people foods

I am working on finding people foods that are good for "Blanch" that I also like. I love sharing my food with him. So far we have shared some honey nut chex, some hearty grains bagels (Oatmeal with honey), banana (just this morning) grapes, a blueberry bagel and some mixed veggies. What are good cereals can I give him? I don't like cheerios so that's out. I can get some for him to eat but I don't like them for me. I have made him some birdie bread but I added his pellets to that so I won't eat that. I made up a harvest bread for me a few months ago maybe I can try to make that again. Its just a made up recipe. I used whole grain flour, no oil, pumpkin, canned pineapple, chunky applesauce, cinnamon, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, egg...I am thinking that was it...but I guess I could put pretty much anything in it. I love zucchini bread and carrot cake so maybe I should make a combo of that...with raisins...wow now I am making myself hungry.
Rhonda

My amazons absolutely love warm pasta. My nineteen year old bluefront will actually do a baby-type feeding response when he eats warm pasta.
When talking about people foods that can be given to parrots its almost easier to tell you what they shouldn't get than list everything they can have.
Absolutely no chocolate, caffiene or avacados. These are highly toxic to birds. Stay away from highly acidic foods such as tomatoe sauce, but a little bit wont hurt them. I actually had a catalina macaw who liked to drink white zinfandel wine, but it is no better for them than it is for us so I don't reccomend letting them drink anything alcoholic or carbonated. Also stay away from large amounts of sugar. Think about the way you would feed a small child and thats a pretty good start.

Thanks for the info. I am trying to find a cereal without sugar in the first few ingredients but its not easy. I love shredded wheat but there again...lots of sugar on the ones I like. He seems to love any food. (Aside from peas) I bought a mix that you cook from the pet store (can't remember the name brand) but it had pasta in it and he picks through the pasta. I made him brown rice the other day and my daughter made some mixed veggies up for him and we added pellets to that...he seemed to like that...and made a huge mess with it. LOL. Is there a powder out there that you can buy just by itself to add vitamins to cooked foods and seasoning? The pack I bought at the store had one in it.

Rhonda

Most pet stores should carry powdered vitamins like Nekton brand vitamins most of those should have instructions for adding them to food or water. I personally dont like adding vitamins to water because some birds will avoid drinking discolored water (remember that parrots do not have a well developed sense of smell or taste) and I want to be sure they are drinking enough. Also keep in mind that it is not nessisary (and can be dangerous) to give vitamins along with a pelleted diet. If your bird is receiving a varied diet (as it sounds like he is) he is probably receiving enough vitamins. And if he gets too much of a fat-soluable vitamin like vitamin E it can be toxic. I would suggest that you first concentrate on making sure he is eating his pellets. Other foods can come later as treats and as a way for you to interact with him. As a young amazon parrot he should be easy to convert to pellets by simply offering him pellets only for a week or so. Naturally you have to be sure he is eating and with an older amazon this can present a problem as they might flatly refuse to eat the pellets even if they are literally starving to death. But young amazons are filled with a curiousity to explore and play with (and eat) everything they encounter.

Well that leads me to another question. What brand of pellets does everyone believe in and why? Right now he is on pretty bird and I am thinking of changing to zupreem...any reason to or not to?
Rhonda

I would stay with pretty bird and use the amazon diet that they have. Amazons are "high risk" for becoming seed addicts.

zarafia said:

... I actually had a catalina macaw who liked to drink white zinfandel wine, but it is no better for them than it is for us so I don't reccomend letting them drink anything alcoholic or carbonated.

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This almost knocked me out of my chair. Alcohol is a big birdie NO-NO, in any form ... I would never suggest this to anyone ... but, how did that Mac react to the wine, she actually drank it? Again, I must stress that this is high suggested against, and I wouldn't want anyone out there to try it. I just want to know what happened ...

zarafia said:

... I personally dont like adding vitamins to water because some birds will avoid drinking discolored water (remember that parrots do not have a well developed sense of smell or taste) and I want to be sure they are drinking enough. Also keep in mind that it is not nessisary (and can be dangerous) to give vitamins along with a pelleted diet. If your bird is receiving a varied diet (as it sounds like he is) he is probably receiving enough vitamins.

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Agreed 100%!! Another thing to throw into this equation is that the amount of vitamins that are actually ingested is minimal ... I know that I change Ham and Mac's water 3 - 4 (if not more) times a day ... they would never drink enough for it to be beneficial ... water should just be water. Pellets and a healthy diet should be supply all the necessary nutrients these guys need ... I can't stress enough ~ Sweet Potato!

As for switching from one pellet to another ... I feel Zupreem and Harrison's, it's really a personal preference, most of your pellets on the market today are adequate.

Can't wait to see pictures of your little one!

:50:

If your birds are on a healthy pellet diet with some fruits and veggies there is no need for vitamin supplimentation. In fact as Zarafia said there are several vitamins that a bird can "overdose" on. Except when recommended by a veterinarian to address a specific need or deficiency I wouldn't give them any vitamins.

As far as the pellets I use Zupreem and couldn't be happier (Auggie loves it too). On the other hand there are many good foods out there, if Blanch is happy with pretty bird I would see no reason to change. Variety is great in the fresh fruits, veggies, and treats, but their pellet food can provide a stable food they are comfortable with. In other words if you do change Zupreem is great, but unless theres a problem with the Pretty Bird I'd say stick with it.

For human foods just about anything thats good for you will be good for him, with a handful of exceptions, in addition to those already listed I think onion and garlic were on the no-no list.

Despite Zarafia's luck with it alcohol is very dangerous for them also. Birds like humans have a taste for alcohol due to the fact that in nature it is indicative of the most ripe fruit, though even the most ripe fruit only has about 0.6% alcohol, where as wine has ten to twenty times that much. I dont know the specific levels of alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenases in a birds liver (the enzymes used to metabolize alcohol) though I do know that birds have been recorded getting drunk off of eating fruit - so just imagine what our alcohol could do.

On that note if you want to see some crazy stories google "drunk birds"... many news stories of birds getting FUIs, flying under the influence.... of fruit.

Just wanted to mention that since I've started paying more attention to my birds' diet, I've noticed that I've started eating much better myself.


Personally, when people say I 'eat like a bird'...I think it's a compliment!