Watery Poop

[Mel]

I know this a Buddy thread but for both her and Eddie sprouts are excellent. I give them to shadow for dinner every night she loves them and they are pack full of nutrients. Once you get into the habit it's really easy to do

Please, please be careful with sprouts! I know they are all the fad nowadays among bird people and it is true that they are full of nutrients but they are also VERY high in protein - as a matter of fact, they are usually higher than the seed they come from. And they are also the breeding food par excellence! Sprouts, in nature, only happen at the beginning of spring in temperate climates and after the rainy season in tropical areas and that is the breeding season for wild birds. And one of the reasons why it is breeding season is because of the availability of high protein food (as sprouts are). They don't usually happen at any other time of the year and birds do not eat them all year round.

I think this will be another topic we will have to disagree on... there seems to be a few . I have always read positive things about feeding sprouts. The only negative is in the sprouting process and the possibility of fungus and other nasties however these can be eliminated though the use of GSE in the water, correct storage and so on.

As with everything we need to weigh up the pros & cons and for me Sprouts are huge in the pro dept esp having an Eclectus. The protein is extremely high quality and they also contain an abundance of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, chlorophyll and trace elements

The following is taken from an article on pesticides.

Winged Wisdom Pet Bird Magazine - Kitchen Physician III - Parrots, Produce & Pesticides. Safe foods for pet parrots, exotic pet birds - Birds, Birds, Birds

"One way to provide inexpensive, organically-grown foods to our parrots is to start SPROUTING! Sprouts are live food which our parrots are biologically adapted to consume, high in enzymes, extremely nutritious, easy to grow, and best of all, uncontaminated by pesticides and other chemicals! When we grow them ourselves, we can be certain that they are pesticide free. "

 

[clawnz]

I know this a Buddy thread but for both her and Eddie sprouts are excellent. I give them to shadow for dinner every night she loves them and they are pack full of nutrients. Once you get into the habit it's really easy to do

Please, please be careful with sprouts! I know they are all the fad nowadays among bird people and it is true that they are full of nutrients but they are also VERY high in protein - as a matter of fact, they are usually higher than the seed they come from. And they are also the breeding food par excellence! Sprouts, in nature, only happen at the beginning of spring in temperate climates and after the rainy season in tropical areas and that is the breeding season for wild birds. And one of the reasons why it is breeding season is because of the availability of high protein food (as sprouts are). They don't usually happen at any other time of the year and birds do not eat them all year round.

I think this will be another topic we will have to disagree on... there seems to be a few . I have always read positive things about feeding sprouts. The only negative is in the sprouting process and the possibility of fungus and other nasties however these can be eliminated though the use of GSE in the water, correct storage and so on.

As with everything we need to weigh up the pros & cons and for me Sprouts are huge in the pro dept esp having an Eclectus. The protein is extremely high quality and they also contain an abundance of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, chlorophyll and trace elements

The following is taken from an article on pesticides.

Winged Wisdom Pet Bird Magazine - Kitchen Physician III - Parrots, Produce & Pesticides. Safe foods for pet parrots, exotic pet birds - Birds, Birds, Birds

"One way to provide inexpensive, organically-grown foods to our parrots is to start SPROUTING! Sprouts are live food which our parrots are biologically adapted to consume, high in enzymes, extremely nutritious, easy to grow, and best of all, uncontaminated by pesticides and other chemicals! When we grow them ourselves, we can be certain that they are pesticide free. "

I second that. Fresh Sprouts are part of the excelsior of Life.
I did post a thread on how to sprout and the value of eating them.

 

[Birdamor]

Yes, everybody has different opinions and, unfortunately for the birds, what seems a great idea at one time, turns out to be real bad later on so I believe that when you read an article about bird husbandry, you need to put it into the context of the times when it was written and by whom. I have found that not everything written on birdsites is correct or up to date - no reflection on the birdsites themselves, it's only that we are constantly learning new things. Personally, I have switched my birds' diet many times and, most likely, what I am feeding now won't be what I will be feeding in another year or so because I am constantly doing research.

Years ago, everybody thought that seeds were the best food for parrots but now we know that they aren't. Then came pellets. And they were thought to be the eight wonder of the world when it came to birds and it is true that they were much, much better than what they were eating at the time (which was just seeds) but nowadays you will find an increasing number of people who have come to believe that pellets are, after all, not that good (there is even a particular study done with cockatiels that proved that they are real bad for them -and I personally believe that this holds true for all small species). And I think that feeding sprouts everyday will be another one of those things: good today, bad tomorrow. Why? Because of their high protein content.

