Hi All, a quick question about colours

Hi All,

I have had my Parrot for just over three years, she's amazing and keeps me company.

I purchased her from a pet shop locally, who were selling her for about £300 with cage etc, she had been treated extremely badly by her previous owner, and the animal shelter received a tip-off, and went round to find her in horrific conditions. After some investigation, it was discovered that she was permanently covered with a black cover, so 24/7 in the dark.

I saw her in the shop and instantly paid for her and took her home, she has a bald spot on her head from bad ownership before-hand. - She's 8 years old now and seems extremely happy, as well as very attached to just me (always on my shoulder, and in the mornings she flies over and gets under the quilt like a cat!)

Anyway, to the point - I feed her a mix of seeds/dried fruits, and just normal fresh water daily, have done this since i've had her. I've just always noticed she has quite dul colours, dark greens and a dark red, is this normal?

Thanks in advance.

Well, my dear, the diet you mention is terrible! Parrots are not natural seed eaters, they need a lot of veggies, fruits and leafy greens on a daily basis. And no, dried fruits are not good for them because they are usually treated with a sulphite based preservative to retain the bright color and the soft texture. They usually have sugar added to them, too. Both bad things for parrots. You can feed them seeds but you cannot free-feed them, it needs to be a very small, measured portion and when it's gone, it's gone. And it's better if they eat it for dinner. Try giving her some gloop. All my parrots love it and it's healthy for them.