How to prepare these foods

I just bought these, and I'm not sure how to prepare them. Should I feed raw? Or sprout them?

- couscous
- buckwheat
- chia seeds
- poppy seeds

I wonder about chia myself. I saw some in a packet marketed for birdies. (It was in a respectable pet store, and packaged by a parrot-food and parrot-treat manufacturer.) I know if you just feed dry chia to a human they can expand and choke you. I didn't see any soaking-instructions on the birdie-chia-seeds packet and that seemed awfully dangerous to me.

Couscous cover with boiling water and leave for about 5 mins. Give it a stir when cool enough feed it to your fids.
Buckwheat can probably go as is.
Chia and poppy I would sprout.

I'm sure others will have more to add.

I eat chia dry all the time! Dirt cheap at Costco!

Koni said:

I just bought these, and I'm not sure how to prepare them. Should I feed raw? Or sprout them?

- couscous
- buckwheat
- chia seeds
- poppy seeds

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Hi Koni,


May I recommend that you use white/red/or brown quinoa rather than couscous. Quinoa is an extremely healthy ancient grain whereas couscous is wheat which is not as nutritious. For either of these, a simple way to remember is twice the amount of filtered water to the grain and use the absorption method. Eg. place 1/2 C of rinsed and drained quinoa into 1 C boiling water, cover, reduce to simmer until water absorbed (you can see dents/holes on top of quinoa where water has been absorbed). Cool, fluff, serve, refrigerate, etc. Very similar to cooking rice using the absorption method.



If you are using buckwheat 'grains', rinse and drain and proceed with the absorption method above.


Chia seeds as is are a crunchy nutritional delight and Ellie loves them sprinkled on a bit of fruit. You can also take a tsp of chia seeds, cover with filtered water, stir until thickened, and you have 'chia pudding'. Yummy LOL. It is filling so do not use the 'pudding' version often as this may stop your bird from eating other nutritional food. Humans who like to lose weight can fill their boots with the pudding as it reduces the hunger/food craving .


Poppy seeds, leave as is and sprinkle on fruit or veggies as a crunchy treat. Chia seeds have more nutritional value.


Hope this helps,
Debbie


PS. Regards to sprouting - these are probably not recommended; I use broccoli, bean, kale seeds etc. Sprouting is a whole topic on its own.

I would avoid feeding the chia seeds. Read somewhere about a parrot that developed a digestive tract blockage after consuming chia seeds.

Thank you for the info on chia seeds 'greytness'. Ellie gets a few every now and then, sparingly as with any 'treat' and sparingly because she is an Eclectus. Do you have a reference for the article? How frequently were the seeds fed to the bird? Was there enough water given to the bird? Type/size of bird? All very good info for future reference...It is always good to stay up-to-date with current information and research. Thanks again.

Poppy seeds soak 8 hours, will sprout in 1-2 days.


Buckwheat soak 15 minutes, sprout in 1-2 days.
I'd sprinkle the chia on dry just as serving.

A good use for chia is in chop that has been frozen. It is great for absorbing the water!

Flboy said:

I eat chia dry all the time! Dirt cheap at Costco!

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Must say though, it is common for me to grab a mouth full of hemp seed as I run out the door to drive somewhere. I slowly grind it up before swallowing. Well.. I did this once with chia seed-once! I looked like something out of a zombie apocalypse! I was working with execs, bringing their systems back online! Took an hour to clear my teeth!