Newbie - Multiple Food Questions

[jangell]

Ok. So my wife and I adopted our first bird two months ago (Amazon). She was always leary of birds, but fell in love with this one. Now, after visiting an exotic bird show this past weekend, she fell in love with and we brought home a Grey. We have thus far kept them on the food they were used to. However, I would like to switch them up on food to get them both on the same type, and I would also like to start making our own. I have seen several posts on here about making your own food, so I'm pretty confident I can follow them and make my own food successfully.

 

Here are the questions I have.

 

Feeding frequency - should you leave a dish of food in the cage at all times, or should there be designated meal times (preferably coordinated with our meal times) with some occasional snacks.

 

Making your own food - are there any nutritional downfalls to this - for example, are there additives or vitamins present in store bought food that the bird needs. Our Amazon was on Kaytee (I think that's what it's called), and the Grey is on Bountiful Harvest (from mysafebirdstore.com).

 

Here are my reasons for the questions. Well, question one is obvious, I want to make sure I'm not overfeeding my birds and adversely affecting their health, but I also do not want to starve them. Question two, the store bough bird food seems expensive. I know, all birds, well, all animals are expensive. But I am referring to my perception of the nutritional value it offers for the $$ per lb. In my opinion, I'd rather visit the local farmers market (all organic, naturally grown at this farmers market) and mix up our own food, possibly dehydrate some, and have the birds healthier with a more varied diet. I worry that if they get "hooked" on one type of food, then say, that company stops making it...I could be faced with a tough road to get the bird to eat something else (happened to me years ago with a dog....it worked out, but was a tough transition).

 

All in all, I want what is best for our birds. I worked part time for several years in a pet store where they hand raised birds and I gained a deep respect for them and have really anticipated the day that I would be able to bring home one of my own. Even more so with these birds, they are both rescues, so I really want to do everything in my power to give them the best and make sure that they adjust well and are comfortable (hopefully erasing or at least reducing any past trauma they may have experienced).

 

Any help would be appreciated.

[Greywings]

Slowly introduce new foods and let them see you eating some of the fresh foods as well, always better if they know you are enjoying something. Difficult to overfeed a Parrot but you can over supply some selections such as Sunflower seeds, Peanuts and any treats that have salt or sugars. Variety is a great thing to strive for.

[Jayd]

Hi, A sunflower-less seed mix should be left in the cage 24/7, a couple of good brands are Volkmans safflower blend, and Royal large hook-bill safflower. Sunflowers can be given to your fid, about 3tbs white striped [in shell] a day. If you like pellets, they should be kept 24/7 also. [No colored pellets. A parrots main meal is at sunrise and dusk. Fresh food is best, as long as you know what your parrot needs, never give any supplement or vitamins unless a vet tells you to. There's many threads and post on the forum on this subject...Thanks Jayd

Edited October 23, 2012 by Jayd

[jangell]

Thanks for the help guys. We currently keep a seed mix in a bowl where he can get it all day. It has some dried fruit and stuff in it as well. We have been feeding him a larger portion once a day. I will be increasing that now with the new knowledge.

 

Thanks again.