Is a table food diet really not good?

When I got my Amazon parrot over 20 years ago, it seemed a seed diet supplemented with table food was the best diet at that time.

Now it seems that everyone is pushing the pellet diet. The one time I brought my bird to the vet in 20 years, the vet was even trying to also push a pellet diet and telling me table food isn't good.

I know from human diets that a lot of what people know is just what is popular and many times there is no evidence that certain diets are better than others.

I believe that this pellet diet is just being pushed for profit and most people just believe the marketers pushing this diet.

Granted, I agree that a 100% seed diet may not be good, but a diet that consists of a lot of different types of table food is good enough. Today most seed food you buy is a mixture of pellets and seeds anyway.

The thing is my bird seems to only like table food and she likes to be on the table when I eat. She doesn't like these pellet diets either, she just seems to crumble them and drop them to the bottom of the cage.

Really, I don't have a choice about the table food because she will scream the entire time I am eating if I don't let her eat what I'm eating. I am also OK with this to be honest.

Does anyone here allow their amazon to eat a lot of table food, or is everybody on this Fad pellet diet now.

If it's healthy table food like steamed veggies there's nothing wrong with it. In fact that's great. If it's a steady diet of burgers and pizza that's really not good.

Pellets aren't a fad. They've been around for a lot of years.

"Fad pellet diet" for us. Plus lots of fresh veggies, sprouts and some fruit. I do feed (1 TBS per week) hemp, safflower seeds ,pecans,pistachios,almonds,etc. I see/have lots of amazons that were fed seed diets for many years, (I rehome zons). and i have dealt with after effects. VitA deficiency, Fatty liver disease, and the second infections,cancer and death. IMO table food is OK (if you eat healthy, most folks don't). Variety is best , too much of any thing is bad and ignorance kills. Just my .02 worth. BTW my hen nape is helping me eat dessert, yogurt with blue berries.

I think, in general, pellets are the easy way out. You know that if you feed it to them, they get the nutrients they "need" without you having to "supplement" it. I think most bird owners would agree that a pure pellet diet is not a healthy approach, same with a pure seed diet. But if you were to feed your birds fruits, vegetables, and grains that you eat that don't have excess salt or sugar and forego the pellets, I don't see how you could go wrong as long as you made sure they were consuming foods with the appropriate vitamins and minerals necessary for a healthy diet.

The thing with table food is that what we eat is often high in fat, high in salt, or high in sugar, none of which are healthy for your bird on a continual basis. If I recall correctly, one member's husband was feeding their bird a bite of their breakfast (a small chomp of bagel, some sausage, etc.) every morning. Eventually the bird ended up developing fatty tumors. I think as long as you're careful with what you feed, there's nothing wrong with eating table food.

If you were ever concerned about nutritional value, though, you could always be creative and cook foods just for your bird to eat at the table with you. Birdy bread, muffins, dried mixes, dehydrated fruits or veggies, birdy pizza... the list is endless!

I have done a lot of research into diet, and am not fond of the concept of pellets either. They seem comparable to the "vitamin fortified" cereal thats pushed as a "healthy" breakfast for kids. It's just too processed for my liking and tastes NASTY (I've tried a pellet or 2, wouldn't be feeding Kiwi anything I wouldn't eat myself). I try to get Kiwi's diet as close as possible to the kind of food he would eat in nature. He eats a cooked grains & beans mix, seed, LOTS of fresh produce, specially baked "bird treats" (basically cookies, muffins, bread, pizza ext.. where the sugar and salt has been substituted out with bird-friendly fruits and veg instead) and some table food. In fact, he is allowed to eat at the table with us, though I try to always feed him his food BEFORE we eat, so he's already pretty full. We eat healthy, aren't big 'sweets' people, don't overload with salt and I cook most everything from scratch, so most of what we eat is good for Kiwi too. What I try to do is feed Kiwi from healthiest to least healthy, so he's getting the most nutritious food when he's super hungry and the least nutritious when he's not going to gorge himself. I feed fresh produce first, let him eat most of that, then give him his cooked grains, and once he's eaten a good portion of the healthy stuff, he gets a SMALL scoop of seed and/or to come eat at the table with us. I also portion his food. He gets a decent portion, but never brimming-full dishes (that just promotes overeating, which is an issue for amazons, especially with seed).

