The Powder! THE POWDER!

[zERo]

Hey guys!

I have a problem and now a thought towards its solution, my birds eat TOPs pellets, as you all know, 1/3 or more turns to powder, well I've been saving the powder and I use some in their birdie bread, this issue is, my freezer is full of bags of the powder, I probably have 6lbs. or more.
I only use 1/3 cup in their bread once a month or so!

I thought about getting a high pressure pellet making machine? How would I bind the powder? Once I use all of the powder I think I'll make my own pellet!

Thanks!

 

[ravvlet]

I’m not sure! Bird Tricks sells rebranded TOPS, and they indicate on their website that it’s a cold pressed pellet. You could hot press instead by adding water and using a pasta extruder, which would be cheaper, but supposedly cold pressed is better.

The only cold press machines I know of are the kind that grind corn and other vegetable matter into feed for chickens, and they’re upwards of $1,000. Probably not worth it. I’m really impressed you’ve saved that much pellet dust! I just sprinkle it onto their veg when we get to the bottom of the bag, haha.

Edited to add - the machines for chicken pellets don’t seem to add anything to it besides the corn or whatever. That would explain why the tops pellets fall apart so easily. I’m looking at the ingredients on the bag and rice is usually used as a binding agent, and it’s the fourth ingredient, so I don’t think they add anything else.

 

[ravvlet]

I’m jealous you can handle that much powder actually - I am allergic to alfalfa and just sticking my face in the bag makes my eyes water and I start sneezing. Too much of the powder on my hands and I get a rash, haha.

 

[zERo]

I’m not sure! Bird Tricks sells rebranded TOPS, and they indicate on their website that it’s a cold pressed pellet. You could hot press instead by adding water and using a pasta extruder, which would be cheaper, but supposedly cold pressed is better.

The only cold press machines I know of are the kind that grind corn and other vegetable matter into feed for chickens, and they’re upwards of $1,000. Probably not worth it. I’m really impressed you’ve saved that much pellet dust! I just sprinkle it onto their veg when we get to the bottom of the bag, haha.

Edited to add - the machines for chicken pellets don’t seem to add anything to it besides the corn or whatever. That would explain why the tops pellets fall apart so easily. I’m looking at the ingredients on the bag and rice is usually used as a binding agent, and it’s the fourth ingredient, so I don’t think they add anything else.

That sounds like a great idea, I would use the machine once the powders all gone for pellets I'll make, which I hope you guys on the forums will help with the recipe!

I never thought of the alfalfa! Of course people would be allergic! My sister sneezes like crazy when she's around any kind of hay.

I'll look into the pasta machines as $1000 is a bit high, lol.

 

[HeatherG]

That’s funny. I love the way TOPS smells.

 

[HeatherG]

Could you add a bit of water, roll little balls, and bake them?

You can also leave the powder in the dish. Bird will lick it up eventually.

 

[ravvlet]

That’s funny. I love the way TOPS smells.

Yeah. I found out I was allergic when we got a pet rabbit. I had rashes all over my hands even from orchard grass! We ended up finding him a new home with a bunny buddy where he has his own room in the house. He was a good bunny, but I am the Primary Pet Wrangler and year round hay fever sucked. I also like the smell. Just not up close when I haven’t had Zyrtec, lol.

With a pasta extruder I think you’d extrude the noodles out and cut them to length. I don’t know if you need to bake them, but some people make dog and cat kibble this way, and it may be easier to research using their methods as it’s probably more common than handmade bird food.

 

[HeatherG]

I’d be worried they could grow something if you wet the powder, extruded, and didn’t then bake.

 

[zERo]

Could you add a bit of water, roll little balls, and bake them?

You can also leave the powder in the dish. Bird will lick it up eventually.

Well, I'm hesitant to bake them, I don't want to destroy too much of the nutrients
I've tried leaving the powder but only my sparrow will eat the powder!

 

[HeatherG]

If you don’t bake then make sure they dry quickly and thoroughly.

 

[zERo]

If you don’t bake then make sure they dry quickly and thoroughly.

Maybe baking would be a good idea? I wonder how the birds will feel about a new texture but same taste? My GCC is very particular about texture.

 

[ravvlet]

If you can’t bake them and are worried about contaminants you could freeze them. Or boil them? Boiling would have the same problem as baking.

 

[ravvlet]

Wait, what about just popping them in a dehydrator? I don’t know why I didn’t think of that! You should be able to extrude them, cut them, and dehydrate them. I think that would be safe, although please research to be sure.

Dehydrators run at a very low temp (around 135 F) so it’s not considered baking. It takes about 8 hours to fully dehydrate most foods, but the end result should be safe to store in the fridge in a sealed container just like commercially available pellets. They’re also pretty inexpensive - under a hundred dollars for a nice sized one!

 

[zERo]

Wait, what about just popping them in a dehydrator? I don’t know why I didn’t think of that! You should be able to extrude them, cut them, and dehydrate them. I think that would be safe, although please research to be sure.

Dehydrators run at a very low temp (around 135 F) so it’s not considered baking. It takes about 8 hours to fully dehydrate most foods, but the end result should be safe to store in the fridge in a sealed container just like commercially available pellets. They’re also pretty inexpensive - under a hundred dollars for a nice sized one!

That's a great idea!
I'll have to hold off a bit on getting the extruder, would using an oven work? Our oven can be set to 170F. If not I'll get a dehydrator, my dad may have one in storage somewhere though.

 

[ravvlet]

That's a great idea!
I'll have to hold off a bit on getting the extruder, would using an oven work? Our oven can be set to 170F. If not I'll get a dehydrator, my dad may have one in storage somewhere though.

The dehydrators work because like an air fryer, in addition to the low temp it’s circulating air in the unit and wicking out moisture. If you’re using an oven it has to be a convection oven and would need to run at a lower temp - below 160 F.

If you do have access to a convection oven that can run at lower temps (the parrot safe brand of air fryer/toaster oven we have can do it as air fryers also have a fan) the instructions for doing it are here:

https://www.hunker.com/12002263/how-to-use-a-convection-oven-as-a-food-dehydrator

You can always hand roll pasta if you’re careful! I don’t know how well tops pellet dust handles as I don’t mess with it due to my allergies, but it would be easy to test out.

 

[zERo]

The dehydrators work because like an air fryer, in addition to the low temp it’s circulating air in the unit and wicking out moisture. If you’re using an oven it has to be a convection oven and would need to run at a lower temp - below 160 F.

If you do have access to a convection oven that can run at lower temps (the parrot safe brand of air fryer/toaster oven we have can do it as air fryers also have a fan) the instructions for doing it are here:

https://www.hunker.com/12002263/how-to-use-a-convection-oven-as-a-food-dehydrator

You can always hand roll pasta if you’re careful! I don’t know how well tops pellet dust handles as I don’t mess with it due to my allergies, but it would be easy to test out.

I think I'll try shaping ahem rolling them, I'm sure I can find a used dehydrator from Craigslist or FB