Hagen parrot food

[Owlet]

So I hadn't heard of this food before seeing it posted on a facebook page and I decided to check it out. Almost all of them were corn based which was a red flag for me considering this was an eclectus facebook page but I was able to find an "alternative formula" at the very bottom that doesn't have corn. Except it has "maple sugar" ? Is that normal for parrot food? Is it not what I think it is because I am really confused on why sugar was put into a parrot food?

https://usa.hagen.com/Bird/Nutrition/Extruded/80555

 

[Kiwibird]

I am really confused on why sugar was put into a parrot food?

https://usa.hagen.com/Bird/Nutrition/Extruded/80555

Because it encourages the parrot to eat the food. Sugar is frequently added to parrot food to make it more appealing (these are natural fruit eaters after all). Maple sugar is simply a healthier option than refined sugar. It is also pretty far down the list, meaning it's a fairly minor ingredient that wouldn't make up a large portion of the food.

It is a lot of extra effort/hassle, but a fresh foods based diet ensures nothing you don't feel comfortable with your parrot consuming is in their diet. Though, I occasionally use maple or agave syrup in bird bread and am likely going to use it as I experiment to create a juice pulp "chips" recipe for Kiwi.