Providing a Balanced Diet
Provide high-quality organic pellets. The base of your caique’s diet should be specially formulated bird pellets. Look for a product made specifically for parrots, or use a cockatiel blend. Try to find pellets that don't have artificial flavorings, colorings, or preservatives in them. Follow the instructions on the product you choose, and provide one serving of pellets to your bird each day, generally in the morning. Uneaten pellets do not need to be removed from the cage, but if your parrot is consistently leaving leftovers you may scale back serving sizes. Bird seed is another option; however, pellets provide a more complete dietary base. If you would rather use bird seed as a base, be sure to provide lots of fruit, veggies, and calcium supplements. Consult your vet to outline a specific seed-based diet.
Offer fresh veggies. Although bird pellets will provide an excellent base for your bird’s diet, they will not provide all of the phytonutrients your bird needs. Offer a serving of fresh veggies each day (usually in the morning). Use organic produce whenever possible. Remove any uneaten produce after 24 hours. Some veggie options include: Peas Dandelion greens Corn Beet greens Carrots Broccoli Lettuce Spinach Sweet potatoes
Feed your caique fresh fruit. Just like veggies, fruit can add necessary vitamins and phytonutrients to your caique’s diet. Offer a serving of fresh fruit each day (usually in the afternoon). Make sure you take the pits out from the fruit before you feed your caique. Purchase organic fruit (whenever possible), and remove any uneaten fruit after 24 hours. Some good choices include: Apples Peaches Apricots Bananas Blueberries Pears Plums
Avoid toxic foods. There are a number of foods that may upset your parrot’s digestive system, and some of these can even be poisonous. If you are not sure about a particular food, ask your vet before offering it to your caique. Some foods to avoid include: Avocado Coffee beans Alcoholic beverages Alliums (such as onions, garlic, leeks, shallots, and chives) Chocolate Grapefruit Mango
Feed your parrot twice a day. In the wild, parrots will search for their first meal at daybreak, and their second meal in the late afternoon. To work with your parrot's natural rhythm, follow a two-meal-per-day pattern. Offer your parrot food in the morning, and again in the late afternoon. Choose the best feeding times that work for your schedule, and then try to be consistent.
Experiment with food quantities. Unfortunately, there are no hard and fast rules about how much you feed your caique parrot at each meal. This will vary based on the size, activity-level, and appetite of your bird. Start by offering 1/2 cup (118 ml) of produce at each feeding. If your bird is leaving leftover food behind, gradually scale back the amount you serve them. If your parrot is quickly consuming everything you provide, you might try offering a bit more. At the morning feeding, you should also offer a serving of bird pellets (follow serving instructions on your product of choice). Keep an eye on your parrot's weight. If they are noticeably gaining or losing, you may want to adjust their serving sizes.
Offering Treats, Water, and Supplements
Give your caique walnuts as a treat. Caique parrots are very fond of walnuts. Although these high-fat nuts should not be given on a daily basis, they are an excellent option for an occasional treat. Walnuts can be used very effectively as a treat during training.
Supplement your caique’s diet with extra calcium. Caique parrot’s can benefit from a little extra calcium in their diet. You might ask your vet if they think supplementing calcium is a good idea for your bird. Some supplemental calcium options include: Vitamin drops added to water. Cuttlebone, a calcium block, gravel with oyster shell added to the cage for your bird to nibble on.
Provide fresh water. Your parrot will need to drink fresh water daily. You can offer water in a small dish, or use a fountain-style water dispenser. Refill the container each day. Caique parrots enjoy bathing in water. It is a good idea to provide a large (large enough for your bird to climb in, but shallow) water dish for bathing. Provide another small dish (too small for your bird to climb in) for drinking.
Wash food and water dishes daily. To help keep your caique parrot healthy, it is important to keep their cage clean and sanitary. This includes washing their food and water dishes daily. Each day, simply remove the dishes, wash them with warm water and dish soap, and return them to the cage.
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