I have a white bellied caique, and I work in a pet store selling bird food every week. Some of my customers breed caiques. So I hear a lot about what people feed their parrots, and I see the difference it makes.
The short version: a small parrot should not live on a bag of seed. What has worked best for my bird is a good quality mix as the base, a lot of fresh fruit and veg, a few treats, and as little sunflower seed as possible.
The best everyday food for small parrots like caiques, conures and quakers is a varied mix with pellets in it, plus plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. I use Hagen Tropimix Small Parrot as my caique’s base food, and so do some of my customers who breed caiques. It makes their feathers so shiny. I add Lafeber Tropical Nutri-Berries, nuts as treats, a little budgie seed for foraging and lots of fresh food. I avoid sunflower seeds, which are fatty and easy for a parrot to get hooked on.
If you change one thing about your small parrot’s diet, switch the base food to Tropimix Small Parrot. I live by it. My caique tears the lid off the container himself every morning, and the shine in his feathers is the first thing people comment on. It is often easiest to find in pet stores, and stock online can come and go.
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| Food | How much | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Hagen Tropimix Small Parrot | Daily base food | Varied mix with pellets, fruit, nuts and legumes |
| Fresh fruit and vegetables | A big bowl daily | He eats better than I do |
| Lafeber Tropical Nutri-Berries | A few a day | Balanced, and he holds them in his foot to eat |
| Nuts | Treats only | Great for training, too fatty for everyday |
| Budgie seed | A sprinkle, for foraging | Gives him something to search for |
| Sunflower seed | Avoided | Fatty, addictive, crowds out better food |
Why Not Just Seed?
Seed mixes are cheap and parrots love them, which is exactly the problem. A parrot given a seed mix will pick out its favourites, usually the fattiest ones, and leave the rest. Over months that means a diet that is high in fat and low in vitamins, especially vitamin A and calcium. Birds on seed heavy diets are more prone to weight gain, liver problems and poor feather condition.
In Australia there is another wrinkle. Our soil is low in iodine, so grain and seed grown here are too. Plain seed diets can leave birds short of iodine, which is why I recommend an iodine bell for seed eating birds like budgies.
Why I Avoid Sunflower Seeds at All Costs
Sunflower seeds are the junk food of the parrot world. They are high in fat, and birds get hooked on them and start refusing everything else. I keep them out of my caique’s diet completely. If your bird is already hooked, mixes like Tropimix are designed to help transition birds off sunflower towards a more varied diet. Do it gradually, mixing the new food into the old over a few weeks, and keep an eye that your bird is actually eating.
Tropimix: Why It Is My Base Food
Tropimix Small Parrot is a mix of seeds, grains, legumes, fruit, nuts and Tropican pellets. Because the pellet is mixed in with the things parrots enjoy, they eat it as part of the mix rather than refusing a plain bowl of pellets. It suits caiques, conures, quakers, senegals, ringnecks and similar sized birds.
I live by it, and so do some of my customers who actually breed caiques. The thing we all notice is the feathers: they come up so shiny. My caique also loves it enough that he tears the lid off the container himself in the morning.
Nutri-Berries: Food He Can Hold
Lafeber Nutri-Berries are balls of seed, grain and pellet held together, so the bird cannot pick out just the fatty bits. My caique has the Tropical ones. The small bird size has been out of stock lately, so he is on the macaw size for now, which he holds in one foot and works through. That is a big part of why caiques like them: they are a holding bird, and food they can hold is food they enjoy.
Fresh Food: He Eats Better Than I Do
A big bowl of chopped fresh fruit and veg is part of my caique’s every day. He loves chillies, capsicum and capsicum seeds. Birds do not feel chilli heat the way we do, so chilli is a safe favourite for a lot of parrots.
Good everyday options are leafy greens, capsicum, carrot, broccoli, corn, beans, pumpkin and sweet potato, with fruit like apple (no seeds), berries, pear and mango in smaller amounts. Never give avocado, chocolate, caffeine, alcohol or anything salty. Wash everything and take fresh food out after a few hours so it does not spoil.
Foraging: Make Them Work a Little
Wild parrots spend a big part of their day finding food. I sprinkle a little budgie seed in for him to forage through, and put food in toys he has to pull apart. A bird that has to work for some of its food is a calmer, less bored bird. Shredding toys and sola balls are good for hiding a few treats inside.
Nuts Are Treats, Not Meals
My caique gets nuts, but as treats. They are great for training because birds love them, but they are high in fat, so I keep them small and occasional.
What It Costs
| Item | Rough cost per month |
|---|---|
| Tropimix or similar base mix | $15 to $30 |
| Nutri-Berries | $10 to $20 |
| Fresh fruit and veg | $15 to $30 |
| Treats and foraging extras | $5 to $15 |
So roughly $45 to $90 a month for a caique sized bird fed well. It costs more than a bag of seed, but a vet visit for a diet related illness costs much more.
What I Would Buy
What goes into my caique’s bowl, plus a couple of extras for foraging. (these are affiliate links)
Want to see everything I run? Here is all the gear I actually use across my reptiles, tanks, rabbits and caique.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best food for a caique in Australia?
A varied base mix that includes pellets, plus lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. I feed my caique Hagen Tropimix Small Parrot every day, and some of my customers who breed caiques do too. I add Lafeber Tropical Nutri-Berries, nuts as treats and a sprinkle of budgie seed for foraging, and I avoid sunflower seeds.
Are sunflower seeds bad for parrots?
They are not poisonous, but they are very high in fat and parrots get hooked on them and refuse other food. A diet heavy in sunflower can lead to weight gain and poor nutrition. I avoid them completely for my caique. If your bird is already hooked, transition gradually over a few weeks.
Can parrots eat chilli?
Yes. Birds do not feel chilli heat the way mammals do, and many parrots love them. My caique loves chillies, capsicum and capsicum seeds. Avoid avocado, chocolate, caffeine, alcohol and salty food, which are all dangerous for birds.
Is a seed only diet okay for small parrots?
No. Parrots pick out their favourite fatty seeds and leave the rest, which leads to a diet that is high in fat and low in vitamins and calcium. In Australia, seed is also low in iodine because our soil is. A mix with pellets in it plus fresh food is a much better everyday diet.
How much does it cost to feed a small parrot in Australia?
Roughly $45 to $90 a month for a caique sized bird fed a good base mix, Nutri-Berries, fresh fruit and vegetables and a few treats. A plain seed diet is cheaper, but it costs more in the long run if it leads to health problems.