What's in yor food bowl?

[Jayd]

What's in your food bowl? We told told you what we feed our fids, what do you feed yours? pellets? What kind? What else Smash, Clop? mash? Seed?  Baby food? Share,

 

[Timbersmom]

Timber is extremely picky.  You may remember my experiments and failures with every pellet made.  After Timber's seizure issues and his weight loss, what is in his bowl is pretty much whatever he will eat. Daily, he gets nutriberries, quality seed mix, a piece of avicake. In his "people" food bowl, he has mashed sweet potato, peas, pinto beans, hamburger, mac and cheese, and cooked Higgins rice mix. He has sweet peas on a skewer, and usually has corn on the cob or an artichoke to mess with.  He eats dinner with us, whatever he can (or will) eat safely. He usually has a small (maybe 1/16th slice) of toast with a little peanut butter at breakfast time. I'd love to improve his diet a bit, but he won't eat birdy bread or any chop I've tried (or pellets or any other vegetables etc. etc. etc.). He gets a chicken wing bone every week (sometimes he will eat it, sometimes not) and a piece of boiled egg fairly often.  He eats a bite of banana with dad occasionally, but really isn't a fruit eater. As a treat (like most of his diet isn't already a treat) I give him a cashew, an almond, and a couple of peanuts in the evening.

Oh, I almost forgot the cheese... He gets a very small piece of sharp cheddar cheese a couple of times a week. I'm sure there are other things I'm forgetting, but those are the staples!

[Jayd]

12 minutes ago, Timbersmom said:

Timber is extremely picky.  You may remember my experiments and failures with every pellet made.  After Timber's seizure issues and his weight loss, what is in his bowl is pretty much whatever he will eat. Daily, he gets nutriberries, quality seed mix, a piece of avicake. In his "people" food bowl, he has mashed sweet potato, peas, pinto beans, hamburger, mac and cheese, and cooked Higgins rice mix. He has sweet peas on a skewer, and usually has corn on the cob or an artichoke to mess with.  He eats dinner with us, whatever he can (or will) eat safely. He usually has a small (maybe 1/16th slice) of toast with a little peanut butter at breakfast time. I'd love to improve his diet a bit, but he won't eat birdy bread or any chop I've tried (or pellets or any other vegetables etc. etc. etc.). He gets a chicken wing bone every week (sometimes he will eat it, sometimes not) and a piece of boiled egg fairly often.  He eats a bite of banana with dad occasionally, but really isn't a fruit eater. As a treat (like most of his diet isn't already a treat) I give him a cashew, an almond, and a couple of peanuts in the evening.

Oh, I almost forgot the cheese... He gets a very small piece of sharp cheddar cheese a couple of times a week. I'm sure there are other things I'm forgetting, but those are the staples!

Great diet, have you tried Cook cauliflower?

[Timbersmom]

Yes, I've tried raw and cooked cauliflower, broccoli, etc. etc. He will occasionally eat raw broccoli so I throw a piece on his skewer a couple times a week.  The only thing he will ALWAYS eat is junk food.  Pizza, bacon, sausage, cake, you get the drift.  Of course he rarely gets to indulge in that.  Basically, he's a spoiled toddler

Edited March 15, 2018 by Timbersmom

[Talon]

My flock gets a bird feed mix all the time in their bowls,changed weekly. They also get a breakfast bowl on the days I work, blueberry waffles, bagels, either a cinnamon or apple toast or a hash brown, all are cut up into finger foods for the.  They also get a snack bowl that usally has a veggie/rice/quinoa mix I make once a month & freeze for convenience, I usually add a piece of bread with butter, leftover chicken or sprinkle some cheese on top to entice. Once a week, they get junk food: cereal, peanuts, almonds, 2-3 tortilla chips, plus a min ice cream cone filled with yogurt.  They also eat off my plate every dinner whatever I eat they must eat.

[Jayd]

Love these answers...thank you! It is good to see that we are finally treating Greys as they view themselves...human.

There are some foods (as everyone already knows) that we do not feed them, such as avocado, caffeine, etc. One ingredient that I am tending to avoid more and more is garlic. I found out that in Greys, it causes the red corpuscles to explode. It doesn't bother all Greys but I tend to err on the side of caution. Once again, moderation is the key..

We have a lot more members who can share what they feed...everybody learns from these posts.

[Talon]

Yes, I agree. No raw potatoes, no garlic, no onion, no avocado, no mushrooms, and no salt...although I do let them have some chips on occasion with sea salt. Sugar is a no no as well...but they get an occasional sweet snack...

i didn’t know for a long time that unlike us humans, birds can never get rid of the salt and sugar we feed them,  it just accumulates until the harm is done.😢

[Jayd]

2 hours ago, Talon said:

Yes, I agree. No raw potatoes, no garlic, no onion, no avocado, no mushrooms, and no salt...although I do let them have some chips on occasion with sea salt. Sugar is a no no as well...but they get an occasional sweet snack...

i didn’t know for a long time that unlike us humans, birds can never get rid of the salt and sugar we feed them,  it just accumulates until the harm is done.😢

Thank you Talon, no truer words....we don't feed what we know we can't and everything else in moderation so we don't have to worry about accumulation.

In a few days, I'll add to this thread....major food no-no's.

[Jayd]

Hi, Maggie here.... When we have our oatmeal in the morning, Joe has often come to join us but never participated, having a preference for Cheerios only. After approximately 7 years with Joe (when we got him, he was 2 with a HUGE amount of baggage), he decided last week he wanted to try oatmeal and surprised both of us by eating three teaspoonfuls . Then, he insisted on a piece of toast!

Since then, he has settled into a routine....When we have oatmeal, he has two spoonfuls (but never on Sunday...he refuses to eat it on Sundays LOL), and then demands a piece of toast. BUUUTTT....it has to be no more than 1/2" to an 1" long, has to be toasted golden brown, and MUST have canola margarine from end to end. The other day I made the toast a little too dark and he just gave me the evil eye look......and I had to give him a new piece of lighter toast.

Yes, it has taken years but I guess in Grey time, only a flash has passed before he has decided to expand his horizons and gain a new taste profile...

[nickraph]

I’ve had good luck with chop!  But, I warmed it up a few times and now I am having a hard time getting them to eat it fresh or defrosted.  They simply won’t eat it and choose pellets until the next morning.  Today I made some chip using the following ingredients in no particular measures or amounts; I just use my vitamin to wet chop it, drain the water and mix by hand.

Broccoli, cauliflower, black beans, kidney beans, collard greens, carrots, (shoot just realized I forgot the corn as I’m writing this), jalapeño, hard boiled egg, rolled oats (to soak up remaining liquid), and tossed in red palm oil.   

Thoughts on this mix, critiques, anything?! 

Hers a shot of a helper inspecting to make sure everything is just right. 

 

 

[Greytness]

Our basic go-to daily chop is baby chard, sugar snap peas, sweet potatoes, pomegranate arils, a grape, blueberry or two, banana, slightly cooked broccoli and my homemade birdie bread, concocted using Harrison's pellets as its flour to which I add ancient grains, hemp seed, kale, red bell pepper, carrots, zucchini, and anything else my fids won't eat if offered separately in chop. I also add quinoa, barley, oats and fresh lentils to my birdie bread.

In the evening they can have a small serving of high quality large hook bill seed mix without sunflower seeds. I add a small serving of their favorite nuts, including pine nuts and unsalted roasted deluxe nut mix that I get from Trader Joe's.

Edited July 8, 2018 by Greytness

[SRSeedBurners]

43 minutes ago, nickraph said:

I’ve had good luck with chop!  But, I warmed it up a few times and now I am having a hard time getting them to eat it fresh or defrosted.  They simply won’t eat it and choose pellets until the next morning.  Today I made some chip using the following ingredients in no particular measures or amounts; I just use my vitamin to wet chop it, drain the water and mix by hand.

Broccoli, cauliflower, black beans, kidney beans, collard greens, carrots, (shoot just realized I forgot the corn as I’m writing this), jalapeño, hard boiled egg, rolled oats (to soak up remaining liquid), and tossed in red palm oil.   

Thoughts on this mix, critiques, anything?! 

Hers a shot of a helper inspecting to make sure everything is just right. 

 

 

  GreycieMae wants to know if you ship?

[nickraph]

2 hours ago, Greytness said:

Our basic go-to daily chop is baby chard, sugar snap peas, sweet potatoes, pomegranate arils, a grape, blueberry or two, banana, slightly cooked broccoli and my homemade birdie bread, concocted using Harrison's pellets as its flour to which I add ancient grains, hemp seed, kale, red bell pepper, carrots, zucchini, and anything else my fids won't eat if offered separately in chop. I also add quinoa, barley, oats and fresh lentils to my birdie bread.

In the evening they can have a small serving of high quality large hook bill seed mix without sunflower seeds. I add a small serving of their favorite nuts, including pine nuts and unsalted roasted deluxe nut mix that I get from Trader Joe's.

Any chance you'd be willing to share the steps taken to make the bread.  I've never made it and I am betting mine would love it.

[nickraph]

2 hours ago, SRSeedBurners said:

  GreycieMae wants to know if you ship?

GreycieMae gets, what GraycieMae wants!  You just provide the cash and ship[ping address.  Hahaha.

[Greytness]

31 minutes ago, nickraph said:

Any chance you'd be willing to share the steps taken to make the bread.  I've never made it and I am betting mine would love it.

It's really very easy and doesn't require a recipe other than your imagination. The base that I use is Harrison's pellet ground into flour like consistency You can use any pellet of your choosing. Remove to a separate mixing bowl. Then food process anything  you want to add to this 'flour'. I always add those things my fids won't eat unless it's disguised. For my crew it's bell peppers, kale and most anything orange or green. I always add sweet potato to all my birdie bread. Add enough water to get it to the consistency that works for you. Add whatever cooked grains  you have, spread  your creation onto a pan and bake 20-25 minutes at 350. I crumble it, freeze and use as needed.

Edited July 8, 2018 by Greytness

[nickraph]

17 minutes ago, Greytness said:

It's really very easy and doesn't require a recipe other than your imagination. The base that I use is Harrison's pellet ground into flour like consistency You can use any pellet of your choosing. Remove to a separate mixing bowl. Then food process anything  you want to add to this 'flour'. I always add those things my fids won't eat unless it's disguised. For my crew it's bell peppers, kale and most anything orange or green. I always add sweet potato to all my birdie bread. Add enough water to get it to the consistency that works for you. Add whatever cooked grains  you have, spread  your creation onto a pan and bake 20-25 minutes at 350. I crumble it, freeze and use as needed.

Fantastic!  Thank you, had no clue it was so easy. Does it thaw well?

[SRSeedBurners]

May have to try this.  I have a few bags of old pellets that have been in the freezer for a while waiting to become a nice birdy bread.

 

[Greytness]

It's really super simple and such healthy nuggets of goodness. The sky's the limit as to what  you can add, or want to hide for that matter. Mine aren't pellet eaters in general, but they get their fair share inside the birdie bread!

As for thawing, I keep a small container in the refrigerator that's usually a 3 day supply and then replenish from there.

[Jayd]

Shortly, I'll make a large post

We really have to research what we feed our fids and in what combination. A short example, we never salt our fid's foods. But, chard and spinach are loaded with salt so should be fed at a minimum. One of my favorite, garbanzo or chickpeas, bond certain enzymes depleting them from the fid's system. A favorite, red palm oil, is the largest source of artery blocking food sources on the market extreme high cholesterol. I've  always called it the "Red Hype"....I'LL go into that later hehehehe....

Edited July 9, 2018 by Jayd
spelling

[Jayd]

EarLy on I became interested in parrot nutrition, I took class on it , researched it, spoke to countless parrot owners...I am passing on to you some of this info, It is only food for your thought, nothing more...

BEANS: Please note that large raw beans - such as Anasazi, Black, Fava, Kidney, Lima, Navy, Pinto, and Soy - can cause toxicities when fed raw, causing digestive upsets for people and potentially for birds. large beans should be cooked to make them safe and digestible. For those who do not want to take any risks, cook large beans thoroughly. Certain uncooked dried beans contain enzyme inhibitors, are indigestible , and may cause visceral gout in birds. These enzyme inhibitors may prevent or decrease the utilization in the body of substances, such as trypsin and chymotrypsin, to produce nutritional deficiencies. Beans that can interfere with proteolytic enzymes are lima, kidney and soybeans. Cooking these beans for at least 2 hours destroys these enzyme inhibitors. Other dried beans do not appear to contain these enzyme inhibitors. 

[Greytness]

I actually don't feed my fids any beans, except lentils on occasion. Primarily I stick with cooked whole grains, hemp seed and ancient grains.

[Jayd]

To stir up some trouble and thought...lol...this is my opinion and reasons for it. NO ONE has to agree with this....

Red palm oil: hehehe....my red hype. It has the highest saturated fats of all the oils, including coconut oil. It's expensive and hard to find, and 8 out of 10 Greys don't like it.

Elaeis guineensis African red palm oil It is native to west and southwest Africa, specifically the area between Angola and the Gambia. The species is also now naturalised in Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Central America, the West Indies.

The palm fields in Africa has that wonderful, magical soil that can be found nowhere else in the world. The soil in all the other countries where red palm is grown is different and the refined red palm oil is different. Most of the red palm fields have been destroyed by the burning of the fields.

Of the 13.6 grams of fat in a tablespoon of palm oil, 6.7 grams are saturated. For comparison, a tablespoon of canola oil only has 1 gram of saturated fat. The same amount of olive oil has 1.9 grams of saturated fat.

Palm oil is a good source of Vitamin E but canola oil has slightly more vitamin E per tablespoon.

So, to eliminate the problems, we can substitute canola oil and increase the Vitamin E in foods we feed our fids. You can buy canola based margarines or you can just drizzle canola oil the same way you would red palm oil. You can also flavor the canola oil with carrot juice, etc. So, my point is, I can use canola oil and save the cost and large amounts of saturated fats and the search and purchasing of African grade Red Palm Oil.

[Jayd]

To stir up some trouble and thought...lol...this is my opinion and reasons for it. NO ONE has to agree with this.... 

Pellets: 😜 I have researched the agricultural history of pellet trees, I have contacted the Department of Agriculture in the Congo, I have checked with tourists who have gone on safaris in the Congo, and the elusive Pellet Tree or Bush remains a secret....

Okay, pellets....why do I use these as a secondary treat, not a main meal? For example: directly from Harrison's...their ingredients:

HARRISON’S INGREDIENT LISTINGS

HIGH POTENCY COARSE
*Sunflower Kernels, *Hull-less Barley, *Soybeans, *Peas, *Peanut Kernels, *Lentils, *Corn, *Brown Rice, *Toasted Oat Groats, *Alfalfa, *Psyllium, Calcium Carbonate, Bentonite, Mixed Tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), *Sea Kelp, Salt, *Algae Meal, Vitamin/Mineral Supplement (Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, dl-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Niacin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Zinc Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Carbonate and *Sunflower Oil)
*CERTIFIED ORGANIC INGREDIENT
Guaranteed Analysis: Crude protein (min.) 18%, crude fat (min.) 15%, crude fiber (max.) 6.5%, moisture (max.) 10%.

HIGH POTENCY FINE
*Hulled Gray Millet, *Hull-less Barley, *Corn, *Toasted Soybeans, *Peanut Kernels, *Sunflower Kernels, *Peas, *Lentils, *Toasted Oat Groats, *Brown Rice, *Chia, *Alfalfa, Calcium Carbonate, Bentonite, Mixed Tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), *Sea Kelp, Salt, *Algae Meal, Vitamin/Mineral Supplement (Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, dl-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Niacin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Zinc Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Carbonate and *Sunflower Oil)
*CERTIFIED ORGANIC INGREDIENT
Guaranteed Analysis: Crude protein (min.) 20%, crude fat (min.) 12%, crude fiber (max.) 5%, moisture (max.) 10%.

HIGH POTENCY SUPER FINE
*Hulled Gray Millet, *Hull-less Barley, *Corn, *Toasted Soybeans, *Peanut Kernels, *Sunflower Kernels, *Peas, *Lentils, *Toasted Oat Groats, *Brown Rice, *Chia, *Alfalfa, Calcium Carbonate, Bentonite, Mixed Tocopherals (a source of Vitamin E), *Sea Kelp, Salt, *Algae Meal, Vitamin/Mineral Supplement (Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, dl-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Niacin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Zinc Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Carbonate and *Sunflower Oil).
*CERTIFIED ORGANIC INGREDIENT
Guaranteed Analysis: Crude protein (min.) 20%, crude fat (min.) 12%, crude fiber (max.) 5%, moisture (max.) 10%.

HIGH POTENCY MASH
*Sunflower Kernels, *Hull-less Barley, Rolled; *Toasted Soybeans, *Hulled Gray Millet, *Lentils, Rolled; *Peas, Rolled; *Peanut Kernels, *Brown Rice, Rolled; *Corn, Rolled; Toasted Oat Groats *Chia, *Sesame Seed, *Alfalfa, Monocalcium Phosphate, *Algae Meal, Calcium Carbonate, Bentonite, *Sea Kelp, Salt, Mixed Tocopherals (a source of Vitamin E), Vitamin/Mineral Supplement (Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, dl-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Niacin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Zinc Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Carbonate and *Sunflower Oil), *Anise Seed. *CERTIFIED ORGANIC INGREDIENT
Guaranteed Analysis: Crude protein (min.)20%, crude fat (min.) 14%, crude fiber (max.) 8%, moisture (max.) 10%.

What do you see as the main ingredients? Sunflower seeds, or millet, soybeans, peanuts, and they all contain salt...These are ingredients we tend to not feed our fids except as occasional treats. All the vitamins and minerals are added and then destroyed by the heating process. Other than Top's Pellets, most of the other pellets are worse. It is far better (in my opinion), to use a more natural diet and to use pellets in birdie bread

[neoow]

Alfie is exceptionally picky and always has been. He has a seed, nut and dried fruit mix which is his daily go to. I am trying him on harrisons pellets and tops pellets at the moment but he is not impressed. I have never managed to fully convert him away from his seed/fruit/nut mix.
He is a nightmare with vegetables and usually ignores them completely. He will eat mashed potato and will occasionally entertain the idea of peas and cooked carrots. He has tried some sweet potato mash as well recently but the verdict is still out on that one.
He gets whatever he can have from my dinner plate in his bowl but isn't normally interested in trying it. He normally just flings it out of the bowl in disgust.
He likes banana, especially dried banana chips. He always digs those out first.
I have tried chop but he's never been interested. I've tried putting things on a skewer in his cage but it mostly gets ignored. Unless it's a grape. He likes grapes.
I keep persevering but he's very contrary. He might give something a go one day and then the next he's chucking that same thing across the cage in disgust. 😂
I'm debating about getting a dehydrator and adding some dried veggies into his daily mix... see if he picks anything out that he likes from that.

[Jayd]

To stir up some trouble and thought...lol...this is my opinion and reasons for it. NO ONE has to agree with this....

I had planned to offer a number of post to this thread, but I'll finish with this one...

What ever we feed our fids outside the norm we must do so with Moderation in mind...This leads us to Accumulation, THIS is the Killer... OUR fids cannot remove certain mineral and nutrition's from their system, Salt for example, and other overdoses...Yes we overdose our fids. Using a previous post, sugar or supplier of sugar was mentioned nine times in daily foods! The problem lies in the fact we don't take into the amount of sugar for example or salt that is in the both good foods and bad foods we feed our fids..

It isn't the occasional chip or white potato etc we feed them, but the "Accumulation"
  of every thing we feed them!!!

The same thing goe's for Fats (fatty Acids) We must reduce Saturated fats to a minimum...

In summary, check out how much sugar is in peas, corn, potatoes, bread etc...How about Saturated fats, Pellets, sunflower seeds, chips, etc.

The largest killer of our fids is: Advertising!!!  Complete, contains, Vet recommended, Everything your bird need!!!!!

What our FIDS really need is for us, their caretaker to learn how to read and research.....Thank you  Jayd