of your parrot and its ability to be trained to talk. Unlike other birds, different African Greys eat different kinds of food. Don't make the mistake of thinking that they all have the same diet patterns. If you own more than one African Grey parrot, feeding them can prove a challenge. Just like humans, they have their own preferences. But if you acquire your bird from young, say twelve weeks old, getting them used to feeding a certain kind of food can be fairly advantageous.

Some African Greys will eat soft fruit and others will only eat hard fruits. Some will eat vegetables and others will not. Try giving your parrots a variety of fruits and vegetables and see what they like best, and stick to it. But do give them a good balance of calcium because a lot of African Greys who fell sick seem to lack calcium in their diet. You can get calcium from from hard boiled eggs, watercress, spinach, blackberries or natural yogurt.

If your parrot doesn't seem to want to eat any of these calcium based food, try giving them calcium supplements three times a week, mixed into their food bowl. Do not mix the calcium supplements into the water bowl because some greys may not drink water in a twenty-four hour period because they already had their water intake from eating fruits. A good calcium diet will ensure that your parrots have fine feather and are stress free. For breeding African Greys, calcium is good for producing healthy eggs.

A healthy diet is important for an African Grey because it will minimise feather plucking and squeaking, both symptoms of stress in a bird. A healthy diet produces a healthy mind and your parrot will respond well to speech training.

Azmi Adnan is a writer and a bird enthusiast. Subscribe to his newsletter for fresh video clips on parrots and other bird species, ezines and interesting bird stories at his website http://www.power-to-live.com/parrot.html Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Azmi_Adnan