TONS of Diet Questions

[RobertsKitty]

Ok. I know a TON about Greys from everything I have learned on this forum. My only confusion is diet. I want to make sure my Grey is as happy and healthy as I am totally unhealthy (kidding) so here we go:

 

1. I know pellets are better than seeds as a base in the diet. That being said should parrots get a small mix of seeds in their pellets or fresh food and if so about how much?

 

2. I live in an area where organic in the sense of no pesticides and such is pretty much NOT an option unless you want to pay huge amounts for fairly low quality food. That being said is there a way to make normal Walmart brand produce safe for bird consumption?

 

3. What are some of the MAIN fruits and veggies that should be fed for nutritional value?

 

4. Should a bird be fed more than the morning and evening feeding? Pellets are left in all the time but veggies and fruit go bad quickly. How long should they be left in the cage?

 

5. I am not much of a cook. What are good ways to serve food in new and interesting ways to help hold the parrots interest in its health food?

 

6. How often should dairy be served. Eggs boiled for 30 minutes and left then dried should be served how often? How often should egg shells be given?

 

7. What are the best treats for birds?

 

8. Peanuts: Good or Bad?

 

9. What are the best beans to serve and how should they be prepared?

 

The questions just keep coming!!

 

10. I hear talk of giving birds 'cereal'? What is this exactly?

 

11. What kind of grains should greys be given?

 

12: Meat? I know they can eat it but how much how often? My husband eats alot of chicken. Is it ok to just give it one kind of meat?

 

13. Cuttle bone? Bad, Good?

 

14. Sunflower seeds. I plan on growing sunflowers because they thrive in the climate here and are very pretty. Is it safe to feed the greys the seeds off of the plant?

 

15. Whole wheat bread? Good or bad?

 

Umm..I think that is it for now...More later I'm sure...

[loviechick]

ok here goes....

 

1. I am pretty hardcore about seeds as I've seen what bad they did for a bird, man I am always talking about bad stuff huh? Anyway my birds get seeds as treats. Nutriberries, avicakes etc. Other than that they don't get very much maybe a teaspoon of a seed mix, mixed in with about a cup of pellets. I use Pretty bird African blend and both my Greys go crazy for it.

 

2. I get almost all my bird stuff at Walmart. They do have an organic, albeit small collection there, and I do buy them there. and this is just a thought, you can also grow quiet a bit of good stuff for them. I grow all sorts of herbs for them, along with jalepenos, cherry tomatoes, and bell peppers, and they're all in pots so they don't take up much room, AND I know they're organic!

 

3. Anything orange is some of the best stuff for greys as it has lots of calcium and vitamin D which helps with the absorption of the sun. Sweet potatoes(yams) carrots, squashes, and here's a treat they will love. Take a small mini pumpkin at halloween time, poke a bunch of holes in it, and I mean a bunch unless you wanna be cleaning for a while and pop in it the microwave for about a minute in a bowl. it will turn all squishy and my birds go nuts for it! Obviously greens are good too, broccoli be careful with though as it can cause a lot of blockage with them absorbing nutrients and can compact them from what I understand. Sugar snap peas are always good, corn and potatoes, I'm yet to meet a bird that doesn't like those. Also eggs are good too. a mix that I make for my birds that they usually eat most of it is I scramble some eggs, mix in a bit of potato, carrot slivers/chips, red, orange, and green bell peppers, with some jalepeno and oatmeal. It's kinda like a kitchen sink dinner, but they have to forage through a lot of it, and end up eating stuff that they normally wouldn't have ate!

 

4. I go home at lunch and put out fresh food for my birds. Mine eat super early in the morning I've noticed like before I'm even awake, then in the afternoon, and a bit in the evening. I personally in the morning give them oatmeal, something that won't go bad if it sits for a while. Then at lunch I go home and give them the fresh stuff, most of it is gone by the time I get home from work. I know most people don't live so close to their work that this is feasible, BUT I personally don't like leaving fresh stuff sitting 8 hours, so I do it in the evening, and mine all seems fine with it!

 

5. You can buy birdy mixes like beak appetite. It's a seed pasta oat mix kinda thing and you just boil it up with water, and it freezes great. I put them in tupperware containers pre portioned to last a week, and I just scoop and serve. The nice thing is it has a lot of good stuff in it, so if you're busy/don't have time or whatever you can just zap it in the microwave and serve. Or you can cut up some fruits and veggies and add it to there along with eggs or whatnot. This is my preference being that I live alone and work full time, however it may be different when you get married and have someone else around that can help take care of your pet!

