Spock's Diet so he Lives Long and Prospers

[Jayd]

When we got Spock, his breeder had him on Exact Formula so we continued him on the same diet. At six weeks, we started putting assorted pellets and veggies in his cage. We believe in the abundance theory and even though he did not eat them at the time, it was there for him to play with and taste.

At seven to eight weeks old, we introduced finely chopped green leafy veggies. At ten weeks, we added finely chopped squash, zucchini, steamed carrots, broccoli and cauliflower (all finely chopped)and fruit pieces. By this time, he was down to 3 formula feedings a day and he weighed 496 grams. We also introduced him to his "smash". We continued his pellet/veggies mix with a little larger chunks added.

The "smash" which we fed once a day consisted of boiled sweet potato, fresh cooked carrots, butternut squash, peanut butter and banana. This was all pureed and was fed to him via a spoon at 104 to 108 degrees. (He had given up his syringe and was spoon feeding at this time). He would eat about 2 heaping teaspoonfuls. He ate very little pellet/seeds but ate his cold veggie mix and fruits He went to 506 grams.

At 11 weeks, he lost his butterball butt, cut out his morning formula feeding but continued to eat his "smash" twice a day and lost 37 grams but started to do short hops.

After three days, he started his morning formula again and this has been his routine since.

Now at 14 weeks, he has dropped his afternoon snack but still has his "smash" as lunch time between his morning and evening formula. He has also started nibbling on pellets and other hard food and is eating his veggies in big chunks now. We try to keep him away from any processed food as much as possible. We expect him to cut out his formula soon because he is eating more of the pellets and other foods with no digestive problem. He is putting on the weight he lost and is now eating a bean mash that we give to him daily. (I will post a "smash" and "bean mash" recipe under a separate post)

He nibbles on ZuPreem Fruit Pellets, RoudyBush Maintenance and Tropican High Potency and Avian Science parrot seed, (no sunflower/peanuts seeds). He just nibbles on all of these. He does not care for Harrison's, Pretty Bird, or Kaytee Pellets.Maggie

[ranaz]

hi Maggie and thanks for the post. Looking forward to see your post on the "smash"and "bean mash"

 

 

{Nature-00020095}

[Eckobird]

What a great post. Spock has a very nice diet. He is a big boy! Thanks for sharing. I also look forward to the smash and bean mash post.

[Jayd]

Maggie here....caitb2007 and ranaz and all you food lovers out there, here's the recipes that I promised (Basically derived from other people's versions)

Spock's Smash: this is Spock's lunch...it consists of

*fresh boiled sweet potato (cooked until a fork or knife slides through it easily and peeled when cool) approximately one-half a cup.

*cooked macaroni (any type - well done so it can be smashed)I use about the same amount of macaroni as above, give or take. (I don't measure too much, just throw this and that together:laugh:

*cooked carrot slices (well done, etc)I use about a one-third to one-half a cup

*Peanut butter (one third teaspoon)

Smash this all together with a fork until somewhat chunky,pieces the size of a grain of rice. Make enough for two days or a whole batch and freeze.

When I serve it to Spock, I smash up about one inch worth of ripe banana and add to the mix. I serve this to Spock at room temp, hopefully without a spoon:laugh: Some mornings, I feed it to him warm.

When Spock was younger, I would add a few drops of warm water and puree it and serve it like formula at approx. 105 degrees. You can add any veggies or pasta that you would like. Sometimes I add some soft-baked butternut squash, green beans or peas. (Spock likes the peas but does not like the skins so I have to pick them out... )

This is also a good time to add softened pellets to get the babies used to their taste. We call this nummies and he responds with bleeps and coos. He also makes the funniest growls when he devours this:laugh: He eats about 4 teaspoons of this daily.

Maggie

[Jayd]

A funny thing happened on the way to the bird room.....I was finishing up with the other fids and Jay was checking out the cages when we looked up to see Spock....enjoying himself immensely {Feel-good-0002006E} nibbling his way through the bananas on the counter. I moved two of the bananas to save them and he moved down and attacked the others....:ohmy: (not the best photo but we were laughing too hard to keep steady) He was mad {Feel-bad-0002006A}when we took them away...he's had enough bananas for a few days...{Feel-good-0002006E}I later caught him trying to finish off a plate full of butternut squash I just cooked up.:ohmy:

On a more serious note, Spock has cut out his morning formula and half of his bed-time formula. He is holding his weight (it has been constant for three days now). He still eats his "smash" and fresh veggies and is eating more pellets and seeds.

Maggie

[Luvparrots]

Hey, Spock is having one of those growth spurts and he like all growing boys during that time is always hungry!!!! {Feel-good-0002006E}. Seriously, sound like Spock has a very healthy appetite!!!! Thanks for sharing his pig out with us!!!!

[Jayd]

{Feel-good-0002006E}

You're going to like this one...this is Spock's afternoon snack time...and yes, he is a piglet....(he has a very high metabolism) at 16 wks old :laugh: Maggie

[Eckobird]

:cheer: Hahah what a little piggy Spock is! Ecko does the same thing with his oatmeal lol.