Pyroe87 Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 Hi Everyone again , just another post but not in the welcome room as i thought this room would be more appropriate being as its food related . Ok so after much research, when i get my baby (hopefully in the new year) i'm not sure where to begin on feeding. I'm looking into pellets, fruit, veg and the occasional nuts (possibly as treats and training), but i cant find anywhere with approx amounts to be feeding as i dont want to overfeed or underfeed and how many times a day they should be fed . What do you feed your greys on, how much and how often? Also if you feed pellets which brand would you recommend and which would you not. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 Pellets, nuts, seeds and veggies you can give all you want. NO need to ration. Fruits you will only want to give a little bit a few times a week. Otherwise their poop will become very loose and watery. There's no harm in that, but it is pretty messy. Pellets, if you so desire to try and get your grey on them are mainly which they will actually eat. Zupreem fruity blend and Harrison's Coarse are the most common seen offered on this forum. We offer both to our parrots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyroe87 Posted November 20, 2009 Author Share Posted November 20, 2009 Hi Dan, Thanks for the advice. When you say feed fruit a few times a week, would i do a small amount of a variety in one go (eg. apple, bananna, etc, etc) a few times a week to find out likes and dislikes or do one piece of fruit on one day, then another different fruit on another day? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 A variety is fine to see likes and dislikes. But, one thing you should know. Most will eat one or two types today and perhaps different ones 3 days from now. The same goes with veggies. So I usually dice up veggies and fruits all mixed together on the days I give fruit. Sometimes there are 4 different veggies and 2 or 3 different fruit types. Our Grey will of course eat the fruit first then start on the veggies. Just like a kid, no control. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casper Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 Just a thought, are you getting your baby from a breeder? You could ask them to wean your baby on to the preferred diet you would like, it would make things easier for you to get your baby to eat pellets etc.. Mine all eat Harrisons Potency coarse, seed, Zupreem fruiblend. They have a variety of mixed fruit when I feed it, veggies, pulses and pasta. It can be trial and error to find out foods your baby will like, the trick is to keep offering and be patient. I bet you cant wait to get your new baby:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JillyBeanz Posted November 20, 2009 Share Posted November 20, 2009 Hi Jenny - if you get your baby from John at Parrot Care he weans them all on Kaytee. He will give you fact sheets and things to help you with the feeding and health process. You'll soon find you discard everything he says anyway and take guidance from this lot! That's how Harvey is so happy and healthy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyroe87 Posted November 23, 2009 Author Share Posted November 23, 2009 Hiya all, sorry not replied for a few days, but thanks for all the advice. Jill, yep i'm getting my baby from John after Xmas sometime in Jan :laugh: and i cant wait!! It just seems to long away but after Xmas will be the best time (as renovations will be near complete and Xmas family hol will be out of the way as i've read its not good to go away in the first year of having a parrot - but i dont go abroad so he/she will come with me wherever i go . Back to food again though, i've been trying to get an idea of portion sizes to feed per day and came across this as a recommended daily guidance: • Vegetables 30% • Legumes 20% • Pellets 20% • Seeds/Nuts 15% • Fruits 10% • Grains 5% What are your views on this and how much would this be in weight as i dont know what 30%, 10% etc looks like. If you know weights or portion sizes this would help me visualise this better. Sorry to be a pain!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JillyBeanz Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Unless you're a maths genius you'll never get the percentages! It's a learning curve - you throw a bit of that in, and a touch of that and offer a bowl of this! You will find the happy medium yourself. You will see what your baby eats and doesn't eat and know to up the amounts (apart from the seed as he/she will definitely scoff that first!!). Harvey loves broccoli and spinach and eats it all up - so I give him more. He'll then eat so many pellets and then eat a bit seed. You'll find the happy medium - relax, don't worry!