Dehydration - Healthier Treats!

[charmedbyekkie]

So we got a dehydrator, originally not for Cairo, but he benefits from it.

We dehydrated just some apples and bananas at first to see how it goes. And he goes bonkers over them! More so than his almond treats I know dehydration does cause fruits and veggies to lose some vitamins, so despite my initial hope to dehydrate all of his chop (since he tends to prefer pellets), we'll not be dehydrating everything. I'll have to research which fruits/veggies retain vitamins during dehydration to make it worth his nutritional while.

But it's a good alternative to his more unhealthy treats, like sunflower seeds and almonds (I'm really trying to prevent any chance of him developing fatty liver disease)! Plus we know he isn't allergic to these, unlike walnuts (which I'm still suspicious of). That being said, we tried offering to a BNG macaw friend of ours, and the big guy rejected it (he just tossed it down onto the floor). So your mileage may vary. Definitely worth a try - now Cairo excitedly hops into his cage to forage for them, and it keeps him quiet (with exception of some happy mumbles) during taxi cab rides.

Just a note, though, since this is homemade, many people recommend that you store the dehydrated stuff in the fridge or freezer. We've been keeping it in the freezer and just pack him a small little baggie when we go out. He doesn't mind it frozen at all.

 

[EllenD]

Dehydrating fruits and veggies is a great way to get birds to eat certain foods that they don't like to eat fresh...And you did exactly the right thing to do, you researched which fruits and veggies are least effected nutrition-wise by dehydration...I realized this is a totally different situation with an Eclectus than with other parrot species...My Senegal absolutely loves banana chips, and pretty much any dehydrated pieces of fruit and veggies. I buy a lot of the commercially-sold bags of different dehydrated fruits and veggies for my guys, they all love the dehydrated pea pods and green beans, and they really love the Kale Chips or whatever that dehydrated Kale stuff is (looks like weed to me, I tried but I just cannot choke it down, lol, but they love it)...

I've thought about buying a dehydrator many times, I'm sure it would have paid for itself many times over with the amount I have spent on buying banana chips, dehydrated green beans and pea pods, and the weed-like kale snacks, lol...

I would think that as long as you alternate between feeding your Ekkie the dehydrated Chop with the fresh Chop that nutritionally he'd be fine...I give you Ekkie owners credit, because dealing with their diets and how touchy/sensitive they can be to certain things cannot be easy...

 

[charmedbyekkie]

You could also probably try your oven! Ovens really aren't common here, but I've done some dehydration of coconuts in our oven before.

 

[EllenD]

You could also probably try your oven! Ovens really aren't common here, but I've done some dehydration of coconuts in our oven before.

Oh yeah, the oven works well, doesn't really "dehydrate", but you get a similar result...

 

[chris-md]

Dehydrated fruits and vegetables need to be a snack for ekkies, nothing more.

In their more compacted shape, they become sugar bombs since the amount of sugar from fresh to dehydrated remains the same. And since they are smaller, they have to eat more of them to feel full.

So they eat more sugar than what would otherwise consume.

Especially with ekkies, sugar needs to be monitored closely. First, they are more prone to obesity due to their more sedentary nature. But also because hormones can potentially be induced by excess sugar.

 

[EllenD]

Dehydrated fruits and vegetables need to be a snack for ekkies, nothing more.

In their more compacted shape, they become sugar bombs since the amount of sugar from fresh to dehydrated remains the same. And since they are smaller, they have to eat more of them to feel full.

So they eat more sugar than what would otherwise consume.

Especially with ekkies, sugar needs to be monitored closely. First, they are more prone to obesity due to their more sedentary nature. But also because hormones can potentially be induced by excess sugar.

That's a really great point, especially with fruit...I don't know how bad it would be if you were strictly dehydrating veggies only and not fruit, as the sugar content in a lot of fresh veggies is very low, but definitely a great point about dehydrating any type of fresh fruit. They would be simply popping the little pieces of dehydrated fruit like candy, which is pretty-much what dehydrated fruit is...