Macaw Diet

[Flyte]

Hi guys. Just wondering what type of food you feed your macaws. Seed/pellets and what brand. Or if anyone mixes their own.
I don't mean snacks, just the staple food. Trying to get my B&G girl on a better diet and would like some ideas. Pellets just seem so 'boring' since our birdies have much better taste buds than we do, but I want to make sure she's getting what she needs.

Thanks

Sarah

 

[birdcrazy]

have you tried fruit blend from zupreem it has all different shapes and colors and the pellets are actually different flavors.find some nuts as well few parrots can resist them. When trying to get you bird to eat healthy nothing works better than eating or pretending to eat the food right in front of them. Sidney is starting to eat much healthier every night I take him to the Fridge to grab a healthy snack last night it was a grape he didn't want to touch it at first but i peeled a bit of the skin off and ate it and soon he was chowing down he ended up eating about half of a rather large grape.

 

[TexDot33]

If you would eat it, and it's considered by the meidcal community to be healthy for you then you can feed it to your macaw (NO: AVACADOS, CHOCHOLATE, RAW ONIONS OR MUSHROOMS) Lots of fruits & berries, LOTS OF LEAFY GREENS (Kale, Dandilion greens, Romain Lettuce) boiled chicken (plain), nuts... NO SEEDS (as treats only) ...

These are vague recommendations, ALWAYS consult your Avian Vet before converting your birdy's diet to make sure you are doing it as safely as possible for your feathered friend ...

If you are looking for a good pellet, I like Zupreem fruit blend, but you can't get much healthier than Harrisons ... expensive, but worth every penny!

~ :50:

 

[Flyte]

Thanks, I am looking into harrisons now..expensive but my crazy monkeys are worth it. My birds already get a wide variety of fruits/nuts/treats, I was just curious about what other people are feeding their macaws as a main diet

 

[indigo]

my preference is Harrison's personally - but yes, expensive and worth it.

 

[Peta]

Yep harrisons here too, but trying to get them to take some Zupreem fruit blend, they have great fun, finding it in their food bowl and throwing everylast bit of them out. But hey while they are doing that at least they are putting them in their beaks, even if it is for only a second, maybe soon, they'll realise that they kinda like them.

 

[indigo]

My guys seem to actually prefer the pellets ... I think thats because I give them small amounts of seeds for treats when I have pellets for them and they always eat their pellets first. Maybe they are just weird. When I switched them, I did 50/50 seeds/pellets and within a week or so they were on 100% pellets. I would talk to them and make a huge fuss and say how yummy it was and let them smell it from the bag and such ... they were all interested and curious when it got in their cages and they tried it the first time. I was surprised as I've heard people have had trouble switching their birds to pellets.

 

[Peta]

My guys seem to actually prefer the pellets ... I think thats because I give them small amounts of seeds for treats when I have pellets for them and they always eat their pellets first. Maybe they are just weird.

I don't think your fids are weird, The trouble is some birds are weaned onto seed. and then changing them over is so hard.

 

[indigo]

Oh all my guys were seed addicts from day one. The first pellets they saw were given by me. Perhaps its just cause I made them seem absurdly interesting and delicious. But I don't really know.

 

[Genlisae]

Indigo... I think you need to come and feed my bird. He will eat the pellets now, but I get that "Fine but only cause I know seed is coming later so I will humour you" look...

 

[Peta]

What a smart fid he is.

 

[indigo]

hehe - well, I have a different "way" with animals it seems, so anything is possible.

 

[Peta]

Hey, it don't matter how we get to this end as long as we do. And our way is always the right way or we wouldn't do it. :04: But now I'm interested, you'd better tell us all about "your different way" we wanna know. You know us better than that now, no one ever has any secrets here.

 

[Genlisae]

hmmm.. a different "way" *leans forward in her chair* ... share......

 

[Peta]

Notice how Indigo has gone very quiet now we want her to share. :12:

Cmon gal we know your out there.

 

[indigo]

*breaks the deafening silence*

Well, I don't really know how to explain it ... I've just never had a problem with animals. I've never had a new animal join my home / family and not fit in withing at most days, and never any real big issues like that. I also tend to know whats wrong with them (when theres something wrong), or when they are not happy and how to fix it - that kind of thing. I have a very strong intuition.

 

[Flyte]

Thats great, Indigo!
I feel like I have a similar way with them.. more so than with humans for sure. I spent much of my childhood raising wild animals (mostly birds) that were injured/abandoned.
I was the 'bird lady' and if anyone knocked down a tree and found eggs/hatchlings they brought them to me. It was usually way too late for the scrambled eggs at that point but I had quite a few birds that I was able to release into the wild. Lots of sparrows and crows and some Canadian Geese as well.
One really wonderful Blue-Jay, 'baby Jay' only had one eye. :03:
I got him very young, probably only a few days old, from my own cat. I didn't realize at the time that I shouldn't socialized wild animals that I planned to release, since I was a kid, but he did well. He loved his swings and toys.
Baby Jay was hard to let go, and he didn't want to leave! I left his cage open on our indoor porch and left all the windows open for him.. he spent his days outside and he came home at night.. eventually he stopped coming home. I knew he was fine though because if I called him when I was outside my yard that summer, he usually flew down to me. I was SO happy when I saw him a year later. He wouldn't fly to me (which was probably good) but he stayed nearby and looked very healthy.
Ahem. sorry, I got off topic!
Anyway, I got the Harrison's and so far so good. My amazon is eating it the most. He eats anything so that was a give in. My gray has always been a very picky eater but he didn't make 'raspberrys' when he tasted it so he doesn't hate it. He will just take awhile. I've been making a huge deal out of all of them anytime they even go near there food dishes so I don't think I'll have a problem.
My macaw is who I was most concerned with as she needs to gain some weight. I think my health problems and not being home a lot because of them has really stressed her out. We are very bonded. She was very sick and because of that, had breathing problems as a baby. I slept with her on my chest to be sure she was breathing properly and if she had a problem I could easily suction her.
Unfortunately I am sick again and may need to be hospitalized for awhile. I may pop them back to the old diet if I don't improve soon.. or just keep them on a 50/50 diet with the pellets until I am well enough to give them the help they need during this big change. I can't expect my mother to do it as she doesn't have the best relationship with them. (She lets the macaw bully her)
Thanks for all the input, I'm glad I found this site
Sorry for the long post! :01:

Sarah :39:

 

[indigo]

Maybe trying a smaller size pellet with your gray ... in eating things he likes he'll accidentally get a pellet here and there. I'd try it at least.

 

[Flyte]

He usually prefers larger things, he's rather clumsy. I think he had some sort of foot/ankle injury years ago that no one took care of. His one ankle kind of twists to the side. I may try breaking them into smaller pieces, just in case, but he would probably do better with holding the big chunky ones.

Sarah

 

[pheobus]

It's good if your mother can keep the 50/50 diet until you're back...

I hope above all that your health improves and you get back to us really fast!
I may have missed it in some post or if you haven't mentioned it and if you want to share it with us, what is going wrong with your health?

Sending good thoughts to you !