RobertsKitty Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Hi everyone! I am just kind of curious what you feed your Grey. I know everyone has their own general ideas as to when, what and how much they give their Greys. Anyway, I was just hoping a few people could post a sampling of what their Grey's eat? Thanks, Kitty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Josey eats a little oatmeal cooked in the microwave, then I add a little baby food, like carrots, sweet potatoes or squash, to it with a little of red palm oil for breakfast. I fill her bowl in the cage with a few seeds, some dried fruits and nuts, dry pasta and maybe some cereal like small shredded wheat biscuits. I put different kinds of veggies in another bowl or hang a kabob with veggies on it in the cage for her to snack on during the day. She has another bowl with pellets in it and another bowl with fresh water. She eats whatever I am having off my plate at the evening meal, except for the forbidden foods. You will find a list of those in one of the threads. That is pretty much it, if I snack on popcorn or something I be sure to give her some, she loves it. Others might give you some other ideas and suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertsKitty Posted August 3, 2007 Author Share Posted August 3, 2007 Very Fun. Sounds like a nice well rounded diet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 She seems to enjoy it, and the Harrison's High Potency pellets are the best to feed a grey, by the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lidia Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Joshua's staple is seed-based, and he gets a good mix with seeds, nuts, pulses, some pellets and dried fruits in it. Around that, he gets some porridge in the morning, a piece of toast (with butter). When he goes into his cage for the day, he has a large bowl of mixed salad leaves and herbs, some fresh peas, beans, carrots, berries, sometimes grapes, orange, apple and whatever else I have that's fresh. He also sometimes get pasta (usually with bolognese sauce), some fat-free meat and the occasional small piece of raw steak (from which he sucks all the blood and then discards the meat ... eeeew!). As with Judy, I also give him snacks from time to time, keeping the salt and fat content low. In the evening, he has some of whatever I am having for dinner, and that's about it. The fresh content varies from day to day and I think a seed-based diet is as healthy as a pellet-based one, so long as you get the overall balance right. Joshua has been healthy on the diet I give him for over eighteen years. He gets a bowl of hot water in the morning with his breakfast, and then I top it up with cold water throughout the day.<br><br>Post edited by: Lidia, at: 2007/08/03 18:12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Lidia, may I ask why you give Joshua hot water in the morning? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lidia Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 Judy, it's only so he feels he's having a cup of tea while I'm having my morning cup of tea. He associates the kettle boiling with a "cup of tea", and it seems to cheer him up if his cup gets filled the same way mine does. In case you're worried about him burning himself on boiling water, don't! I make my cup of tea and his cup of tea and then we go and I have my shower, and he sits on the rail. By the time we come back both his and my tea are at a tepid drinkable temperature. No burnt beaks or lips here!<br><br>Post edited by: Lidia, at: 2007/08/03 20:03 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 And I assume he enjoys that warm water too, LOL, what we do for our greys. Don't worry, I never thought you would give him hot, hot water, just curious. Thanks for the reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lidia Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 No, you were so right to point it out! What if some poor unsuspecting newbie saw it and thought it was okay to broil their parrot's beak? Yikes. :blush:<br><br>Post edited by: Lidia, at: 2007/08/03 20:09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 And you are probably right, that is why we have so many warnings on everything anymore, those people who won't take responsibility for their own actions.:ohmy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertsKitty Posted August 4, 2007 Author Share Posted August 4, 2007 Wow those both sound like wonderful diets! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lidia Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 Robert, If you just vary your AGs diet, give it as much variety as you have in yours, and lots of fresh fruit and vegetables (except mushrooms and avocados and apple seeds), it will be just fine! It's not complicated, whatever you keep in the house is fine, and then the staple element, be it pellets or seeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pryde Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 My breeder started Pryde out on a seed based diet, a lot like Joshua's. I plan on introducing Harrison's and use it as an additive, but not replace the seed. I wsa getting worried that she wasn't eating enough, but she seemed to start munching down this morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 A lot of avian vets recommend the Harrison's pellets and they are an organic blend, they cost a little more than other brands but I think it is worth it if it is so highly recommended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertsKitty Posted August 4, 2007 Author Share Posted August 4, 2007 I will probably have to start mine on Zupreem. I will try Harrisons but since I would have to pay shipping and all I don't know if I'll have the money I need to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest briansmum Posted August 5, 2007 Share Posted August 5, 2007 brian gets a mixture of cereal, sunflower seeds, pellets and zupreem fruit blend for breakfast, with fruit juice flavoured water. then he gets various veggies for lunch and then his fruit for dinner. he has harrisons pellets in his dish all day and also gets bits of whatever we're eating. and obviously i empty the fruitjuice water out and he gets fresh normal water for the rest of the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertsKitty Posted August 5, 2007 Author Share Posted August 5, 2007 Wow sounds cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makena Posted August 6, 2007 Share Posted August 6, 2007 I have a few questions for you guys... I