With table food, if it has refined sugar, lots of salt, is greasy, has artificial flavors/colors, ingredients you can't pronounce or is heavily processed, it probably isn't healthy for your bird. If it's homemade using wholesome ingredients and doesn't have much salt or sugar, it is fine to feed My parents have 3 parrots, all bought in the 1970's (the youngest is 39, the oldest is over 45), and all have eaten fresh produce, seed and table food their entire lives. All 3 are in excellent health (even the one with genetic problems). If you go the table food route, YOU have to be a healthy eater. If you eat a lot of fast food or heavily processed food, it is not good for your bird to be eating as anything but a rare treat. I'll post a link of the grains mix I feed Kiwi (which he really loves):

Volkman Seed Company
Volkman Seed Company

When people ask me why I don't feed Buddy seed or pellets, or the dogs dog food, I ask them did pellets and dog food exist 1000 years ago? I think seed and pellets are great supplements and additions to diet but they need real food too. My question isn't meant to be sarcastic but to make people think because processed foods are very new considered the years all creatures have been around. My pets do get pellets, seed and dog food but it's not their main staple. Our bully is the most sensitive and my biggest eater and yes I cook food for him and the pugs. He's prone to allergies, and yeast. Buddy is the easiest because he eats mostly fruit and veg, occasional citrus, and egg. I say he's my second biggest eater, lol. Seed is a treat as is popcorn. I also like making food and feeding them, especially Buddy.

If it's healthy it's fine, but it depends on what you mean by "table food".

I feed my birds organic pellets, soaked seeds, fruit and vegetables and I couldn't be happier.

Pellets are a lot more balanced than seed and if the bird eats pellets, it doesn't get to choose to eat only sunflower seeds out of a seed mix (what all the birds here have done).
They are fresher, seed has often sat around longer for a few months before being sold.
They are less fatty.
Less mess (no seed husks).
There is also less risk of aspergillus in pellets.

I almost completely cured my bird's liver disease last year with pellets alone, and NO other treatment.

I have seen such great results with pellets I would NEVER switch back to a seed diet.

When I switched Cookie to Harrison's pellets she molted right after I put her on them and she looked amazing. She grew in bright beautiful feathers and looked better than ever.

When she was on a seed diet she only picked out the sunflower seeds so she was lacking in a lot of things, which made her look awful. She will also try new food more easily now that she eats pellets.

I only use seed as a special treat now, which makes training a lot easier.

Pellets are bad too if you only feed your bird them and nothing else though.

Also, the pellets in a seed mix generally aren't eaten and are often not that great.

Here tells you more about why to switch to pellets. How and Why to Switch Your Bird to a Pelleted Diet

A thread on pellets vs. seed. http://www.parrotforums.com/amazons/8230-pellets-vs-seeds.html

Pellets are good, but a completely varied diet is the best way.

Mine get table food. They also get pellets, fruits, veggies, nuts, and a tiny amount of seed. (primarily safflower.)

I will not normally give my opinion on diet/foods because it ends up making me a bit to be honest LOL. However, I'll chime in this time...

I feed several kinds of vegetables on a daily basis, and I feed what are in my opinion a couple of the few GOOD pellets out there. They get seed as treats. I prefer the organic types such as Harrison's lifetime formula, and TOPS. I've not tried, but seems like Goldenfeast's Golden Obles (sp?) might be in the superior category as well.
I also feed Roudybush, BUT in my opinion, that is just a "normal" pellet, and NOT one of the FEW brands with more superior nutrition.

Another note: Robin is near 20, and I've had him that long. He eats "some" vegetables, but the majority of his life he's been on pellets and mainly Harrison's. Robin's bloodwork has been PERFECT even at his age. There's some proof right there. (The only reason it isn't perfect now is the lead poisoning issue some of you know about which he's getting treated for).
I'm certainly not saying this to argue about pellets, as I know variety is ideal. I am just expressing that SOME pellet brands are more complete than others, that's all. I think more people out there than are willing to admit they have a bird or birds who are on all or mainly pellets.

Side note: If you get a bird as a young weaned baby, best to start them on veggies and wide diet while still young. Much more success accepting different foods in the future that way.

...and NO, Harrison's isn't ONLY pushed by vets for profit! I've seen the results.

My bird (not an amazon of course) eats dinner with me in the evening. If I am having something he shouldn't have, I make a modified version for him (I tend to like some salty things and he shouldn't have that, so I make a similar dish and put his aside before any salty stuff is added). And I let him have a nibble of this and that too--naughty foods--but just a nibble here and there for fun, not a steady diet.


I use pellets also because I figure variety helps cover all your bases....kind of like our eating fortified cereal in the morning or taking a multi vitamin to help balance where we may be lacking. I definitely don't think it is good to feed a bird all pellets. I think it can actually be bad for them in some cases.


Healthy table foods are great and if you feel like it is difficult to provide 100% balanced nutrition, you could even throw pellets in the food processor and bake them into bird bread or sprinkle it in what he is eating. I smush together anything Gilbert tends to throw out of his bowl and then he eats it.

I will add my 2 cents. (And let's hope it's truly no more than that :54

I'm a HUGE believer in fresh veggies and fruits, and a VARIED diet. No, you won't see my fids being fed junk food (much).

IMHO, the more varied the diet, the better, but remember, you can offer your bird ALL the wholesome goodness in this world, the bird will only be as healthy as the foods he/she actually CONSUMES, and that would include the pellets.