Ask Lafeber

Amazon nutrition and behavior

What are the best nuts to feed parrots?
Why would an amazon be interested in a mug filled with coffee or tea but ignore one with water?

Hi Elizabeth,

At one point, Almonds were thought to be the best heart healthy nut. However, more studies have shown that all tree nuts have equal health benefits as well as the good type of fat. While peanuts are not tree nuts, they too are considered to be healthy. As with any food, too much can be bad for them. For your Amazon, one or two nuts a day is probably enough. Nuts should be fed raw or dry roasted with no added salt or oils. Dry roasted peanuts in the shell, human grade, are the best type of peanut to offer. Vets recommend human grade in general for foods.

As to the beverage question, your bird can tell by sight and smell that something other than water is in your mug. He also watches you enjoy it so he gets curious and wants to try it also. Parrots are very smart and pulling a switch by offering water from the same mug is a ploy that they can easily detect! It’s hard to trick a parrot. 🙂 He naturally wants what you have so the best thing to do is have a treat handy to offer him instead of what is in your mug. It may not stop him from wanting it, but it should help to distract him.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda