So how much food do your birds waste?

[Grey2Day]

I know that birds are messy animals, and that they throw a lot of their food on the ground, but just how much food should I be throwing away every day? When I got Keto and Gracie they were sent with an unmarked bag of seed mix that they had been eating. They seem to throw at least half of it on the floor, and stop eating out of the dish at some point where I discard half a dish of what looks like good food and give them fresh, which they dive into. They finish any fruit I give them, but when I give them a canned green bean, Gracie eats about a quarter inch of it and drops the rest. Same for anything else I give. I leave the pellets (which I have been mixing in) as long as I am comfortable with (everything gets pulled out daily). I feel like I am throwing away more that 3/4 of everything I give them. Is this normal (and something I should budget for) or are there better ways?

[Timbersmom]

Yes, it is unfortunately normal, at least in my experience!

[Dave007]

I know that birds are messy animals, and that they throw a lot of their food on the ground, but just how much food should I be throwing away every day? When I got Keto and Gracie they were sent with an unmarked bag of seed mix that they had been eating. They seem to throw at least half of it on the floor, and stop eating out of the dish at some point where I discard half a dish of what looks like good food and give them fresh, which they dive into. They finish any fruit I give them, but when I give them a canned green bean, Gracie eats about a quarter inch of it and drops the rest. Same for anything else I give. I leave the pellets (which I have been mixing in) as long as I am comfortable with (everything gets pulled out daily). I feel like I am throwing away more that 3/4 of everything I give them. Is this normal (and something I should budget for) or are there better ways?

 

 

You can try chopping the string beans and any other large vegetables into smaller pieces. Birds have a habit of nibbling and then when they're chewing, they drop the rest. Giving fruit constantly isn't a good idea. The fruit runs through the bird's system and runs out the other end. Lots of different veggies must be tried until you and your bird finds the right ones. Greys don't need a large variety of veggies, just the ones they like. Also, about those canned string beans==veggies in cans are made with preservatives to keep them edible for people. Those preservatives aren't too good. The best way to go is by getting fresh uncooked veggies or veggies that are frozen.

You'll also need to find a ecent parrot mix to give. It's expensive at first but again, it's a process of finding the right one. There's mixed feelings about pellets. I don't find that pellets are important. They're a manmade item. Various seeds in parrot mix is more enjoyable. Also, just to dispel passed down one sided info about certain seeds such as sunflower, go to Food Rom and read new info about sunflower seeds which is in every bag of parot mix.

[Grey2Day]

Thank you very much for your input. We are new to birds in general, let alone greys, and we need all the help we can get! LOL You are absolutely right that they often drop food while they are chewing. I had never noticed that before, but now I will be cutting them up. I'll also stick to fresh or frozen veggies. I bought no added salt beans, but didn't think about the preservatives.

 

As for pellets vs. seed--I can't seem to find a consensus on this one. Many people say pellets are mandatory and must be 80% of the diet. Others say no, and when I look up wild grey diet it says that they eat a lot of seeds! So to know the right thing to do on this one has been tough. I just keep listening to all the arguments for and against and hope I do the right thing.

Edited March 26, 2014 by Grey2Day

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

How about 50/50! My birds get a great healthy mix, including freezedryed fruits and veggies, as well as natural fruits and veggies. They are piglets... throw out food, as much as they consume. As far as seeds, not a big fan. Sophie eats dinner with us. If it is spaghetti night, she can have some spaghetti without sauce.Just use common sense. During chicken night, she has a bite. Would I give her a bite for "taco night?" Of course not. Common sense is all you need. What is healthy for a human, is what is healthy for a grey. Find a birdstore that you can trust to work out the diet. Diet has never been a issue for us, outside of broccholi being thrown at the walls! LOL Nancy

[JeffNOK]

My grey refuses pellets. Won't touch them. I feed her a mix of vegetables (broccoli, peas, corn, carrots, potato, sweet potato, cauliflower, peppers, green beans) legumes, pasta, oatmeal, egg white, various greens, spouts, seeds, nuts, rice, dried fruits. etc . She typically wastes 50% or more of whatever I give her--but she is happy and healthy and strong--so it seems to be working.

[Inara]

After getting used to Inara's eating habits, I simply cut down on the amount of food I was putting in her dishes. This cut down considerably on the overt waste factor. I weighed her daily for a little over a week to ensure that she was still eating enough. She was. I also give her "untouchables" (things she does not eat that are left in her dish) to the outdoor wild birds. They and The Squirrel love her leftovers, and since she is healthy I don't worry about the risk of transmitting something from her to them. My avian vet gives her birds' untouchable to the chickens. So very little winds up wasted.

 

Yes, there are always bits and pieces in the bottom of her cage, but not nearly like it was, once I began titrating the amount I was offering. She still is abundantly fed, just not over indulged. I give her smaller bits and pieces (she is a TAG so is smaller in general) of things and mix in a few bigger chunks of non-sticky fruits and veggies to give her some foot held bits, too. She won't eat a pellet to save her life and personally I don't blame her. She does eat Nutriberries though, and those I break in 1/2 and toss about 5 broken ones in her dry dish.

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

The diet issue, is tough! The goal is always fresh veggies and a balance of pellets, and seeds. My guys are piglets and eat quite well. As babies... a different story. My walls can tell you what we went thru. Nancy

[Steve 2]

Hi Grey2day. My Toulouse is a tag almost 2 yrs old. Yes he is not a neat eater, lots of stuff ends up on the floor. And it's not that he doesn't like the stuff, I've seen him eating the items that he tosses. For the veggies I chop them up into smaller pieces so when he tosses them it's not the entire item. I try to give him large quantities of the veggies I'm not so concerned about the loss. Honestly I really believe Toulouse thinks it's necessary to make sure that the Universe constant of gravity is still OK. When he flings stuff out he has to watch it hit the floor. He gets pellets (harrisons) daily, a regulated amount. I give him Lafebers weight maintenance seed cakes every other day. Just to be mean I put the seed cakes in a foraging toy.....unfortunately he has that dialed in. That's what I get for being mean. I used to do a mix of frozen/fresh veggies, more convenient. My vet strongly advised against the frozen veggies so now it's just fresh stuff. Hate being scolded by vets! My vet also said that Toulouse is a happy "round" boy so I guess all is relatively OK. Hope this helps.

[BaileysPapa]

You have keep trying various things. Cooked / served / cut up, different ways. What they won't eat today, they may eat tomorrow. And what they do eat today, they may not eat tomorrow. I always offer different things. Sometimes raw, sometimes cooked. Sometimes in big pieces, sometimes in little, sometimes chopped up, sometimes mashed. There is always a bowl of seed mix, and a bowl of pellets available.

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

Baileyspapa said it best! Nancy