Newbie Questions -

[GT_Jacket]

Just trying to get my ducks in a row pending the arrival of our 1st CAG around mid July -

 

I'm planning on utilizing Harrison's High Potency for the pellet part of the diet.

Do you start with the "fine" size and work up to the "course" size or just start with "course"? How long does a 5lb bag typically last when feeding just one CAG? Do you dump what is leftover in their bowl each day or just add to it?

 

Any recommendations for seed mixes to compliment the pellets I have chosen (I'm in the US)? I think I would like a no-sunflower mix. Hoping to keep the sunflowers, nuts, etc as treats.

 

I have a dehydrator. Anybody dehydrate fruits for their CAG?

 

Baby Food - now I like this idea. What are some of the best ways to feed it?

 

Water bottles - are these just for smaller birds - any need with a CAG?

Cuttlebone - are these just for smaller birds - any need with a CAG?

 

Thanks,

Brett

[Dave007]

**Do you start with the "fine" size and work up to the "course" size or just start with "course"? How long does a 5lb bag typically last when feeding just one CAG? Do you dump what is leftover in their bowl each day or just add to it?**

 

You start off using the size for that type of parrot. It's a wise idea to give fresh food everyday. Yeah, dump it. Never put new food on top of old food. The old food has lots of things in and on it like dust. It'll last as long as your bird eats it. They all have different appetites and all have different amounts that they like to eat.

 

***I have a dehydrator. Anybody dehydrate fruits for their CAG?

 

Fruits and veggies contain moisture and that's the way it's fed. Machinery isn't used on bird food.

 

 

****Baby Food - now I like this idea. What are some of the best ways to feed it?****

 

I hope you're not getting an unweaned bird. You'll be making a big mistake. Weaning should be left to the breeder and a fully weaned bird is what's purchased and if it's weaned there's no need to give baby food. We have a section here about the perils and consequences of getting an unweaned bird.

 

Water bottles--I don't like them. Others do. I personally believe a bird should have fresh water at all times. Water in bottles doesn't stay fresh and a slight amount of calcium builds up in a bottle.Some birds like to put food in the water. Others like to dunk their heads in the water and the birds should be allowed to do all the natural things that it does.

 

Cuttlebone is fine. More than likely, he won't eat it but will use it as a sraping tool. I already told you about mineral blocks in your other post.

[GT_Jacket]

The bird will be fully weaned prior to coming home with us. I though I read where others might have used baby food veggies for their CAGs.

 

Fresh all around it is -

 

Any recommendations for seed mixes to compliment the pellets I have chosen (I'm in the US)? I think I would like a no-sunflower mix.

 

Thanks,

Brett

[judygram]

I have used some baby food veggies in some oatmeal I cooked for my birds, its one way to help get some veggies in their diet.

I feed the fine Harrisons to my grey, she seems to like it better than the coarse and she doesn't waste as much of it either.

[munch]

Judygram "I feed the fine Harrisons to my grey, she seems to like it better than the coarse and she doesn't waste as much of it either."

 

I've considered doing the same thing but followed the direction feeding Took the course because it's for greys but I do think that Took will like the fine so much better, as it is I have to break some of them and add water to soften- they are too big and hard for her but didnt have the courage to order the fine. Thank you for sharing your "digression," it's given me the support I needed to do the same!

[GT_Jacket]

I submitted this question on Harrisons web site - I will let you know what there response is. The "Dear Bird Guy:" part was automatically put into my question...

 

"Dear Bird Guy:

 

I would like to try both the high potency course and fine for my new CAG. Are they the same food just different sizes or is there composition different?

 

Thanks,

Brett"

[GT_Jacket]

Response from Harrison's Customer Service -

----------

Dear Brett,

 

Thank you for contacting Harrison's.

 

We recommend feeding High Potency Coarse as a year-round formula for African Grey's.

High Potency Coarse (was a link in the email)

Power Treats (was a link in the email)

 

Though the formulas differ slightly we have seen larger birds do very well on High Potency Fine while some owners feed the Coarse to smaller birds.

 

In an effort to save paper resources our Handbook is available for you online. Below I have listed the link for the handbook.

http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/handbook.pdf.

 

Some birds will readily eat Harrison’s while others may require a little help. If your bird exhibits resistance to conversion try the following tips:

http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/ourfoods/index.html

 

We thank you again for contacting Harrison's Bird Foods. Please let us know if you have any other questions.

