Allergy Problem

I've been suffering from severe allergies for a long time and found out the other day that one of them is Ragweed. Then finding out it is in my parrots' food. I keep having a hard time breathing and sneezing during feeding. Even more so in the same room when they toss their food on the floor.

I'm faced with a rather difficult issue. Does anyone know of any Ragweed-free foods I can give my parrots? I would be heartbroken if I had to rehome them.

What kind of birds do you have? I can give LOTS of suggestions but it would help if I knew size and species of bird we are talking about here.

labell said:

What kind of birds do you have? I can give LOTS of suggestions but it would help if I knew size and species of bird we are talking about here.

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I have a Lovebird and a Green Cheek Conure.

Okay so not tiny...Feed WAY more fresh chop, there are tons of ideas right here in the food section. Look into sprouting the seed. You have to be buying a good quality seed for it to sprout which is better any way but sprouting turns a seed into a "living" food. These items are going to be much healthy for your birds as well. Are your birds eating any pellets?

You can also get an air filter may or may not help depending on how many birds you have. You can find less expensive ones at places like Bed Bath and Beyond avoid ones that ionize (very bad!) Some of them have it but have a options to use it or not so those are an option just keep that off. I had REALLY big asthma issues so I have a less expensive one in the eclectus room. A Rabbit Air in my bedroom and an Austin Air for the main part of the house. Very, very pricey but for me it was a must!

If it is the food and not the birds themselves that you are reacting to then this is a much easier fix.

Oh I agree! I feed my GCCs mostly sprouts and chop (chop is just parrot talk for chopped up veggies and sometimes fruit, many people chop up huge batches and freeze it is small bags), some fruit, etc. Not only does it not have any ragweed, but it is WAY better for them than anything dry, even the best of pellets. Switching them to fresh and live food has made a huge difference even in their behavior, I can tell they feel much much better

SilverSage said:

Oh I agree! I feed my GCCs mostly sprouts and chop (chop is just parrot talk for chopped up veggies and sometimes fruit, many people chop up huge batches and freeze it is small bags), some fruit, etc. Not only does it not have any ragweed, but it is WAY better for them than anything dry, even the best of pellets. Switching them to fresh and live food has made a huge difference even in their behavior, I can tell they feel much much better

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Sprouts are great for all parrots. I have 8 gallon size jars that I am constantly making my own sprouts of many different varieties. Having parrots keeps my diet healthy as well as theirs. They like a sprout and black eye pea lunch with kale soaked in mango juice ( I have a juicer which I juice veggies and they like to drink the juice from a cup, good for them when I can't always get them to eat their veggies and fruit).