The native parakeet grew up in the grasslands of Australia, living in eucalyptus trees. Those grasslands provided the parakeets what they needed to live. They would eat the fresh greens, the fruits and berries they found there, and the seeds that came in the fall. So while parakeet seed is ONE part of what a parakeet's diet should have in it, it is definitely not ALL, and a parakeet raised solely on parakeet seed will have some form of malnutrition. Even the fortified seeds you find in stores are usually fortified with a powder sprinkled on the outside of the seed. Since a parakeet hulls its seeds before eating them, leaving behind that outer shell, the fortification does little good. The Association of Avian Veterinarians recommends the following diet for a parakeet: 50% cooked beans, whole wheat bread, cooked rice, pasta, and seed 45% fresh broccoli, carrots, yams, spinach, dandelion greens, other green/orange fruits and veggies 5% eggs, tuna packed in water, well cooked meat Parakeets are lactose-intolerant and cannot eat a lot of dairy product. Also, parakeets are HIGHLY allergic to chocolate and avocados and should never be given either. Junk food such as pretzles, potato chips, etc. aren't good for a parakeet either! You can feed a parakeet fresh fruit such as apples and cherries, but be careful about the seeds as those have toxins in them. Lettuce is fine, but it really has no nutrients in it. It's better to give them other, healthier greens. Parakeets do NOT overeat. If anything, people tend to give them too little food, thinking a seed cup is full when really it's just full of the hulls of the seeds the parakeet has already eaten. Be sure to refill your parakeet's food supply daily and to give him or her lots of fresh foods too. Just like most people feed their cats and dogskibble" (processed pellets) instead of their natural foods (rabbits, rats, etc.) some people also feed their parakeets "kibble". The kibble is nutritionally balanced and a great way to meet all of the parakeet's food requirements easily. Some parakeets love kibble, others are convinced they want to eat "real food". Whichever way you go, be sure to give your parakeet a diet that is balanced and healthy. You'll find millet in many pet stores. This is very high in fat and is a treat for parakeets. It should only be fed to them occasionally. Parakeets in the wild certainly did not have millet year-round! http://www.lisashea.com/petinfo/articles/bird_food.html

how about parakeet food they sell it every where. try that. www--pea@peoplepc.com

If they are not eating new food, try mixing it with what they normally eat... it often helps. Also, try grating fruit.. some of my birds would never touch an apple but when I gave it to them grated they ate it right away. Personally, my birds have half seed, half pellet mix available at all times, as well as dry egg & biscuit mix and cuttlefish bone always available. I feed them cooked brown rice, cooked pasta, fruit (no seeds or pips), vegetables, grass, dandelion, dog biscuits (small amount), grated cheese (small amount), eggs, cooked meat, and sometimes whole-wheat toast (and very occasionally I put peanut butter on it for them). I also give them millet spray and mealworms every now and then.

they love red pepers!

Just seeds is not a good diet for domestic parakeets. They need more nutrition and less fat. There are some excellent seed mixes and fabulous pellets just for parakeets. I suggest going to a pet store and not just the pet section of the market or Wal-Mart store. I don't think you could go wrong with Roudybush pellets. You don't ever have to add vitamins. just a few fruits as treats. A little hardboiled egg (and I do mean a little bit) once in a while is a good treat.

Try a food called Beak Appetit. Always freeze unused portions. http://www.beakappetit.com/. Your can mix beak appetit with a bit of cottage cheese occasionally. Your birds diet can consist 50% of this beak appetit,30 percent seeds,and 20% sprouted seeds. Also try beak appetit's Le Grass Cafe. Always provide a mineral block. And to sprout seeds you need to have a plastic or paper plate with a couple layers of damp paper towel on it. Put one tablespoon of parakeet or finch seed over the paper towel and spread the seeds out with a spoon. Try not to expose sprouts to the sun too much since this will cause the sprouts to loose some of the nutritional value. Everyday you will need to spray the paper towel with the seeds on it with a spray bottle to keep them moist. After about 2-3 days you will see that the seeds have sprouted. Then you can feed them to your keets. Sprouts are a very nutritious addition to the diet. If the seeds do not sprout within 3 days and you have re-dampened the towel daily, throw it out and buy another fresh bag. Dead seeds have no nutrition. I mostly reccomend Kaytee forti-diet parakeet or finch seed since I have always been able to sprout those.