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyroe87 Posted November 23, 2009 Author Share Posted November 23, 2009 Hi Jill, no probs basically it's trial and error for the first couple of days to see how much they eat then and either add more or less til i get the right balance? How are you managing moving Harvey onto Harrisons Pellets?? Are you winning him over ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Anything that's dry ( pellets--seed--parrot mix) should be left in the cage all the time. When bowls are empty, refill them. Greys and other parrots don't eat breakfast, lunch and supper. They eat all day when they feel like it which is normal. Any wet foods ( veggies, fruits) can be left in the bowl for a few hrs until they get soggy. It's like you eating salad that's starting to go bad in the fridge. If you wanna start finding out which fruit your bird likes, handfeed different kinds. Most greys don't eat a large variety of veggies and fruits. Some do, many don't. Greys aren't prone to getting obese. When ill, they can lose weight.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/11/22 20:47 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JillyBeanz Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Pyroe87 wrote: How are you managing moving Harvey onto Harrisons Pellets?? Are you winning him over ? Honestly? I gave up! He just won't eat it - I have tried and tried and he just won't eat it! I bought the first bag in July and I just kept throwing it out - the bowl was totally untouched!!! I bought the second bag at the start of October - and he didn't touch it again. Waste of time and effort!!! He will eat the Kaytee - so I guess I will leave him with it - he's happy. He eats loads of veg - there's not much he will refuse - I guess I am lucky in that respect - as Dave says - not a lot do! He's actually sitting here with a broccoli floret at the top of my door chewing away (the broccoli - not the door!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyroe87 Posted November 23, 2009 Author Share Posted November 23, 2009 Thanks again everyone posting, i think i've got round my food confusion - im now stealing all the recipies so i can get cooking come january - thanks to everyone posting in their - top idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyroe87 Posted November 23, 2009 Author Share Posted November 23, 2009 JillyBeanz wrote: Pyroe87 wrote: How are you managing moving Harvey onto Harrisons Pellets?? Are you winning him over ? Honestly? I gave up! He just won't eat it - I have tried and tried and he just won't eat it! I bought the first bag in July and I just kept throwing it out - the bowl was totally untouched!!! I bought the second bag at the start of October - and he didn't touch it again. Waste of time and effort!!! He will eat the Kaytee - so I guess I will leave him with it - he's happy. He eats loads of veg - there's not much he will refuse - I guess I am lucky in that respect - as Dave says - not a lot do! He's actually sitting here with a broccoli floret at the top of my door chewing away (the broccoli - not the door!!) :laugh: lol - i can actually picture him sitting with his brocolli - he sounds absolutely adorable. I might look at converting mine to Harrisons once he/she has settled in, but i can see them being as cheeky as Harvey and i'll let them keep the Kaytee :lol: I'll let you know what happens if i do lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
particle77 Posted November 28, 2009 Share Posted November 28, 2009 The jan/2010 issue of bird talk has an article titled "Grey Menu" which I found informative. In particular its the first article I've found that discussed Grey's having higher protein requirements than many parrots. It recommended using a pellet with about 18% protein, which from my research would be Harrison's High Potency, or Kaytee(Roudybush and Zupreem, which are the 2 I'm currently using have 11% and 14%). So, I'll be attempting to switch to Harrison's as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyroe87 Posted December 15, 2009 Author Share Posted December 15, 2009 Hi Particle That's quite interesting, i'll definately be keeping to one of the 2. I was dissapointed to discover my local pet shop dont stock either but with the web at my fingertips this wont be too bad. There are several different types of Kaytee Pellets if im right? So is is just this brand that has the high levels or will it be all of them? Many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
particle77 Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 I'm not sure which kaytee pellets I looked at. It lists the protien content on the bag. Earl is on Harrison's at this point, and seems happy with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katana600 Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 Juno has only been home a little over a month, so we are still in the experimental stages with food. Our breeder was great at getting him started with lots of veggies, fruits and a couple of different types of pellets. She also cooked beans, sprouted and gave cooked grains. It has taken me a little bit to figure out what to fix, how much etc. and I have thrown quite a bit away, but am getting it sorted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyroe87 Posted December 16, 2009 Author Share Posted December 16, 2009 Thanks for the advice, my breeder does a start off food pack so i'll have a look at the protein levels the the pellets and go from here. How is Juno settling in? I cant wait for my turn . I've been told its a lot of trial and error with feeding - have you seen the recepies on here? They look great and I cant wait to try some out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now