Ask Lafeber

Fruits for parrots

Imagine telling your doctor that fruits are only sugar and water. You would get laughed right out of the office and for many good reasons since that is incorrect.

We are sorry for the delay in replying to your questions from the Webinar What Should I Feed? Nutritionally Balanced Diets are For the Birds! Presented by Kara Burns. There was a death in Kara’s family and she understandably needed some personal time.

Hi Jackie,

Thank you for the comment. I believe I said fruits are ‘mainly’ sugars and moisture and this was surrounding a discussion of fruit as a portion of a bird’s diet. Fruit has different meaning and definition depending on its use – botanical, biological, nutritional, etc.

In language usage, the term “fruit” is associated with the fleshy seed-associated structures of a plant that are sweet or sour, and edible in the raw state -apples, bananas, grapes, strawberries, etc. In botanical usage, “fruit” includes many structures that are not commonly called or thought of as “fruits”, bean pods, kernels of corn, tomatoes, etc. In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) formed from the ovary after flowering.

When discussing nutritional value of fruit – it is accepted that fruits are relatively high in sugar. Additionally, fruits also contain fiber and water. The fiber in fruits help to promote satiety and help animals lose weight, In humans they also have cholesterol-lowering effects.

Thank you,

Kara Burns