 

6. I will break up eggshells when I cook eggs about every other time. A lot of people really push the calcium thing with these birds, but honestly giving them pellets and fresh stuff, they will majority of the time get what they need. If you jsut feed them seed, then obviously they're not going to get it! I feed all mine eggs about twice a week!

 

7. All my birds are FICKLE about their treats. My Senegal loves anythign banana, so she gets banana chips, she is also the ONLY ONE that likes banana flavored anything, :sigh:. Both my Greys love peanuts and almonds in or out of the shell. Red, my older grey LOVES avicakes, so that is her reward treat cause she goes so bonkers for them. Nutriberries are good too. I also give dried fruit to my birds, just don't forget to check and make sure it doesn't have SO2 (sulfur dioxide) in it, its a preservative thats bad for birds.

 

8. Peanuts in the shell have a bacteria, someone help me on the name, but is has a nitrogen fixing bacteria that grows on them that isn't really good for birds. My birds still get peanuts in the shell, but not often, maybe a few a week!

 

9. As far as beans, I don't serve many unless they come in the bulk mixes that I buy. chick peas are good, same with pinto beans, kidney beans.

 

10. I would assume the cereal is similar to the mix I described above in one of the answers. I love it! also you can give your birds baby food. yo ucan mix it in with oatmeal and the good thing is since its a runny texture they're more likely to eat it!

 

11. For grains I serve a lot of oatmeal and bits of organic bread. Barley, and other stuff sold in bulk is ok as long as theres no SO2.

 

12. I don't serve a lot of meat. All mine but my picky P.I.T.A. Conure will try most anything. tuna is a hit here, along with chicken. I've never fed much red meat. I give my birds turkey roll ups too and those are a big hit too! I take a bit of turkey and a wheat tortilla and make a tiny roll up that they can hold onto, they usually disappear as quickly as I made them!

 

13. None of mine go near their cuttlebones. Some people will take theirs to a grater for just a bit of that calcium and sprinkle it over the food, usually just a pinch is fine.

 

14. I don't feed sunflower seeds except for treats. Mine all get maybe 10 sunflower seeds a week. I would assume it would be fine to give them from your plant. And you're right they are gorgeous!

 

15. I only eat whole wheat bread, and mine all love it!

[RobertsKitty]

Thank you SO much! I feel alot better having straight clear answers on diet! *scribbles down notes* I'll probably think of more questions later on but this is a wonderful base!!

 

Thanks again!

[judygram]

Gosh, Loviechick, I am impressed by your answers, you certainly know your stuff, and I think we all can use the information you gave to Kitty on what to feed and not feed our greys. Thanks so much for all your ideas, and keep up the good work.

[RobertsKitty]

Ok a few things:I just need to know good or bad on these.

 

Whole Grain Bread with alittle butter?

Things like chicken nuggets or fish sticks that you cook at home?

Fried food?

 

Just kinda curious on those. Thankies!

 

How about home made smoothies containing alot of needed veggies and a few strong tasting fruits to hide the veggies taste?<br><br>Post edited by: RobertsKitty, at: 2007/08/06 23:21

[judygram]

Whole grain bread with just a little butter is ok. I would not offer the fried foods much, too much fat in them.

 

Smoothies without dairy products and sugar would be fine too.

 

Next question?:laugh: :laugh:

[loviechick]

Whole grain bread should be fine. I won't feed my birds butter as its just too fattening for them. Now bread with a bit of peanut butter is ok, BUT only as a treat once in a while. Usually I say if its bad for me it might be bad for the birds. They key is try to stay as natural as possible. If it is made with a machine or is too "man made" like butter, I won't feed it. Contrary though pellets are an made, but specifically for birds, not for humans.

 

Fried foods are NO NO. Now I will give my birds a french fry IF I have baked it, but even then we're talking maybe 2-3 fries a year. And here's some food for thought. If I don't know exactly what I'm eating in fish sticks or chicken nuggets I won't give it to my birds. There are so many fillers(as we've all learned from the recent articles in the paper involving the chinese etc) For instance, I just went and grabbed a bag of frozen chicken strips in my fridge. Here's the ingredients that I do know: Boneless chicken breast, chicken broth. Heres the ingredients I don't know: Sodium phosphates(actually I know what these are from all my chem classes) salt and "natural flavor", dextrose(a sugar) oleoresin paprika and annatto, xanthum gum. Then it says they are set in oil. I'm sorry but I probly shouldn't be eating let alone my Grey. My rule of thumb is if I don't know what EVERY ingredient is, I won't feed it.

