🥣 Water, food and the food zones
What goes in the bowls, how often it is changed, and which foods are daily, which are rare and which must never reach the bird.
A care guide, not veterinary advice. It describes what healthy looks like and what it does not. If your bird is unwell, call an avian vet — do not wait for an answer here. Why this matters more than it sounds.
03 Water & hygiene
Soup-making · the 4–6 hour rule
Water standard: fresh water, at room temperature.
The “soup-making” phenomenon
Conures love to soak their pellets and fruit in the water bowl. The water instantly becomes a bacterial culture. Change it 1–2 times a day and wash the bowl (stainless steel or ceramic only) with hot water.
Soft food and fresh vegetables ferment quickly. Remove them from the cage every afternoon, without exception.
04 Feeding by stage & molt
Chick vs adult · G14 = 70% · millet rarely
Chick diet (1–4 months) / molt vs stable adult diet (from month 5+):
Comfort seeds (Da-Yummy)
Chick/molt: daily, as a base. During molt, oil seeds (hemp, niger) provide essential fatty acids.
Adult: cut to one teaspoon in the evening — a controlled treat that prevents obesity.
NutriBird G14 pellets
Chick: introduce gradually (months 2–3), mixed into moist soft food.
Adult: daily, free-choice — the diet base (70% of the diet).
Soft food (egg food)
Chick/molt: daily — amino acids for keratin (new feathers).
Adult: 2–3 times a week.
Chick: often, by hand, for the first bond of trust. Adult: strictly a rare reward — very high in calories! Never leave a whole spray hanging permanently.
05 Foods by zone
Green / gray / red · avocado = lethal
Broccoli, fresh carrot, bell pepper (all colors). Parrots don't feel spiciness (no capsaicin receptors) — hot peppers are fine, even antibacterial. Zucchini, squash, peas, cucumber, blanched apple/willow twigs. Berries, apple/pear without seeds (max 2×/week).
- Citrus: safe, but the acidity irritates the crop in excess; vitamin C raises iron absorption.
- Spinach: oxalates that bind and remove calcium — deficiencies if given often.
- AVOCADO — absolutely lethal! Persin → sudden death within hours.
- Macadamia nuts: severe neurological dysfunction.
- Raw mushrooms: fulminant liver failure.
- Fruit pits/seeds (apple, cherry, apricot): cyanide. The flesh is safe, the pits kill.
- Onion, garlic, leek: severe hemolytic anemia.
- Chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, dairy: cardiac arrest or severe diarrhea. Processed food destroys the kidneys.
The rest of the care guide
The rest of the reference
The same guide, offline and with your place kept
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