Most raptors eat a steady diet of meat, though the type of meat varies. Some raptors eat fish in the wild; others eat insects and small reptiles or mammals; others eat other birds. The diet your raptor is fed should be as close as possible to the diet it would eat in the wild. The time of day you feed your bird may vary, as may the frequency with which you feed it. Most raptors should be fed daily, though fat birds can go for a day or so without eating with little consequence. If you weigh your raptor daily, you can determine whether you are feeding it an appropriate amount of food at an appropriate interval. The time of day you feed your raptor can also vary depending which species of bird you have. Nocturnal raptors may do best when they are fed in the evening, and other birds should be fed during the day when they would be hunting were they living in the wild. No matter what time of day you choose to feed your raptor, you should establish a routine that does not vary, feeding every day at the same time.

Raptors should be fed whole prey items to ensure that they get proper nutrition. Depending on the size of the raptor, these may range from insects to mice, birds, or fish. When possible, it is best to feed your raptor prey items that have eaten a meal just prior to dying, as these often have more nutritional value for your bird. Often, these prey items may be frozen or purchased frozen and in bulk to eliminate frequent trips to a pet supply store. This can also eliminate the necessity to raise prey items yourself. Freezing prey items can aid in destroying diseases or parasites associated with the items. Prey items should be defrosted and fully warmed to the temperature they would be if they were alive before they are offered to the raptor. If a prey item is too large for your bird it should be cut up into appropriately sized pieces. Some keepers prefer to, if the prey item is known to have bones that splinter easily, crush the bones thoroughly with a mallet or hammer before offering the meal.

There is some controversy over whether raptors require the production of castings to maintain good health. Castings are material that is regurgitated by the raptor. Castings often contain fur, feathers, and bones which in the wild, can help determine what the raptor has been eating. Although some people maintain that casting formation is unnecessary for the bird's overall health, others believe that it is and can even be an important aspect of maintaining good mental as well as physical health. If you feed your raptor prey items from which skin and feathers have been removed, you may wish to place clean feathers and short fur in a container and roll prey items around in the mixture about once each week to allow your bird to produce castings. However, it is unclear that this procedure is necessary.

The type of prey that you feed your bird should reflect the type of prey it would eat in the wild. For example, a barn owl's diet would include more insects and mice, and a fish eagle's diet would consist almost entirely of fish. The size of the prey should also be appropriate to the bird. While larger raptors like condors may accept very large prey items, smaller birds like Kookaburras may find lizards like geckos to be much more manageable.

Nutritional deficiencies tend to be common problems with captive raptors. Rickets is especially common in birds that are fed cuts of meat rather than whole animals. Although most raptors will receive complete nutrition from a whole - prey diet, some people wish to offer their animals nutritional supplements. However, if a raptor already has a complete diet, it can suffer from over supplementation. An exception may be made for raptors that normally eat fish. Freezing and defrosting fish can deplete natural thiamine levels, and thiamine supplements may become necessary. Vitamin A deficiencies are also commonly seen in raptors that are not fed whole animal diets. Usually, feeding liver or cod liver oil as a supplement can help prevent this if your bird is not receiving a whole prey diet.

Although many raptors may be fed wild caught food, captive bred raptors that have been fed on "sterile" food all their lives may not be physically able to handle the bacteria in wild caught food as readily as other birds. Birds raised on wild caught food may have better resistance to certain bacteria or other diseases that can be present in wild prey items than captive bred and raised prey items.

It is good practice to not offer dead animals found in the wild to your raptor. Although some raptors regularly feed on carrion, in captivity many birds can be under conditions of restricted movement or stress. This can weaken their immune systems, and they may not have natural resistance to bacteria found in such carrion. Others, as previously mentioned, have little resistance to bacteria or other diseases that wild birds might have built up resistance to over their lifetime. Also, poisons that the carrion might have died from can poison your bird if it consumes a contaminated carcass. Because it is usually impossible to tell what animals found in the wild have died from, it is not advisable to offer them to your raptor.

Part Two - Housing	Part Four - Pro-Active Care
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