Nutrition Guide
African Grey Diet: Complete Food List
The exact daily plate we feed our African Greys — plus the safe list, the toxic list, and the calcium trick that keeps Congos out of the vet's office.
The 60/30/10 rule
A healthy African Grey diet is roughly 60% fresh vegetables and greens, 30% quality pellets, 10% fruit, nuts, and cooked grains. Seed-only diets are the #1 cause of premature death in Greys — they cause fatty liver disease and calcium deficiency.
Daily feeding schedule
Morning (7–8 am)
Chop bowl: kale, broccoli, carrot, red bell pepper, cooked sweet potato. 2–3 tbsp.
Mid-morning
Small handful of high-quality pellets (Harrison's, Roudybush, TOPs).
Afternoon
Foraging toy stuffed with soaked chickpeas, quinoa, or sprouted seed.
Evening (5–6 pm)
Fresh fruit — small piece of apple, papaya, or pomegranate. Refill pellets.
Safe foods list
- ✓ Leafy greens: kale, chard, dandelion, romaine
- ✓ Cruciferous: broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts
- ✓ Bell peppers (all colors — spicy is fine, birds have no capsaicin receptors)
- ✓ Cooked sweet potato, squash, pumpkin
- ✓ Berries, apple (no seeds), papaya, mango, pomegranate
- ✓ Cooked whole grains: quinoa, brown rice, barley
- ✓ Sprouted legumes: mung, lentil, chickpea
- ✓ Almonds, walnuts, pistachios (in shell, unsalted)
Toxic — never feed
- ✗ Avocado — cardiac toxin, fatal within hours
- ✗ Chocolate & cocoa — theobromine toxicity
- ✗ Onion, garlic, leek — cause anemia
- ✗ Apple seeds, cherry pits, apricot pits — contain cyanide
- ✗ Alcohol, caffeine — even trace amounts
- ✗ Salt, sugar, fried food
- ✗ Rhubarb leaves, raw beans
- ✗ Mushrooms — most cause liver failure
The calcium problem in Congos
Congo African Greys are famously calcium-deficient. Wild birds get calcium from mineral clay licks; captive birds don't. Offer a cuttlebone daily, feed leafy greens rich in bioavailable calcium (kale, collards, dandelion — not spinach, which blocks absorption), and ensure UVB exposure or full-spectrum lighting so D3 can synthesize.
What about pellets vs seeds?
Pellets should be the base, not the whole meal. Seeds are fine as training treats or a small foraging component — but a 100% seed diet will shorten your Grey's life by 20+ years. Sunflower seeds especially: fatty, calcium-poor, addictive.