Basic Healthy Parrot Meals

[Joshuwaaa]

So I'll be the first to admit that although I try really hard to put together good meals, I don't think I'm making anything as good as what I see people put together on here.
At the moment I offer pellets with seed as a cake, and then a meal of carrots, peas, beans and sweetcorn on a evening.

I would really love any suggestions, and really simple ones at that, of chops people started putting together? I'm completely rubbish with food so when I read lots of topics on this I find foods I've never heard of let alone find in the store I work at.

I'd love something I could cook and then freeze and offer through the week? or something easy to put together with simple ingredients that I can start off making for the fids.

Any help would be much appreciated, I have touched on this in another develop thread so I apologise if it feels like I'm spamming the forum for food help.

Thanks, x

 

[MomtoPercy]

Joshuwaaa - another member is also asking for 'simple' recipes. I want tto say to you guys - don't be intimidated by the long lists of veggies other people put in their chop. Just do you! LOL!

What I'm trying to say is this - your chop doesn't HAVE to contain a bazillion things (it CAN but it doesn't HAVE to ). Just use whatever you have in the house or can get from your produce shop. Keep in mind what can harm your fids (like avo, apple seeds, etc) and everything else is pretty much ok. My rule of thumb is - start with green stuff (spinach/brocolli/kale/chard, etc) and then add bits of whatever other colour you have (sweet peppers/peas/carrots/etc). Chop everything nice and small to discourage the birds from picking out only certain things and you should be fine.

What ingredients CAN you get?

 

[ImmunoGoblin]

If you have access to a CSA (organic produce delivery service), it makes feeding parrots (and our guinea pigs!) pretty much a no-brainer. Like folks above said, all you have to do is eliminate avocado, and you're good to go. We keep a hanging skewer in Tater's cage and every morning we just load it up with big chunks of whatever came that week - yams, strawberries, apple, orange, broccoli, leafy greens. He gets pellets and a variety of dried bulk foods from our bird store also.

 

[Terry57]

I usually make sure that I add something orange (bell pepper, carrots, cooked sweet potato) and something green (kale, chard or broccoli) to their mix and then add whatever we have on hand. They almost always get cauliflower since we have so much of it, and the rest I just ad lib. I don't think that the quantity means as much as the quality of what is in the chop

 

[MomtoPercy]

I don't think that the quantity means as much as the quality of what is in the chop

:35: Agreed!

 

[JerseyWendy]

Joshua, have you browsed through the food/recipe section? There are TONS of fabulous idea and recipes.

Yes, variety is best, but please remember, the diet is only as healthy as what your fids are actually consuming. You could make the best chop in the world, with all the best ingredients. But if they only pick at one food item, or just toss all the food all over the place, then all that wholesome goodness didn't do them any good. :54:

Some folks say "My parrot won't touch carrots." Well their parrot may not touch carrots today, but may try one next week. They may like the carrot cooked instead of raw, chopped instead of sliced, mixed under some rice instead of bland.....etc.

I think you get the general idea.

 

[Jumpingtadpoles]

Right now I'm feeding a mush of sweet yams, oatmeal, apples and then I add stuff to that every day. I made enough for two weeks, split it and froze one weeks worth.
I warm the mash up (cause it's from the fridge) and then add stuff. I like to add hemp seeds, flax seeds, hydrated chia, coconut oil, coconut milk, banana, really whatever 2-3 other ingredients I feel like that morning.


So I warm my mash, then add 2-3 things in and call it a meal

He gets this in the morning. At night he eat dinner with us at the table, and he always has pellets and his seed/but mix he came with

 

[jenphilly]

Joshua,

Do you have veggies every night with dinner? As long as they start fresh or frozen, pull a cup out for your birds just remember no onions as well as other avoids listed like avocados, apple seeds...

if your birds are not eating what you offer, bring them to the table, either on a stand or give them back of chair to perch on. Ivory won't eat cauliflower put in her bowl but if I let her steal it off my plate its best thing in the world. She actually gets a plate or bowl at the table with us now.... the whole eating with your flock thing really is true and works!!!

Good luck!!

 

[RavensGryf]

Try sweet potato. It's not only super healthy, but even my picky eater Robin loves it. I think birds tend to like sweet things. Mine like it raw.
There will always be waste no matter what though. That's what I hate but I try not to let it bother me. What I've been wanting to get is a chopper... I used to have one, and it's so easy and takes only seconds to chop as chunky or as fine as you want.

Also having vegetables in the house should make the humans eat right too. WE need veggies daily to stay healthy too I'm a meat eater, but I actually LOVE salads and veggies. If the birds don't like a certain thing, I'll eat it.

 

[Joshuwaaa]

Brilliant, I think I often make it more complicated then I should. I'm going to run with this like much else and I'll find some veggies and just throw them. Being sure to avoid the baddies and focusing on some green ones!

We arent a very veggie couple but we buy some frozen to feed the fids. So Il mush it more into smaller bits and continue adding each week.

Thanks for the boost, even when you sometimes think you know the answer having others tell you can give you the confidence to just do it!

 

[Terry57]

Let us know how it goes!

 

[Joshuwaaa]

Sorry just a quickie! As they love their veggie chop so much, would be harmful to just give them veggies and fruit? No pellet? I never fed my Eclectus pellet because he mainly had fruit and veggie diets, so if I save on the price of pellets I could just buy lots of frozen veg and then some fruit? Could I make them an assortment of veggies everyday for both meals, and leave the pellet out? Just they love veggies?

 

[jenphilly]

Unless you can match every vitamin / nutritional need, I would never eliminate pellets. You can reduce how much pellets or if he is not a big fan of pellets, you can put them thru a grinder (nutribullet or coffee grinder) and turn it into a dust and then coat the chop mixes to reduce the waste.

Others may have different opinions, but I would also say to have a pellet in the food menu... my Ivory hates them and has to be tricked into eating them (I do the nutribullet and then coat the Goldenfeast mixes she loves). Otherwise, I would worry she would be missing nutritional requirements.

We can never truly match a birds natural diet, and while the fruits and veggies are great part of their diet, alone they would not be enough. All birds need some level of grains, herbs, seeds, nuts, etc. in their varied diet, and the pellets are actually a great way to meet many of those needs without going crazy trying to make sure you have everything covered.

 

[Jumpingtadpoles]

Pellets are a good filler to their tummies as well. Veggies only full you so much. If they are still eating pellets. Even if it's just 6 a day, it's variety. And variety is key. it's very hard to know if they could be lacking a mineral or something and you'd never know.

 

[Freespin]

I would probably feed a small portion of a seed mix along with cooked brown rice and sprouted seeds for an eclectus rather than pellets. Pellets just don't seem to be made with eclectus in mind and I have read warnings against feeding them to these guys. It also concerns me that all of the big brand pellets I have read about suggest one may feed fresh fruit and vege in small quantities occasionally. This also puts me off feeding them to eckies...