 

You could try smoothies....I haven't noticed much success with really watery things. I noticed though that if its the consistency of oatmeal let's say or thicker that they're more prone to eat it! You'd be better off getting a cheap food processor and just getting everything finely chopped so that it still has a really good texture, but also it gets the pieces small enough to where they can't really pick them out, and in order to eat that chunk of strawberry, they're gonna have to eat that piece of carrot too! B)

[RobertsKitty]

My parents make a 'health' smoothie that is about the consistence of baby food. It has lots of fruit and veggies and no dairy to my knowledge I might ask them about the exact ingredients.

[RobertsKitty]

*waves for loviechick* I have a question!! lol

I found something from Kaytee called Kitchen Creations. You just cook and serve. Here is the full ingredients list.

Ingredients

Wheat Flour, Rolled Corn, Rolled Oat Groats, Pre-Cooked Kidney Beans, Pre-Cooked White Northern Beans, Pre-Cooked Rolled Navy Beans, Split Green Peas, Rice, Whole Corn, Dehydrated Carrot, Pre-Cooked Pinto Beans, Wrinkled Peas, Maple Peas, Dehydrated Sweet Potato, Ground Corn, Corn Gluten Meal, Ground Wheat, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Dehydrated Peppers, Calcium Carbonate, Dehydrated Spinach, Dehydrated Tomato, Dicalcium Phosphate, Wheat Middlings, Dried Beet Pulp, Corn Sugar, Salt, Corn Oil, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Brewers Dried Yeast, Wheat Germ Meal, Vitamin A Supplement, Choline Chloride, L-Lysine, Ferrous Carbonate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Manganous Oxide, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Oxide, DL-Methionine, Orange Oil, Anise Oil, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of vitamin K activity), Ethoxyquin (a preservative), Cholecalciferol (source of vitamin D3), Copper Oxide, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Calcium Iodate, Biotin, Dried Bacillus coagulans Fermentation Product, Dried Bacillus licheniformis Fermentation Product, Dried Bacillus subtilis Fermentation Product, Cobalt Carbonate, Sodium Selenite, Beta-Carotene, Artificial Color.

 

Is it any good?

 

Also what kind of beak appetite do you get normally?

[Guest Lidia]

Yes, karma to Lovie!

I was girding my loins to answer that long post, when you did it, and I breathed a sigh of lazy relief!

[RobertsKitty]

*continues to wave for lovie* lol Thanks for the shot Lidia. I should have posted 3 or 4 at a time

[judygram]

Any of the Beak Appetit is good for them, I think it comes in 6 or 7 different varieties so try them all and see which ones they prefer best.

[RobertsKitty]

Thankies! +Karma for you

[judygram]

Thanks, Kitty, same to you.

[Guest Lidia]

RobertsKitty wrote:

*continues to wave for lovie* lol Thanks for the shot Lidia. I should have posted 3 or 4 at a time

 

Ha! No shots there, Kitty! Just relief that someone answered your lonnnng list!:blush:

[RobertsKitty]

Yeah. I die have a TON of questions regarding diet. It was the only thing I wasn't really sure on. I have written 3 pages on it alone.

[judygram]

She wasn't kidding about the book.

[RobertsKitty]

Yeah...I'm up to 6 pages on diet. Not all full pages but still...

[loviechick]

well the beak appetite they have a nuts for alfredo one that my birds like, and a carribbean one thats good too. I would have to recommend though, they have like this beak appetite "sampler" thing that I've only seen it at theperchstore.net, if I found it somewhere else I would just get it where its cheaper but they have like 6 of the flavors, and instead of buying the huge packs you can figure out which ones that your bird(s) like! They have tons of flavors. None of mine seem to "prefer" one over the other.

 

The one you mentioned by Kaytee doesn't sound too bad, more or less the same as the beak appetite!

 

I'm going to post a new thread that has the numbers for free pellet samples, so go look for it! This way you can try different ones with your Grey or other birds for that matter and see what they like!