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Now I do need to confess something, about 2014-ish I adopted a cockatiel. He's been alternately a joy and a pain (depending on his mood) and is very adept at human-training. Anyhow, my Lord and Commander, has recently started learning that the food humans eat can be pretty yummy. He is always more interested in the food I am physically eating instead of his own personal portion on his cage top. Of course I shamelessly exploit this by making meals that are both human and parrot friendly and have been having some unprecedented successes. Matters came to a head one morning when I came out to eat my dinner and found him perched on the edge of my bowl, beak deep in my soup. But that's another story. So....whilst combing through Pintrest I came upon a new recipe that sounded interesting and yummy: Congee (or jook) which is a Chinese rice porridge. Basically it is a cup of rice cooked in 10 cups of water and with some sort of meaty bone, garlic and a piece of ginger over a long period (90 minutes on stove top but I cooked mine 8 hours on low heat in the slow cooker). I'm in love with this dish! So easy, cheap, delicious and endlessly customize-able. It has become my go-to after third shift dinner (aka daywalker's breakfast). Where has this been all my life! My Lord was initially skeptical about my meal but did try it. He LOVED it and I again ended up fending off a beak on a mission. Now, I wasn't able to find any definitive information regarding the suitability of the dish (in its most basic form, the rice, water, and a bone-in chicken breast...no garlic or ginger) for parrots. What is the opinion on continuing to provide this with other parrot healthy vegetable and grain and seed additions for my benevolent tyrant?

FEED ME!!!

Oh Maggie, my heart goes out to both of you. As I've learned myself, getting older takes guts, prayer, and perseverance. Prayers for you both.

How to tell if a Cockatiel has been inbred too much? All 'tiels "have a bare spot" under their "tiel" the larger the bare spot, the more they have been inbred

Hi old friend...The Lutino was one of the first "Color bred 'tiels" and everyone cross bred them so much their gene is everywhere, Your other 'tiels are also color bred but not as much as Latino's. Here's a favorite web site of mine, I've never been a member but have trolled them tor years. http://www.cockatielcottage.net/

Hi Jay The one thing I noticed with my tiels is the bald spot on the top of the head of my lutinos,. this is common with that mutation. My pearls and Pieds not so much

Thank you sweetheart, Old friend...Jayd and Maggie

Thank you, Maggie, for the update. I have waiting to hear. Love ans prayers, Howardine

To eat or not to eat....What to feed our fids... Our personal feelings are to feed a basic diet and then supplement that with other bird-safe foods...By feeding a basic diet, you make it easier for you and your FID...it cuts down on the worry of spoilage, it guarantees a basic foundation of nutritious diet, and you supplement this with other safe foods. The order of feeding: Base Diet: Safflower seed based mix or pellets (Volkman's Safflower Cockatiel Blend, Harrison's Pellets) Lots of green leafy vegetables Carrots (parboiled to bring out nutrients) Nuts daily- (a couple of almonds, walnuts, pistachios) Note: Only feed human-grade unsalted roasted peanuts (no raw) Beans and legumes Sweet potatoes/yams Food items two-three times a week: Hard-boiled egg with shells White potatoes (no eyes) Chicken breast and leg/wing bones, albacore no-salt tuna/salmon/cod, Lightly on garbanzo/chickpeas Organic salt-free peanut butter White Rice (white rice is processed, removing some of the arsenic) Raw or cooked pastas Fruits: A parrot, especially a Cockatiel, needs very little fruit. A couple pieces a day no bigger than their head is good for any parrot. Pomegranates, grapes with seeds, papaya/mango, etc. Fruit is 99% sugar with very little nutrients and goes right through them. These are just examples... Here is a reason why you shouldn't feed too much rice... '...when it comes to arsenic the less nutritional white rice is better than brown. The carcinogen is most prevalent in the outer layers of the grain and white rice is polished removing some of those layers. Consumer Reports suggests rice eaters limit themselves to one serving a day, especially for babies. Rinsing and then boiling rice in a 6 to 1 water ratio removes about 30 percent of its arsenic. They also caution that children under the age of 5 should not be given rice drinks as part of their daily diet.' http://abcnews.go.com/Health/arsenic-rice-report-finds-worrisome-levels/story?id=17267872 Example: Don't feed sunflower seeds to a cockatiel. I have proven it to myself and have researched it on the net, that sunflower seeds make cockatiels ornery (Hyper). By all means, share and feed from the table...give them that occasional no-no...and stay away from known bad foods. If you suspect something, err on the side of caution and don't feed it. Major piece of advice...The bird's droppings are a major way to see how well they're eating and doing....study Poopology 101... Will add to this when brain is less fuzzy...

Sounds very much like a broth to me. With no added salt I'd let them have at it!

Yes please look at all of the very real Bad going on in the World today this is a tempest in a teapot. We have Maria a very dangerous storm in the Caribbean, a large destructive Earth Quake in Mexico with many collapsed buildings injuries and death lets keep it real folks. Many still recovering from last weeks Earth Quake Irma and Harvey more than hurt feelings there. After a long ban I am happy they are back hope we can all co-exist and share our love for these feathered souls.

Jay and I both thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Jay is not doing very well. He has developed some short-term memory problems (expected) so whenever he can't remember, he researches again with my help. Example: I can be typing and am being told when I finished, he had something else to add but when I am done, he cannot remember for quite a while what he wanted to say. It frustrates him...the same goes when he talks to the doctor. He turns to me numerous times during the conversations and tells me to tell the doctor what happened since he forgot. Things are changing....will keep you all updated. Luv, Maggie