noticed someone said they give meat to their bird. For some reason my fiance seems to think that isn't ok, I am not sure why. I told him I have been reading about people doing it and it is fine but he still says no. Any thoughts? He also seems to think giving dairy to birds is bad. Any thoughts on that as well? I am so happy to hear about people giving them foods off their plates as I have been doing this each night. I find it is really helping to learn what Makena likes. I found he is a HUGE fans of peas! We are happy about this as we have been trying to sneak veggies in his diet. Also the other night I handed him a small piece of a french fry and he went crazy. He was trying to fly on my plate to get more! As they were salted I only allowed him the one small piece. He seems to really like crunchy things like croutons, popcorn, romaine lettuce, toasted bread, etc. We have some really healthy wheat bread that I like to toast for sandwiches. I will break him off a piece and he loves it! We are still learning what he likes and love hearing about what everyone else feeds their birds!! Keep it up!! Thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lidia Posted August 6, 2007 Share Posted August 6, 2007 Hi Makena, Welcome to the Flock! It is me who gives the bird occasional meat. In fact, in pellet-based diets, protein is a part of the recipe, but a seed-based diet can often be deficient in some proteins that omniverous birds (like parrots) need, and thus a small amount of meat is quite beneficial to them. My parrot, Joshua, is eighteen years old and I have had him since he was about four months old. I do occasionally give him meat (raw and cooked) and he seems to enjoy sucking the juice out, then he discards the meat. I don't know why your fiance thinks it is problematic. Mind you, I certainly wouldn't give Joshua fatty meat or pork (which can sometimes have parasites that are not killed in the cooking process). Your fiance is somewhat right about dairy products. Parrots are lactose intolerant. However, a small amount, as an occasional treat, is not going to do any harm. But you certainly don't want to be letting your bird drink a lot of milk or eat a lot of cheese, even if you think they need a calcium boost. There are other ways to get calcium into your bird's system, via dark green leafy vegetables such as turnip greens, mustard greens, kale, dandelion greens (or rocket), broccoli, collard greens, kohlrabi, endive, watercress, bak choy and brussels sprouts. However, there is ONE dairy product that is actively beneficial to parrots, and that is low-fat yoghurt with live cultures. Even so, you have to use this as a 'treat' and not as part of the bird's staple diet. Eh, that's about all I can come up with for the moment. If I think of anything else, I'll add more.<br><br>Post edited by: Lidia, at: 2007/08/05 21:13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makena Posted August 6, 2007 Share Posted August 6, 2007 Thank you so much Lidia! I don't really know why he thinks it is problematic either... I think at one point someone told him it wasn't a good idea and now it is stuck in his brain. I will work on converting him What about tofu as a source of protein? We eat a lot of it around here... I have tried giving him a small piece and he wasn't interested, but I figure if I was to cut it up into small pieces and mix it in with other foods he might eat it! That makes sense about the yogurt as yogurt is relatively low in lactose due to the cultures consuming it. Another question is mushrooms (ones that are fit for human consumption)... Are they actually dangerous to birds or just not recommended? Ahhh... so much to learn. It is funny because I am a Food Scientist and my fiance is a Nutritionist. Unfortunately we "specialize" in people and are trying to learn as much as we can about healthy eating for our little Makena! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lidia Posted August 6, 2007 Share Posted August 6, 2007 Mushrooms = bad. Tofu = good. However (isn't there always one!), tofu is very bland to taste and they like quite tasty stuff (which is why they are attracted by the same bad stuff as us). If you can get your AG to eat tofu, let me know how you do it! Joshua won't touch the stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted August 6, 2007 Share Posted August 6, 2007 I am another one that feeds her grey some meat, especially chicken. She has also eaten deer and bear meat, and likes that also. I don't give her a lot of it but she usually gets it off my plate. I haven't tried tofu, I don't eat it myself so I am not going to give it to her, I don't even bring it into the house. I am going to try giving her some yogurt, and see how she likes that, but cheese is her favorite and my hubby runs to get it first so he can feed it to her to gain some attention from her, otherwise she avoids him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makena Posted August 6, 2007 Share Posted August 6, 2007 Thanks for more good advice! You what I was just thinking... As a food scientist I do nutrition label development for food companies. If there is anyone on this board that would like to know the nutrition facts of their homemade grey foods I could easily run an analysis. All I would need is a recipe and I could tell you results based on FDA standards. And I could calculate it out into whatever serving size you want! I do it all the time for meals I make! If I am making lasagna or something and want to know the nutrition facts I just plug it in! Just something I can bring to the board! Let me know if anyone has any recipes they are interested in finding info about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted August 6, 2007 Share Posted August 6, 2007 Makena, how interesting, and we really do have a diverse group of members, in all walks of life with an assortment of professions. Yes I may be curious about some of the things I fix to know what the analysis would be, especially from the birds nutritional needs. Thanks for the offer, you may be inundated with so many requests you may not be able to comply with all of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lidia Posted August 6, 2007 Share Posted August 6, 2007 judygram wrote: She has also eaten deer and bear meat, and likes that also. Wow! Judy, that sounds very exotic. I have always wondered what bear meat is like. Can you describe it? What sort of bears are you talking about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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