FAQ: Food for birds

Complete pellets already contain vitamins and minerals, so extra vitamins are usually unnecessary and can even cause an excess. Only give supplements on a vet's advice.

Complete food is meant to be the basis of the diet and contains all essential nutrients, while complementary food, such as treats or seed sprays, only supplements it. The pack usually states which kind it is.

The crude protein and crude fat percentages show how nutritious the food is. Moderate-fat food suits most indoor birds, while richer mixes are meant for species that naturally need more fat, such as some large parrots.

Ingredients are usually listed by quantity, with the largest first. If cheap fillers your bird does not eat top the list, much of the food will end up in the bin.

A lot of dust in food can irritate a bird's airways and suggests the seeds are poorly cleaned or old. If a mix is very dusty, you can sieve it, but it is better to choose a cleaner food.

Some foods, especially pellets or mixes with fruit, use antioxidants or preservatives to keep fats from going rancid. Permitted additives are listed in the ingredients, and those who want to avoid them choose foods preserved with natural antioxidants such as vitamin E.

A budgie usually eats about one to two teaspoons of seeds or pellets a day. The manufacturer gives the exact amount, and a stable body weight is the best guide.

Budgies often enjoy grated carrot, broccoli florets, bell pepper, cucumber, courgette, leaf lettuce and fresh sprouted herbs. Offer vegetables finely chopped or clipped to the bars.

Many budgies used to seeds do not recognise vegetables at first. Offer them every day in different forms, grated, wet after a bath, clipped up or mixed with seeds, and be patient, as getting used to them can take weeks.

Canary mixes are based on canary grass seed, rapeseed, linseed and other small oil seeds, while parrot mixes contain more millet and larger seeds. Large or hard seeds made for parrots do not suit canaries.

It is a supplementary food rich in oil seeds such as niger, hemp or lettuce seed, popular for singing males. It is given in moderation as an addition to the diet, not instead of the main mix.

Feather colour in red and some yellow canary breeds depends on carotenoids in the diet, so breeders use special colour supplements during the moult. They are used only for certain breeds and strictly following the manufacturer's instructions.

Canaries enjoy chickweed, dandelion leaves, leaf lettuce, spinach in moderation, broccoli leaves and sprouted seeds. Gather wild plants only in clean places away from roads and sprayed fields, and wash them well.

Cockatiels do well on a mix made for them or for medium parrots with millet, oats, canary grass seed and a small amount of sunflower, or on medium-sized pellets. Add vegetables and greens every day.

For a short time, if its usual food has run out, a cockatiel will eat it, but in the long run it lacks the larger seeds and variety a cockatiel needs. A cockatiel mix or suitably sized pellets are a better choice.

A cockatiel usually eats a few tablespoons of food a day, but needs depend on size, activity and diet. Follow the manufacturer's recommendation and weigh the bird regularly to spot weight changes.

Lovebirds do well on a mix or pellets made for them or for small to medium parrots, supplemented with vegetables, fruit and sprouted seeds. They are active, so they often enjoy twigs with buds, bark or foraging tasks too.

African greys are usually recommended good pellets as the base of the diet, plus a variety of vegetables, a little fruit, nuts and seeds. This species is prone to calcium deficiency, so its diet and any supplements should be discussed with a vet.

Macaws need large pellets or a large-parrot mix, plenty of vegetables and fruit, and nuts, since these parrots naturally eat richer food. They can crack hard nuts in the shell themselves, which also keeps them well occupied.

Amazons tend to put on weight, so a lower-fat diet suits them: pellets, plenty of vegetables and greens, a little fruit, with fatty seeds and nuts only as treats. Regular weighing helps catch weight gain early.