Feeding behaviour and nutient intake in yellow-shouldered amazons and african grey parrots fed multi-component diets.

Objectives: Parrots have a strong tendency to select oilseeds when provided multi-component seed diets and consume only the kernels. This typical feeding behaviour results in a vastly distinct nutrient profile between ingested and offered food. The study intended to quantify the impact of this behaviour on actual nutrient intake in two parrot species differing in origin. Materials and Methods: Nutrient profile of ingested food from a seed mixture was calculated using proximate analysis of the offered diet and food remainders in eight African grey parrots (Psittacus e erithacus). In a separate cross-over trial, yellow-shouldered amazons (Amazona barbadensis) were fed either seeds or seeds and apple. Here, seed intake per seed type and apple intake were recorded through which actual nutrient intake was calculated. Results: The feeding behaviour of the parrots approximately doubled protein content, led to a three to four-fold increase in fat content and halved carbohydrate content compared to the offered diets. Moreover, although distinct parrot species and seed mixtures, actual nutrient profile of ingested ration was strikingly similar between both trials (table 1). Finally, providing apple to the amazons significantly lowered voluntary energy intake in amazons by 13.5%. Conclusions: The current trials not only demonstrate marked nutritional consequences of selective feeding behaviour, but also indicate that different parrot species select seeds from multi-component seed diets, ending up ingesting a similar nutrient profile. Further, these data demonstrate that voluntary energy intake in amazons fed a seed mixture can be decreased through provision of fruit next to the seeds