Allow me to give you permission to stop chasing rabbits down holes and start feeling sure of yourself outside of the rhetoric and adamant statements you may find online.

I hereby declare a truce between the opinions. We can agree we don't have to agree, and more importantly we don't have to be right by proving the other guy wrong. We can examine healthy parrot food without passion or emotion.

Nobody knows your bird better than you. If anybody tells you differently, stop listening. Knowing your bird and knowing facts about birds in general is not the same thing. Every parrot everywhere is different. Their DNA is different, their heritage is different, their lifestyle is different, and their history is different from every other parrot out there. They are as individual as we are, and that is the key to the door that closes the insufferable debates about feeding a parrot.

How many diet plans are there out there for humans? Low carb, high carb, low protein, no milk, drink milk! no meat, all meat and on it all goes. And yet, when you seek out the way from one of these diets on their websites, what is the first suggestion they make before embarking on their system? SEE YOUR DOCTOR FIRST.

Why are we not doing this with our birds? We see our social media groups first, we see a forum online first, we talk to a name given to us by another name. Then we go fiddling with things and foods and flavors and calories and proteins and on and on and all the while your bird is getting frustrated, confused, a little stressed. And maybe sick. And you still have no real idea if any of this is working. What do you have to prove it all out? Nothing.

If you are going to make pointed decisions and changes to the very core of your parrot's health, then you need to schedule an Avian health check and baseline blood panel first.

What does a blood panel do to help us feed our parrots?

Blood panels show -

• If they are currently getting the nutrition, they need.
• If they are getting too much fatty foods.
• If they have liver or kidney problems.
• If they have parasites, or hidden problems.
• If they are getting enough fluids.
• If they are fighting an infection.
• If they have a healthy crop.

Baseline blood panel results over a handful of years delivers knowledge. Data that gives you, your doctor, and your feeding goals a clear view to where your parrot stands health wise. You'll see a trajectory of anything going off if results start varying. Accumulate five years of labs, and you'll see the path your parrot's health is on. The baseline five will always show you the foundation information. Knowledge is power.