Rax is a very happy bird! He did like seeing his favourite girls! It's really important to keep abreast of new scientific understandings and information the experts in a particular field have to offer. There has been a dearth of scientific study in both aviculture and herpetoculture (reptiles) in comparison to mammalian biology and husbandry for ever, so it's brilliant to have experts like Tony to provide up-to-date advice and information on how we can best care for our feathered friends. His published works are really a wonderful resource. I'll just say though, that taking unqualified generalisations made in a video short as "gospel" to be applied in all situations just because the presenter is an 'expert', is not something we should do ..... As Kalyn thoughtfully pointed out, eclectus parrots don't do well on a general parrot diet that experts would recommend for most other popular pet parrots and are a notable exception to many general parrot principles. Another example includes more than 60 species of lories and lorikeets and their relatives which have evolved to digest fructose-rich, sugarry fruits and nectars in the wild, along with some rainforest species predominantly from Asia, which rely seasonally on fructose-rich fruits (like wild figs) and honey-dew to bring them into breeding condition. I'm not contradicting Tony here, just offering the same type of qualifications he offers in longer discussions and scientific papers. The reason I offer this comment is because of the number of people I've encountered online who've maybe had a budgie or cockatiel for 6 months or so, who try to lecture me and others on what we should be feeding parrots they've never even heard of, because they think they're an expert on everything after watching a 30 second clip on RUclips.😉 I really like how on this channel, Kalyn delves deeper into the story to provide a more nuanced understanding of the general principles of growing our blissful bond with our parrots..
Great topic! I follow Tony as well and many other aviculturists. I have researched this topic and it has been noted that wild parrots do eat unripe fruit. Unripe fruit is lower in sugar. I also watch my local squirrels and birds eat the unripe pears, apples and cherries in my neighborhood. I wonder though if its because they are very hungry and cant comprehend to wait until its ripe or they are very hungry and eat whats available or they truly enjoy unripe fruit . I feed mainy berries as they are lower in sugar and higher in antioxidants. Take care and thanks for sharing!
Curious, would love to hear what other aviculturists you follow. I once asked Tony about blueberries, he said still too high in fructose. So, I stick to beta carotene fruits. Once fruit is ripe, I understand that there is too much competition especially with larger animals. So, smaller parrots only eat the unripe. Of course, it's fascinating that Eckies and Lorikeets are different. Have you ever had an Eckie? I've always wanted one, but didn't want to address their different dietary needs. Too easy to give all the same food out to my flock :)
Harry's diet mostly have berries which are low in sugar. I see the difference in his behavior when he gets grapes or fruits high in sugar level. He becomes very hype after 30min or so. This topic is very important to share! Great content!
Interesting that you see it in Harry! It is an important topic because the most common health issue that parrots have, according to my avian vet, is liver issues. And in humans, too much fructose can cause liver issues. So, I can only guess that it’s true for parrots as well.
Great information. I rarely give fruit. I occasionally give unripened mango or unripened papaya and very rarely a blackberry or raspberry. My birds are hyper enough they don’t need added sugar. Plus they love to eat. And, I don’t want fat birds.❤
I give my birds a little fruit but i give a slice of green banana, a cut up grape, mandarin orange, a cherry. I never give my birds alot of fruit though. I give them veggies, rice, pasta and they love it. I crush up nuts and add a bit of nuts in their food.
This is all good and dandy , IF they eat the vegetables. My GC used to eat pellets and some fruit and multigrain bread. But now she just tosses the pellets aside. So my main concern is keeping her fed versus starving her to force her to eat what’s best for her. I don’t know if she is going thru any changes, but again keeping her fed is job one. After that I’ll work on what is best for her.
I hear you- but I've never had a bird not switch to pellets and vegetables. You know me, I only do beta carotene fruit. I've never seen one of my birds starve... I think they are like stubborn children who can be melodramatic, but mine always eat when they are hungry :)
@@ParrotBliss Tks for the advice. What fruits are beta carotene? I do red grapes, banana, occasional watermelon and honeydew when available. Also question on sugars. I always thought natural sugars are ok, like in fruit versus sweets like cookies and such. Or is fruit sugar the lesser of the two? Tks. Anyways. A go is eating a bit better, but it seems I have to coax her sometimes. She sees the traveling vet next week just to make sure all is well in his eyes and for her mani pedi lol.
Thank you for sharing the good advice with us all. Always a pleasure to watch and listen to.
Thank you, I appreciate it! Enjoy!
Rax is a very happy bird! He did like seeing his favourite girls!
