Sources of Protein?

[Phlox]

So I know additional protein is a nice treat for a lot of parrots -- I like to give eggs and cooked chicken occasionally (then we make jokes about the birds being cannibals, heh) but does anyone supplement with insects, like the freeze dried options?

I had reptiles for a long time as well as helping my husband raise game fish in the past. So I usually had freeze dried mealworms or crickets for young animals or when fresh food wasn't available.

I've considered trying those as a bird treat, since I have to figure insects would be their primary wild source of protein.

Does anyone else do that? Any reason why that wouldn't work? For reference, I mean these things:

Carnivore Foods for Reptiles: Freeze-Dried Mealworms at Drs. Foster and Smith

 

[Birdman666]

They should get more than enough with eggs, chicken, fish, and nuts.

I seriously doubt mine would eat bugs. And eggs are probably better anyway. Never seen a bird turn its beak up at scrambled eggs...

 

[MomtoPercy]

Yup, I'm with Birdman. My baby adores his "chop" omelet, which het gets every two weeks or so. I just beat up one egg and toss one potion of chop in it. Cook on low heat till done and cool a bit to serve. He only gets about a 1/4 of the cooked portion - mommy eats the rest (There is nothing "weird" in his chop so it is perfectly edible)

Another good source of protien is quinoa. I always include some in my chop

 

[Phlox]

I'm just looking for something I might be able to put in a dish before I head off for work without worrying it'll get funky during the day. They get eggs on the weekends, but I'd like to have an alternative.

I know a lot of people are creeped out by insects, so I had a feeling this might not be something most parronts have tried. I know a lot of softbills need insects though and I just wondered if the freeze-dried thing was a problem compared to live.

 

[Mekaisto]

Very few wild parrots eat insects, and I don't think your parrot would recognise them as food, but there's no harm trying.
Freeze-dried insects are actually better than live, because there is less chance of escape or bacterial contamination.

Being herbivores, parrots do not need meat proteins in the same way we do. I'm sure you've heard of 'essential amino acids' - in adult humans there are 9 amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) that our body cannot make, so we need to get them in our diet. These are found in meat, plants and other foods, which is why vegetarians can survive without meat.
In parrots and most other herbivores, all the amino acids they require are either found in plants, or are manufactured by their body. There is a LOT of debate in the scientific community as to whether animal-derived proteins are beneficial to parrots, but the general consensus is that parrots do not need to supplement their diet with insects or meat in the wild or in captivity (although some do, depending on species, condition and habitat).

There is no downside to giving your bird a little animal protein, in fact I used to care for a couple of rainbow lorikeets that would go crazy for salmon XD
But this was given as a treat, rather than a necessary part of their diet.

 

[Selestine]

My birds get cooked bean mix every day for protein. Not sure how long it can stay in the cage without spoiling though.. I'm a stay-at-home mom so that's not something I've had to worry about =/

 

[Phlox]

Thanks guys! I have some so I think I'll pop a couple in the dish and see what happens. Worse case scenario is they don't eat them. I just like the idea of giving foods similar to what they'd eat in the wild.

I bet it will be a bigger hit with my dove than the GCC, now that I think about it.

 

[BoomBoom]

Yup, I'm with Birdman. My baby adores his "chop" omelet, which het gets every two weeks or so. I just beat up one egg and toss one potion of chop in it. Cook on low heat till done and cool a bit to serve. He only gets about a 1/4 of the cooked portion - mommy eats the rest (There is nothing "weird" in his chop so it is perfectly edible)

I'd like to try this. Do you use oil when you make the omelet?

 

[BoomBoom]

Very few wild parrots eat insects, and I don't think your parrot would recognise them as food, but there's no harm trying.
Freeze-dried insects are actually better than live, because there is less chance of escape or bacterial contamination.

Being herbivores, parrots do not need meat proteins in the same way we do. I'm sure you've heard of 'essential amino acids' - in adult humans there are 9 amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) that our body cannot make, so we need to get them in our diet. These are found in meat, plants and other foods, which is why vegetarians can survive without meat.
In parrots and most other herbivores, all the amino acids they require are either found in plants, or are manufactured by their body. There is a LOT of debate in the scientific community as to whether animal-derived proteins are beneficial to parrots, but the general consensus is that parrots do not need to supplement their diet with insects or meat in the wild or in captivity (although some do, depending on species, condition and habitat).

There is no downside to giving your bird a little animal protein, in fact I used to care for a couple of rainbow lorikeets that would go crazy for salmon XD
But this was given as a treat, rather than a necessary part of their diet.

Great post! Very informative, thanks!

 

[randy]

Peanuts & sunflower seeds (striped) are what I use for my macaw.

 

[RavensGryf]

Robin used to get a little cooked chicken meat (not just for him, but if we had it for dinner too), and a bit of boiled or scrambled eggs. He LOVES it. Poor guy can't have it any more (until the treatment he is going through is over and/or surgery for the issue some of you know about) since the toxicity is taxing his kidneys right now. Protein is hard on bad kidneys. Once he's all fixed up he'll get it again

I'm careful not to feed Raven too much protein either since Pionus are more susceptible to gout from too much protein.

 

[MomtoPercy]

Yup, I'm with Birdman. My baby adores his "chop" omelet, which het gets every two weeks or so. I just beat up one egg and toss one potion of chop in it. Cook on low heat till done and cool a bit to serve. He only gets about a 1/4 of the cooked portion - mommy eats the rest (There is nothing "weird" in his chop so it is perfectly edible)

I'd like to try this. Do you use oil when you make the omelet?

I would prefer to use no oil and a non-stick pan but that is too risky for our birds. So, yes, I do use oil but it is LITERALLY only two drops of extra virgin olive oil. I smear the bottom of the pan with the two drops of oil before I put it on the stove to heat and then I cook the omelete on low heat so it doesn't stick. It takes me about five minutes to cook the omelet which I turn over for about 1 minute in the end just to make sure it is cooked through.

 

[hacatta]

I use 100% coconut oil.
It is something that is so far i know harmless.
I suddenly get the urge to make some scrambled eggs for them when i get home.

 

[Phlox]

So I gave Phlox a mealworm last night and she thought it was pretty awesome; she ended up eating 3. She is a bird garbage disposal though and hasn't met a food she wouldn't eat yet. But it seemed like a success. I'm going to offer a few to the other birds tonight!

 

[honeybug]

For protein I give my boys eggs but I usually have to mix something in with it as they aren't big fans. But cooked beans are good and I also give bee pollen which they love.