How do you deal with wasting food?

[dera]

How do you deal with wasting pellet and seeds? I don't want to be scrooge but when I see the amount of good food that falls from the beak (whole seeds, pellet) I watch at Wizard and say "you waste the food just because you don't pay for it ".
Seriously, is there a trick that an amateur like me just doesn't know, or I need to give up ad throw away the food?

 

[HeatherG]

Well, I will rescue tossed pellets if they’re not pooped and return them to the food dish, but I am not sure what else to do. Maybe a hooded food dish would keep more inside? They will lick up crushed pellet if you leave the dish for a few hours without refilling it.

 

[LoveOfallAnimals]

I try to only give mine a portion of what I know they will eat as once my Electus is full she loves to throw her food. Nothing like standing on a ladder to get vegetables off the ceiling. Like seriously I don't know how she can get it so high up the wall and on the ceiling. So, I feel your pain...LOL

 

[Rico_Tiel]

I eat it to assert dominance. That’s not his floor food, it’s MINE.

 

[BirdyBee]

I eat it to assert dominance. That’s not his floor food, it’s MINE.

Oh mannn

 

[DonnaBudgie]

How do you deal with wasting pellet and seeds? I don't want to be scrooge but when I see the amount of good food that falls from the beak (whole seeds, pellet) I watch at Wizard and say "you waste the food just because you don't pay for it ".
Seriously, is there a trick that an amateur like me just doesn't know, or I need to give up ad throw away the food?

I use a vacuum to vacuum out any seed hulls for my budgies that eat only seeds. (Stubborn). When it's time to toss out their food completely I throw it outdoors for the outdoor birds, squirrels and chippies so it doesn't really go to waste. The critters will eat leftover pellets, too.
Try getting a very large, very wide food dish that the bird can easily sit in and put a thin layer of food in the dish. You will waste less food than having a deep dish.

 

[SailBoat]

Bird are top of their food chain and it is not uncommon in their natural range for them to do much the same. But in that environment what they do not eat, the ground animals, bugs, etc. eat!

We gather and also provide to the Birds outside and that includes small manuals, which keeps your friendly Hoot Owl happy!

From the standpoint of how much,, we believe in abundant feeding. The belief that there is a lack of food, Parrots can switch into pre-starvation mode and that can lead to serious behavior problems! Keep the Coal Bucket Full and be happy!

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I use a vacuum to vacuum out any seed hulls for my budgies that eat only seeds. (Stubborn). When it's time to toss out their food completely I throw it outdoors for the outdoor birds, squirrels and chippies so it doesn't really go to waste. The critters will eat leftover pellets, too.
Try getting a very large, very wide food dish that the bird can easily sit in and put a thin layer of food in the dish. You will waste less food than having a deep dish.

Every couple weeks I dump the collecting chamber of the vacuum cleaner outside so the outdoor birds get all the "wasted" seed that really isn't wasted!

 

[Ck@rjc]

How do you deal with wasting pellet and seeds? I don't want to be scrooge but when I see the amount of good food that falls from the beak (whole seeds, pellet) I watch at Wizard and say "you waste the food just because you don't pay for it ".
Seriously, is there a trick that an amateur like me just doesn't know, or I need to give up ad throw away the food?

They make something called clean feeders. Not sure if you have heard of it but I haven't until today and I've owned several birds. I just purchased my first conure and his cage came with one along with a normal feeding dish. I put food into both and I've noticed that if my baby decides to eat from the clean feeder, it catches the waste and I'm able to salvage my little pesky bird's leftovers and it also helps with clean up

 

[DonnaBudgie]

They make something called clean feeders. Not sure if you have heard of it but I haven't until today and I've owned several birds. I just purchased my first conure and his cage came with one along with a normal feeding dish. I put food into both and I've noticed that if my baby decides to eat from the clean feeder, it catches the waste and I'm able to salvage my little pesky bird's leftovers and it also helps with clean up

I have several of these clean feeders to reduce the bird mess but they don't work in the plexiglass cages I have now and these cages contain the mess very well.

 

[wrench13]

Sorry but that wasting and flinging of food is natural behavior and is part of Nature's plan to reestablish plants and trees etc. Thank God Salty is not a flinger or much of a waster. Very little of his dry food (pellets, nuts and seed) winds up on the floor of his cage, and his wet food (chop and single veggies) he just drops straight down and is caught by the BIG stainless bowl under his wet food feeding station. Some good suggestions above with hooded bowls and such, but flingers are gonna be just that.

