Birdie Bread Question

[Vamppire]

I made some birdie bread using pellets and veggies and corn bread mix and I'm not sure if I did it wrong or if my bird just doesn't like it. I've tried feeding it a few times and it doesn't look like he takes much, though he tends to destroy it a little. I'm just confused because it's very crumbly and I'm not sure really HOW he would eat it, as most of the things he likes are foods he can grab with his feet or really get a good bite on.

 

Since it's not a favorite food of his, I can't actually stand there and watch to see if he will eat it because if I'm there he just is too excited to eat lol! I'm just going by how the bowl looks later. I don't know, maybe he is eating it and the remains are just in the bowl instead of all over the bottom of the cage like the food he grabs lol :cool:

 

Anyway, is it that crumbly for everyone else? How does your bird eat it, does he peck away at it or did I bake it wrong and it should be something he can hold on to and eat?

 

Thanks!

[Birdnut]

Hmmm. Maybe I'm just lazy, but I use the Harrison's birdie bread mix and then maybe add a few extras. The resulting product is not all that crumbly; I think they are able to hold a piece with their foot. It's kind of expensive, but I make up the whole batch and then freeze them and serve it now and then as a treat. Most of the birds like it pretty well.

[Greywings]

Hard to say about your with out watching you make it. I use very little corn meal in mine and I make huge batches for the Sanctuary birds on the weekends - baking for over 100 birds. To make it moist I soak the pellets and any dry ingredients like an organic 5-grain cereal mix, dried unsweetened coconut shreds ect. for about 10 minutes in unsweetened Coconut juice and what ever other unsweetened unsalted juice I have around, then stir in 8-12 eggs chopped fresh fruit & veggies all dark green, red, yellow or orange. I add some Red Palm oil Tapioca flour, Garbonzo bean flour, powdered or fresh shredded Ginger, red Pepper flakes and dried Safflower blossoms for flavoring. Lastly I add some cornmeal chopped Walnuts, almonds and if I can Pine nuts this makes a very nutrient dense moist birdy bread that I bake on Parchement paper on cookie sheets. In the winter I add some shredded Mozzarella for the extra fats as these birds are out of doors. Fruits & Veggies I often use are seasonal Papaya, Mango, Apple, Peaches, Pomegranite, Kale, Peppers, Mustard Greens, Turnip and Beets tops and bottoms, Banana you get the idea.

[Vamppire]

Hmmm... thanks for the suggestions! I will experiment a bit.

[judygram]

I have never made any birdie bread but I might just have to try it, seems adding some veggies or something with moisture in it would help keep it from being so crumbly.

[danmcq]

Great suggestions on the birdie bread mix. We use Harrison's as well and "Add to it" with some RPO, Walnuts, corn kernels etc. Both our birds love it.

 

Just experiment. It does take a while for a bird to decide if they really like something or not. Also, there are always a pile of small crumbs everywhere from anything they eat like that.

[GorgASS]

not sure if this will help but when i first made my bird bread it ended up crumbling really bad when i cut it, so i tried baking it in mini muffin pans and that worked out really well. and they're the perfect size too!