Sometimes, pet parrots consume more calories than their bodies need, often due to boredom. A lack of things to do (toys, exercise, engagement, etc.) causes parrots to overeat to stay busy.
Captive parrots never forage for food, so they don’t expend energy on intensive flying sessions. To make matters worse, owners over-feed their pets, leading to weight gain.
Wild parrots eat first thing in the morning when they wake up and an hour before sleeping. Maintain this schedule in captivity, offering occasional nutritious, low-calorie snacks for midday energy.
How Much Food Parrots Need
The amount of food parrots need to flourish depends on their species (size), age, and activity level.
Parrots should consume 10-15% of their body weight every 24 hours. Monitor your parrot’s weight. Then, change the percentage based on whether it increases or decreases in mass.
Their diet comprises 50-70% specially formulated pellets, with fruits, vegetables, seeds, and nuts accounting for the rest. Go light on seeds and nuts because they’re fatty, high-calorie foods.
Providing too much food in the morning can encourage parrots to graze throughout the day. Conversely, not feeding a parrot for more than 24-72 hours can endanger its life.
What Time Parrots Stop Eating
Parrots usually eat their final meal about an hour before roosting. If you cover the cage at 7 PM, it should eat its second meal of the day at about 6 PM.
A parrot takes 1 hour to fill its crop. Then, it can perch and sleep while digesting its meal.
Parrots Don’t Stop Eating When Full
Parrots are clever, but they still make poor decisions. Some parrots continue to eat beyond the point of fullness, especially when locked in a cage with readily available food.
Why Parrots Eat More Than They Need
There are various explanations for parrots eating to excess, including:
Boredom
If you don’t provide enough to do, a parrot may eat to excess because it’s bored.
A parrot may consider food a toy. Parrots are messy eaters, so dropping and throwing food may occur. It’ll keep it busy temporarily, but it may eat what’s left unless it finds another way to pass the time.
Dietary Imbalance
If a parrot’s body lacks nutrients (malnourishment), it may overeat or consume non-foods (pica). If a parrot exclusively eats seeds and nuts, it can become vitamin A deficient (hypovitaminosis-A).
Feeding the parrot specially formulated pellets means it’ll mostly get what it needs to flourish.
Lack of Routine
Wild parrots are never entirely sure where their next meal will come, so they’re opportunistic eaters. Parrots may eat as much as possible while it’s available.
A captive parrot should realize that you’ll provide it with food. If you have an erratic feeding schedule or the parrot has little else to do, it may overeat when the opportunity arises.
Hormonal Changes
You may find that a parrot eats more than usual at the onset of spring. This is the breeding season, so hormonal changes arise when the days become warmer and longer.
The female will start eating more high-fat and calcium-rich foods to produce eggs.
If a female parrot has started eating more than usual, check she’s not carrying eggs. Females don’t need a mate, producing unfertilized eggs without a male. They only need specific triggers to be met.
What Happens When A Parrot Overeats
The immediate aftermath of overeating in parrots is growing sluggish and disinterested in activity. Gastric concerns, like vomiting and diarrhea, may also arise.
If a parrot continues to overeat, it’ll gain weight and become obese. This will make flight difficult. Even perching will become more demanding because the parrot’s feet struggle to support its weight.
If a parrot is overweight, its internal organs, like the heart and liver, will also be strained. A common health concern is fatty liver disease (hepatic lipidosis).
Diabetes mellitus can also arise alongside other long-term endocrinological concerns.
Parrots Can Overeat and Die
A parrot will never eat so much in one sitting that it’ll die instantly. Eventually, it won’t want to eat any more food. If a parrot overeats regularly and grows obese, this will shorten its life.
Overeating for a prolonged period can lead to atherosclerosis (a plaque build-up on the walls of the arteries). According to Veterinary Quarterly, atherosclerosis can result in sudden mortality.
How To Stop A Parrot Overeating
The problem can be corrected with lifestyle and dietary modifications.
Follow these guidelines to keep a parrot at a healthy weight:
- If the parrot is given nutritious foods, it’s likelier to eat what it needs.
- Provide a reliable meal schedule so the parrot can expect to be fed at dawn and dusk.
- Don’t give a parrot more food than it needs because it’ll graze all day. Don’t risk leaving a parrot hungry, but avoid providing more than is required for its metabolic needs.
- Don’t feed a parrot junk food because it’s high in calories and lacks nutrients.
- Add toys and offer other enrichment so a parrot doesn’t rely on food to occupy its time.
The lifestyles of wild and captive parrots are entirely different. Wild birds forage for their food, requiring the expenditure of significant energy. Pet birds are given what they need to thrive and are less active.
Parrots are hardwired to eat what’s available because their next meal is never guaranteed. If a parrot eats beyond the point of fullness and gains weight, its eating habits must be modified.