 

[clark_conure]

I have a theory about this.....

I think Parrots eating at the edge of things (which is stupid) is actually benificial, they move seeds around. And by not being the pesky eaters they pick up seeds and fly a few hundred yards and a millenia later you have a rain forest ...so more living area. They are messy because in the wild it gave them more trees. More forest or jungle. They built it all. By eating on the edge of things.

I also think thier immunity to capsasin (hot factor in peppers) is also an evolutionary colaberation so small stupid slow mamals would avoid but the parrots could carry the seeds miles and spread.

I think birds have had for millions of years got thier niche with plants and what-not, but when we keep them and they yes are family, yep it's a bit annoying. But you still got to to love them...I think the eating on the edge of things is just trying to make a new rain forest, even if it's in the family room.

 

[ravvlet]

Kirby likes to throw blueberry skins and bean skins and what have you onto my plate when we have dinner together. The kids shriek and laugh and everyone has a good time.

I bought a little handheld vac that I keep next to his cage and put a splash mat down under it. I wash it every so often and vacuum it up daily. Hanging a shower curtain behind the cage on command hooks will protect your walls from debris. Easier to just get better at cleaning than to try to change the bird!

 

[Cali&Pilot]

I try to only give mine a portion of what I know they will eat as once my Electus is full she loves to throw her food. Nothing like standing on a ladder to get vegetables off the ceiling. Like seriously I don't know how she can get it so high up the wall and on the ceiling. So, I feel your pain...LOL

before I changed her bowl, pilot would purposely kick her food in the bottom of her cage

 

[SailBoat]

When it comes to birds, they are commonly very selective even in their home regions. It is commonly noted that bird activity can be seen on the Forest Floor with a connection to the birds foraging above.

Point is, all birds are wasteful, unless they are being starved. If you are becoming upset that your Parrot is not eating what you think is enough, consider upgrading the quality/freshness of what you are providing as they natural target the healthiest first.

We have long pulled items from our Amazon's food that he has never wanted, repacked it and gifted it a local Pet Store. Regarding the left-overs, we have long supplied that to our outside bird friends.

As a result very little is wasted.

 

[rheashard2]

Pellets are the only thing I work at eliminating waste. That took an acrylic enclosed feeder box. My CAG loves throwing food dishes on floor. It's normal bird behavior to throw food around. I accept these.

 

[SailBoat]

Pellets are the only thing I work at eliminating waste. That took an acrylic enclosed feeder box. My CAG loves throwing food dishes on floor. It's normal bird behavior to throw food around. I accept these.

Those are the least likely to be able to control, short of controlling how many you put out at a time and assuring that when you get a new supply, keep it double wrapped in the Freezer. Only bring out what you are feeding. Always check the serve-by-date as that commonly is a problem at all points in the supply chain.

 

[GaleriaGila]

What great advice and support! This kind of thread is the reason I love PF. We chat, we support, we opine...
Well, I'll weigh in with the recyclers. I sweep/gather the Rb's waste and put it in an ugly ground level dish/bird feeder out back. I've seen bugs, birds, squirrels, and once, a CAT there.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

before I changed her bowl, pilot would purposely kick her food in the bottom of her cage

Some of my female budgies do the same thing- toss the seed and other food out and onto the floor of the cage. Females do this much more often than males. It's very frustrating because it's very common and very normal but very wasteful. I gave my girls a tube dispenser for seed to make it harder to toss it but I also feed them fresh cooked "chop" (a mixture of chopped vegetables and cooked grains) every day and I need to serve the chop in a dish. They love to eat the chop but half of it gets tossed on the floor no matter what I do. I also give them a large leaf of Romsine lettuce where day that they absolute love but they manage to shred and waste a lot of it.
I try not to let all the wasted food bother me. Birds are all messy eaters.

 

[Macawdamia Nut]

My macaw is generally pretty tidy. He does not throw food. When he eats nuts he leaves a LOT of nut debris behind. I sweep it up inside. There is a pesky squirrel who hangs around his outdoor cage waiting for nut pieces to fall outside the cage. I keep an eye on that to make sure there is no interaction or possible cage intrusion. The cage bars are close enough together to keep that pest out, but I worry about his little grabby hands! The bird seems a lot less bothered than me.

I have a composter, so any fruit and veg my bird doesn’t eat gets put in the composter.