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All excellent points you make! I have a cruddy brand of parrot mix I'm feeding him now (something I picked up at Petsmart at the last minute when I was told 'surprise! You can take him home today! In fact you have to take him home today or we're giving him to someone else!'), that has pellets in it. After that I will try a better brand. Perhaps he simply doesn't like the taste of these.Mommajack, even if Rudy wont eat pellets now, it's still a good idea to get him accustomed to eating them. They don't have to be a main part of the diet, but it may be essential to him later in life to know that pellets are food. Although there are no "pellet trees" out in the wild, there are also a lot of seeds, nuts, fruits and vegetables that we feed parrots that they also wouldn't be eating out in the wild!
I do understand the reasons not to feed pellets just as much as I do understand the reasons for it! I could debate either side of the topic! The main thing is, what if you go on vacation, have an emergency or, for whatever reason, have to rehome Rudy? What if whoever ends up watching/caring for Rudy can provide a great home for him, but can't provide the same great diet that you do? Some pet sitters/boarders are fine feeding dry foods but will not provide fresh foods, or maybe they will but then you may worry about the food going off before it can be taken out of the cage. Should he remain on a seed and nut based diet? Or would it be better to provide pellets and nuts? The answer should be pretty simple! Pellets do not have to be a main part of his diet, but they should at least be a small amount of it!
I've usually got red beans, pinto beans, black beans, and kidney beans on hand. As I said before, I tried butter beans and he hates them. I was planning on trying the pintos today, with some rice.Besides those listed, you should also incorporate grains and legumes into his diet! These help to provide protein that fruits and vegetables lack.
I've added a few things to my grocery listAs far as fruits, exotic fruits and berries are the best!
This. I meant to ask earlier and forgot. I did know to feed limited amounts of spinach, but the rest of the leafy greens are OK to feed as I wish, right? His foster parents I got him from told me not to feed lettuce, but other than that I can feed what I want of things like kale, turnip greens, and mustard greens? I was also planning on looking for hearts of palm.Veggie list looks good, and I do recommend feeding limited amounts of spinach.
Not yet, but I will!Have you tried any of the methods suggested in this thread to get him to eat pellets? If not, give it a whirl!
Good to know!Parrots can eat honey, but IMO, it's not good to feed it regularly. Honey can actually be found in some bird treats. When one of my birds was sick and I had to medicate, my vet gave me a list of options to try and one of them was honey! I was shocked about that, but hey, whatever makes the medicine go down!
Thank you! I am keeping a list of what he will eat and won't eat, since there is no point in buying things he refuses. My plan was to make a list of what he eats, what nutrients are in each item, then get my hands on a breakdown of his nutritional needs and compare the lists. It's hard to find such a list since apparently no one has really studied it (you'd at least think zoos have!), and every website has a different opinion on the matter.You may also be interested in these two links
http://www.parrotforums.com/general...afe-fresh-foods-toxic-food-lists-sprouts.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/cockatoos/32450-lipoma-fatty-lump.html (my second post with the sweet potato mash ball recipes)
If you can provide a varied diet that includes seeds, nuts, seeds/sprouted seeds, grains, legumes, vegetables and fruits, then you are doing great! It's hard to determine what percentage of foods are best to feed in what moderation, so you'll have to figure that out on your own and perhaps speak with an avian vet. Many vets do recommend a diet of about 75%-80% pellets with the rest being fresh foods and treats. In fact, using that kind of diet, seeds can be completely cut out from it. However, if fed in the right portions, seeds and pellets can take up as little as 25% of the diet or less. Providing a fresh food based diet does consider a lot of thought and research into it to make sure you are doing it 'right'. Many parrot owners fail at a fresh food diet because they aren't providing the right foods in the right quantities, or if they are, their birds aren't eating it, and the birds are suffering because of it... so not only do you need to know that you are providing the right foods, but you also need to be sure that your parrot is eating it, too!
Mash-terpiece
One issue with getting birds to eat a healthier diet is that many birds enjoy a variety over something that appears plain and dull. I've noticed this especially with my own flock. A dish of cooked rice or a couple of pieces of vegetables can appear quite "boring" to the eye and not very interesting. Making up a batch of mash can intrigue those birds who love variety! A base mash diet consists of 30% grains, 15% legumes, 45% vegetables, and 10% fruits. The grains can be fed cooked or sprouted with the legumes cooked or sprouted with at least 1/4" tails. If using the larger legumes, be sure to fully cook these.
Do not sprout large beans due to the toxins not fully released when sprouting. Most vegetables can be fed raw or steamed, or you can even choose to use frozen vegetables. Be sure to steam potatoes if you feed any. Fresh, organic fruits are best, although frozen fruits can be used as an alternative.
Cook or sprout the grains and legumes separately. For your smaller birds, you may want to chop up the legumes. Vegetables can be chopped finely, diced, sliced, julienned, chopped into chunks, or even run through the food processor. Fruits can be chopped or sliced. Once all the ingredients are prepared, mix them together. Feed to your birds first thing in the morning and leave inside the cage for 2-6 hours, shorter periods of time if you have to deal with heat and humidity.
Your birds may ignore the mash for a day or two, but most birds will try the mash after a few days due to the variety of foods. You can help entice them to eat the mash by mixing in a small amount of seeds or sprouts.