It's really important to keep abreast of new scientific understandings and information the experts in a particular field have to offer. There has been a dearth of scientific study in both aviculture and herpetoculture (reptiles) in comparison to mammalian biology and husbandry for ever, so it's brilliant to have experts like Tony to provide up-to-date advice and information on how we can best care for our feathered friends. His published works are really a wonderful resource.
I'll just say though, that taking unqualified generalisations made in a video short as "gospel" to be applied in all situations just because the presenter is an 'expert', is not something we should do ..... As Kalyn thoughtfully pointed out, eclectus parrots don't do well on a general parrot diet that experts would recommend for most other popular pet parrots and are a notable exception to many general parrot principles.
Another example includes more than 60 species of lories and lorikeets and their relatives which have evolved to digest fructose-rich, sugarry fruits and nectars in the wild, along with some rainforest species predominantly from Asia, which rely seasonally on fructose-rich fruits (like wild figs) and honey-dew to bring them into breeding condition. I'm not contradicting Tony here, just offering the same type of qualifications he offers in longer discussions and scientific papers.
The reason I offer this comment is because of the number of people I've encountered online who've maybe had a budgie or cockatiel for 6 months or so, who try to lecture me and others on what we should be feeding parrots they've never even heard of, because they think they're an expert on everything after watching a 30 second clip on RUclips.😉
I really like how on this channel, Kalyn delves deeper into the story to provide a more nuanced understanding of the general principles of growing our blissful bond with our parrots..
Great topic! I follow Tony as well and many other aviculturists. I have researched this topic and it has been noted that wild parrots do eat unripe fruit. Unripe fruit is lower in sugar. I also watch my local squirrels and birds eat the unripe pears, apples and cherries in my neighborhood. I wonder though if its because they are very hungry and cant comprehend to wait until its ripe or they are very hungry and eat whats available or they truly enjoy unripe fruit . I feed mainy berries as they are lower in sugar and higher in antioxidants.
Take care and thanks for sharing!
Curious, would love to hear what other aviculturists you follow. I once asked Tony about blueberries, he said still too high in fructose. So, I stick to beta carotene fruits.
Once fruit is ripe, I understand that there is too much competition especially with larger animals. So, smaller parrots only eat the unripe.
Of course, it's fascinating that Eckies and Lorikeets are different.
Have you ever had an Eckie? I've always wanted one, but didn't want to address their different dietary needs. Too easy to give all the same food out to my flock :)
Harry's diet mostly have berries which are low in sugar. I see the difference in his behavior when he gets grapes or fruits high in sugar level. He becomes very hype after 30min or so. This topic is very important to share! Great content!
Interesting that you see it in Harry! It is an important topic because the most common health issue that parrots have, according to my avian vet, is liver issues. And in humans, too much fructose can cause liver issues. So, I can only guess that it’s true for parrots as well.
Great information. I rarely give fruit. I occasionally give unripened mango or unripened papaya and very rarely a blackberry or raspberry. My birds are hyper enough they don’t need added sugar. Plus they love to eat. And, I don’t want fat birds.❤
Me neither, no fat (or unhealthy) birds -- and no hyper ones. I like them happy!
I give my birds a little fruit but i give a slice of green banana, a cut up grape, mandarin orange, a cherry. I never give my birds alot of fruit though. I give them veggies, rice, pasta and they love it. I crush up nuts and add a bit of nuts in their food.
Make sure to include a lot of those veggies! I also give my birds scrambled eggs. My avian vet says this is one of the healthiest things they can eat.
This is all good and dandy , IF they eat the vegetables. My GC used to eat pellets and some fruit and multigrain bread. But now she just tosses the pellets aside. So my main concern is keeping her fed versus starving her to force her to eat what’s best for her. I don’t know if she is going thru any changes, but again keeping her fed is job one. After that I’ll work on what is best for her.
I hear you- but I've never had a bird not switch to pellets and vegetables. You know me, I only do beta carotene fruit.
I've never seen one of my birds starve... I think they are like stubborn children who can be melodramatic, but mine always eat when they are hungry :)
@@ParrotBliss Tks for the advice. What fruits are beta carotene? I do red grapes, banana, occasional watermelon and honeydew when available. Also question on sugars. I always thought natural sugars are ok, like in fruit versus sweets like cookies and such. Or is fruit sugar the lesser of the two? Tks. Anyways. A go is eating a bit better, but it seems I have to coax her sometimes. She sees the traveling vet next week just to make sure all is well in his eyes and for her mani pedi lol.