My bird is a carnivore

[The Asbestos Mango]

My pet cockatiel, Parker Charles Yardbird, likes to eat meat. Tuna, chicken, turkey, lamb, whatever. Cooked dead animal flesh. I feed him an adequate diet, he ignores the veggies I give him. (he does like to eat the houseplants, though, I have a hell of a time keeping him away from them.)

It doesn't even necessarily have to be what I'm eating, although he does have a preference for whatever's on my plate.

I'm not worried about him nutritionally, I've called a couple of pet stores and I've been told that eating people food is good for him, it adds variety to his diet, as long as I don't give him chocolate, avocados or too much bread.

But small parrot-like birds eating meat? Makes me just a bit nervous that a seed/plant eater so enthusiastically goes after my lamburger...

[filthy]

Just hope that you don't wake up in the night and find him at your throat!

A little animal protein in beneficial for birds, but don't let it become a major portion of his diet.

A great many birds scavenge in the wild. I always have a tray containing suet, table scraps, old fish heads, etc. under my bird feeder, mainly for the woodpeckers. I get a lot of seed eaters such as chickadees hitting it.

[OrcaChow]

It's that dinosaurian heritage. Ever see a fighting cock? (No, not that kind.) The chickens with a big metal spur on each foot? Velociraptor genetic memory.

[JuanDeCuba]

Slight hijack, but I love the name of your bird.

[The Asbestos Mango]

Thanks, Juan. I've gotten some strange looks from people who don't approve of Parker having a middle name, not to mention his own last name.

I guess they think birds are supposed to have names like Tweety or something.

I once had a parakeet named Grand Moff Tarkin, Governor of Imperial Outlands.

[redtail23]

Thea - yeah, they LOVE meat. Also cheese, eggs, salt, sugar - just about anything you shouldn't eat (much) but do, they'll love it.

I just figure the meat replaces all of the insects they eat in the wild (lots of bugs in & around fruit & grain, y'know).

The important thing is to remember how SMALL your bird is. What seems like a small bit to you may be huge to him. Compare one of your 'bite-size' pieces to *your* bodyweight, and then to his. As the petstores said, VARIETY in his diet is the key.

If he likes to eat houseplants, you might try giving him his own garden. Plant a pot of lettuce or alfalfa or something like that & let him chew away. Many birds love that and it's good for them too.

PS A hint for when your friends start freaking out because your 'cannibal' bird is eating birdmeat. Your cockatiel is about as closely related to that chicken as you are to a cow.

[The Asbestos Mango]

Actually, redtail, I did once have an indoor herb garden, which Parker knew he was more than welcome to munch. He wasn't the slightest bit interested.

The forbidden plants are so much tastier...