 

Sincerely,

 

Bobby Pignato

Customer Service

Harrison's Bird Foods

[zandische]

I occasionally give my birds baby food (organic only, make sure it doesn't contain additives or extra sodium/sugar - I like Earth's Best) mixed in with dinner. They like winter squash and sweet potatoes best. Most of the time they get red palm oil though. By mixing it up with the food, it's a great way to get picky eaters to eat stuff they might avoid otherwise - when everything has the same taste, it's all good to eat I would highly recommend adding red palm oil on a daily or every other day basis - it's part of a Grey's natural diet and at least from personal observation, has a noticeable effect on feather condition, skin condition, mood, behavior, health and energy. (I give my grey's about 1/4 teaspoon a day or every other day)

 

I don't see a problem with dehydrating foods as treats. Banana chips are a good one to do and my birds love these. A dehydrator is used in raw diets to preserve enzymes in foods while removing the moisture that causes food to rapidly decompose. It's done using low heat over an extended period of time, or can be done the biblical way via sunlight on a 80+ degree day. I've made my birds "sprouted wheat cookies" via the sunlight method and they're great! Any of the bird cook & serve mixes, like Volkman's, use dehydrated vegetables. It's perfectly natural, although I wouldn't feed dehydrated vegetables over raw ones. The moisture in veggies & fruits is necessary for their diet. Maybe for making healthy treats and snacks though?

 

Also, I would highly encourage you to learn about sprouting. Sprouting is one of the best ways to give your bird optimum nutrition. I don't feed my birds pellets at all - they get fresh food, sprouts and a mash, mixed with red palm oil or baby food. It can be a little daunting to try sprouting, but it's pretty easy once you get the hang of it. There's a lot of good info at www.sproutpeople.com (I highly recommend the Easy Sprouter - I have 2 - one for me, one for the birds!) and their bird mixes are great!

[GT_Jacket]

Sprouting... I love the look of it.

 

From their web site -

"3 seed mixes: Big Bird, Middle Sized Bird and Lil' Bird.

Any mix will work for any bird - the names refer to the size of the seeds not the size of the bird."

 

Do you have a preferred mix out of the 3?

 

Since my initial post, further review and talking with Harrisons - seed will not be part of their daily diet. What about as a treat? Harrison appears to have some nice Organic Seeds - any of these types look better than the other (I will probably shy away from the peanuts)?

 

http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/Certified-Organic-Seeds/departments/7/

 

I also ran across Red Palm oil on Harrisons site and had started to research. I agree it looks like a great addition to their diet.

 

Thanks for the Baby food and dehydration tips -

 

Brett

[Malikah]

I bought the coarse right away when Kito was a baby and at first I would give each one a slight crunch with a pliars. Then as she got stronger I crunched fewer and fewer of them. The things we do for our babies. LOL! I put organic baby food veggies and palm oil in my birdie bread. The only seeds Kito gets are in Nutriberries or a few organic unsalted shelled sunflower seeds occasionally as training treats. I am too afraid of mold to sprout anything.

[zandische]

My birds like the Med Bird Mix. It has a variety of small to big seeds/nuts/legumes and sprouts up very well. It's got a bunch of different flavors (like radish, mustard, wheat, spicy fenugreek etc) and seems to be far tastier to my birds than any mix I've tried to make on my own. It also smells incredibly good when it sprouts

 

The single biggest key to sprouts is rinsing and draining. I used the plate method to sprout for several years and occasionally got spoilage, but I've been using the Easy Sprouter for about a year and have had no problems. It has really great airflow and drainage, and I can have a ready crop of sprouts (soak to seed) in about 2-3 days in the winter, or 2 days in the summer. I make up 1/2 cup dry seed at a time, which is just enough for 2 birds for 2-3 days, so I always have a crop ready to go.

 

Nuts work great as treats and are a healthier fat than seeds. But seeds and nuts are things that birds get in the wild - they'll eat both sprouted and unsprouted seeds that they forage off the ground, so seeds aren't *bad* per se, but they've gotten a bad rep because people have fed them improperly. A high quality seed mix that I like really well is Volkman's Parrot treat and also the fruit & nut blend. Most of the time I just give my birds a few soaked almonds with breakfast - that way they get the nutrition of the nut plus the power of the sprout!

 

A side note: my birds are also flighted, and I think it's important to consider the bird's level of exercise in relation to the balance of nutrients in their diet. A little more fat in the diet is probably better for a flighted bird, but one that won't get a lot of exercise flying around might want to stick to very small amounts of seed.