Parrots need a nutritionally well balanced diet just as human beings do. So what should go into parrots diet planning? They need cereals or bread, vegetables and proteins and the best way to make sure that your bird gets a balanced diet is to feed them a combination of pellets and traditional table foods.

If you think of a parrots diet in terms of the food pyramid, the base will be commercial pellets as this has to make up 60 to 80 percent of what parrots are fed. Pellets are available in varied size packages to ensure that the right amount is fed for different size birds such as a macaw or a budgie.

People sometimes tend to think of bird seed as the best item for parrots but the commercial pellets are made with more nutrients and so they are better as the base of a good parrot diet.

Once the foundation of the diet is established, table foods will help make up the rest of the diet. What constitutes table foods? These are the vegetables or cereals that are part of a human diet also.

Vegetables that are good for parrots are zucchini, carrots, peas, broccoli, beets, green beans, leafy greens, tomato, peas and peppers of all hues.

When including fresh food in their diet it is important to remember not to leave the food in the cage for too long. These are items that can spoil and that can be harmful for your parrot, just as they are to humans.

Many people find it convenient to thaw and serve frozen vegetables as these are handy to serve in small portions and there is no loss of nutrition in freezing.

The carbohydrate part of a parrots diet will come from the breads and cereals. This can be incorporated by using various kinds of pasta, rice, whole wheat or rye bread, or even from breakfast cereals. The cereal you pick should not be a sugar filled snack but one of the more healthy choices such as oatmeal or bran-based cereals.

Parrots should only be fed meat-based proteins a couple of times a week as too much meat can be tough for the bird's kidney to process. Recommended proteins include cooked eggs, boiled chicken and properly cooked chicken bones.

While seeds and nuts can be a source of protein, experts believe that seeds tend to have more fat and less vitamins and minerals than pellets. While seeds are okay up to about 10 to 12 percent of what a parrot eats, it is not a good idea to give more seeds than that.

A domesticated bird does not have as much activity as a bird in the wild and so the fat content of seeds can be excessive for a pet parrot. Keep this in mind when serving your bird seeds and nuts and exercise moderation.

Also be particular about the quality of the seeds you serve. They should be clean, free of fungus or insects and they should retain their shine and not look covered in dust.

When serving nuts, you can leave the shell on and encourage your parrot to open it as this is considered good mental stimulation for the bird. As this is a learned behavior, the first time you introduce a nut you will have to crack the shell partially or choose some other means of introducing the idea.

Dairy products are not considered essential for parrots and there is also some controversy surrounding including them in the parrots diet. Many parrots seem to enjoy cheese and other dairy products, but they do not have lactase, which is the enzyme needed for proper digestion of milk sugars. So, it is best to make these a rare and infrequent part of what you feed your bird.

Fruits offer mostly sugar and water to parrots and so it is best to keep their portion limited also. As pellets ensure a more complete source of nutrients, make the small pieces of apples or grapes your parrot enjoys a special treat.

Water is an element of a parrots diet and it is important to serve fresh water everyday. It is not necessary or beneficial to add supplements unless specifically recommended by your veterinarian as this can make the water less attractive to parrots. There is also the additional concern that supplements may serve as a magnet for bacterial growth in the water.

Among the things that it is best to never serve a parrot are alcohol, avocado and chocolates as these can all prove toxic if included in parrots diets.

While this is the big picture of the parrots diet there are variations depending on the size of your particular bird. Macaws, particularly Hyacinth Macaws, need a fattier diet and so they need to be fed more nuts. Budgies, cockatiels and Amazon parrots have a tendency to liver problems stemming from obesity and it is important to ensure that they do not get to much fat. So, with this guideline in mind people can fine-tune the specifics of their parrots diet.