Birdie bread for an Amazon

[BeatriceC]

Goofy is a seed addict. No matter what Richard has done over the years to get him to eat other stuff besides nuts, seeds and broccoli (at least he eats one veggie!) and cheese, he still will not eat anything but mostly seeds. I have seen him literally starve himself for days when other things have been offered, and he picks around any pellets that get added to his food bowl.

That was until I gave him some of the birdie bread I made for Charlotte. Goofy took a couple sniffs, one tentative nibble and then wolfed it down like it was the best thing ever. Now the recipe I used for this bread has red palm oil in it, so it's a little rich for an amazon, so I've only been offering it to him as a snack. I'm wondering if I change the recipe a little bit (use apple sauce instead of the red palm oil, or something like that), how much of his diet we can switch from the seed mix to the bread. He's not obese, but he's not skinny either, and could easily get obese if we're not careful.

Also, he likes the bread I've already made (JerseyWendy's recipe in a pinned post), but would there be a better recipe that could substitute for a good chunk of his diet? Birdie bread that's a little lower fat than the one I have on hand has to be better than mostly seed, so it's an option we're looking into.

 

[SailBoat]

Start by 'backing-off 'a bit on the Red Pale Oil first and than play with adding a bit of the targeted replacement and slowly covert with time. Amazon's are smart and quickly will pick-up on a out-right change. Especially since he is a picky eater.

Note: Here in the Great White North, I have 'Parrot Island' in MN mix blends for my Amazon who shares a like problem regarding his diet. Web search Parrot Island Pet Store or like. Once you find the Website take a look at their offerings. We are a long way from when our DYH Amazon first arrived on an all Sunflower Seed diet. They are great with providing a health diet that is built to transition Parrots to a 'Balanced Diet.' Call and they will work with you to develop a very health, yet transitioning diet.

Let them know that Steven from Western Michigan recommended you contact them. It will not get either you or I anything more than a 'Yup, Real Person Wanting to Keep They Amazon Healthy!.

 

[Terry57]

I have made these several times and all my birds love them. They also freeze really well as this is a big recipe unless you cut down on the amounts. You can also switch out ingredients and they still turn out great.
http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-food-recipes-diet/49833-cornbread-birdie-muffins.html

 

[Aquila]

I have red palm that I use, but I mostly use some coconut oil. Any food that looks like people food, my amazons will go for! In the cooler months I make bars or squares with a base of dried apricots or dates, which can be a little high in sugar, but I use only enough to make it sticky, and add in seeds, grains, coconut flakes, anything that I can get to stick.

I also use a little bit of coconut oil to coat some pellets and that seemed to help my seed junkie grey to transition over!

 

[BeatriceC]

I think anything I put in it is going to have to be shredded well. Most of the time if you show him fresh veggies he backs away like it's a big, scary monster. He will literally starve himself if you put anything in his food bowl with the rest of his stuff, because apparently vegetables are just that scary. But he did go for the birdie bread, which we were completely shocked about. I think the next batch I make I'll cut the red palm oil in half and see what he does. I think you're right that any changes that are too major might backfire. I might also combine some of Terry's recipe with the one I'm already using, to make it a little less fatty for Mr. Chunk Butt (vet says he's not obese, but he's certainly not missing any meals!) and see if I can break his seed addiction once and for all.

 

[Teddscau]

As for getting Goofy to eat veggies, have you tried clipping them to the bars of his cage? My budgies enjoy their veggies (but they're unbelievably annoying when it comes to the amount of variety they demand), but they just about lose it if I put veggies in their dish. I have to clip their veggies to their cage, otherwise they almost starve themselves.