Pumpkins and Pumpkin Seeds for your Parrot

It's that Pumpkin Time of Year again and pumpkins and their seeds are great for parrots.  Pumpkins and pumpkin seeds are high in vitamin A, and also provide calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, and other wonderful healthy nutrients.

You can bake small edible pumpkins in your oven at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.  First, clean out the inside of the pumpkin and remove all seeds and pulp.  Place pumpkin on safe cookie sheet or pan and into the oven.  When done, a baked small pumpkin can be given to larger birds to enjoy, or cut into smaller pieces for smaller birds.

Did you know you can freeze fresh pumpkins for yummy eating later.  Wash any dirt from your pumpkin and remove the seeds (you want to save those too).  Cut the pumpkin into wedges or slices, or both and put them into freezer bags and freeze.  When ready to use, thaw the pumpkin chunks and cut into smaller pieces or use your food processor, and add to bird bread for extra moisture and yummy flavor.

Then take your pumpkin seeds, rinse well to remove the stringy gooey pumpkin stuff, pat dry with paper towel, and then spread on a large cookie sheet or cake pan. (DO NOT USE NON-STICK PANS)  Spraying the cookie sheet or pan first with some non-stick cooking spray will help a lot in preventing the seeds from sticking to the sheet.  Preheat oven to 250-300 degrees, and bake the seeds for about 40 minutes.  You will need to stir and mix the seeds about every 5-10 minutes to prevent sticking and to be sure all seeds are all evenly roasted.  This is why I personally prefer a large sheet cake pan so I can mix without sending any pumpkin seeds around the oven outside of the pan.

Or, you can just click on the video below and let your parrot enjoy.

How to enjoy a leftover Halloween Pumpkin