You see, I go by what the way they eat in nature. I might not be able to reproduce their diet in terms of specific ingredients because, obviously, I don't have access to the kind of plant material each of the species I have would eat in the wild but I do try to follow the general nutrition values and that's why I am always very, very careful of high protein food. Because birds in the wild do not have access to large amounts of high protein all the time and I have come to believe that feeding them rich food all year round is what causes them to die before their time. Birds have access to high protein only during breeding season and not that much either because there just aren't that many vegetarian sources of large quantities of high protein in nature. You have beans, nuts, seeds and sprouts. Beans, with notable exceptions, are not tropical; some nuts and seeds are but they are usually eaten green; and then there are sprouts which, by definition, need to be annual in order to be found in large quantities. This tells me that even though birds consume high protein before and during breeding season, they don't the rest of the year. High protein = breeding. So much so that birds on long day hours will not go into breeding condition if not fed enough protein, and will go into it even if kept to short days if they are fed high protein. High protein is a breeding trigger for all birds but most especially for tropical birds where photoperiodism is just a minor trigger, coming after food availability and wheather conditions. Even insectivores do not eat high protein all year round. Take the Northern Cardinal, for example. This bird's diet consists of 90% insects during breeding season (extremely high protein) but switches over to only 10% the rest of the year and, when you feed them high protein all year round, their livers stop metabolizing protein correctly (and I know because I took in one that had that problem -she had big brown plasticky looking things growing out of the sides of her legs and neither my AVs nor I could figure out what these things were or why she had them but my main AV consulted with a zoo vet and he told us what it was: acute hyperkeratosis due to high protein all year round aggravated by avitaminosis A). And, if you do some in-depth research on your own (and, IMPO, birdsites are not the best places to go for this, I think you can only get the real scoop from studies and reports done by ornithologists, biologists, field biologists, etc) you will realize that this switch from breeding to non-breeding diet holds true throughout the different species of all climate zones.

And that's why my birds have two different diets: higher protein as well as more tender greens and summer fruits starting in spring and lower protein, hardier greens and mostly tubers and hard rind veggies starting in the fall. It's not what they eat in Nature but it's as close as I can make it. Because I firmly believe that Nature is wiser than we are when it comes to what is best for undomesticated animals so I try to copy her ways.

And Mel, I would be even more careful with an ekkie because it's a fact that ekkies have one of the most nutrient and protein deficient natural diets of all psittacines as well as one of the highest in fiber -that's why their intestinal tract is longer than the other species'. Everything I have read about ekkies diet (I have a RS male now and had a SI female before) says that less is best when it comes to them. As a matter of fact, the dreaded toe tapping and wing flicking which, as far as I know, only ekkies get, is believed to be caused by a too rich diet.

 

[clawnz]

I cannot find where it says Mung Beans are High in Protein?????
Sugar maybe, not Protein.
We all, including our Fids need a good varied diet. Nobody is going to argue with that!
Sprouts are a Top Way to ensure our Fids are getting a lot of vitamins and minerals, and have not been messed with by white man.
I do not think you are going to find this will change anytime soon.
The Chinese have known about the benefits of sprouting for thousands of years .
I found this item below. Which to my mind confirms, we should all be eating these sprouts.

Used extensively in Asian cuisine, bean sprouts are not often considered by the public as a nutritional element. However, bean sprouts, or rather Mung Bean Sprouts,Used extensively in Asian cuisine, bean sprouts are not often considered by the public as a nutritional element. However, bean sprouts, or rather Mung Bean Sprouts, as they are properly called, contain pure forms of <SCRIPT language='JavaScript1.1' SRC="http://ad.doubleclick.net/adj/N5767.associatedconteOX10800/B4623016.7;abr=!ie;sz=300x250;click=;ord=[timestamp]?"> </SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT> <a href="http://ads.associatedcontent.com/www/delivery/ck.php?maxparams=2__bannerid=7181__zoneid=2__cb=d994d88fbb__maxdest=http%3A%2F%2Fad.doubleclick.net%2Fjump%2FN5767.associatedconteOX10800%2FB4623016.7%3Babr%3D%21ie4%3Babr%3D%21ie5%3Bsz%3D300x250%3Bord%3D%5Btimestamp%5D%3F" target="_blank"> <IMG SRC="http://ad.doubleclick.net/ad/N5767.associatedconteOX10800/B4623016.7;abr=!ie4;abr=!ie5;sz=300x250;ord=[timestamp]?" BORDER=0 WIDTH=300 HEIGHT=250 ALT="Click Here"></A> </NOSCRIPT>

SORRY cannot get this page to copy out right. So here is the link: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/29536/mung_bean_sprouts_nutritional_value.html?cat=22

vitamins A, B, C, and E, in addition to an assortment of minerals including Calcium, Iron, and Potassium

vitamins A, B, C, and E, in addition to an assortment of minerals including Calcium, Iron, and Potassium.

Thanks to this vitamin & mineral two-fisted punch of nutrition, bean sprouts are gaining popularity as a health food, turning up in everything from salads to soups or just as a healthy snack. Available fresh all year round, their delightful crunch and mild flavor make for an enjoyable snack experience, and are a welcome addition to many meals as an accompaniment or ingredient. It should be taken into consideration that the actual nutritional content is not sufficient as a total source of vitamins and minerals for the day; rather, they should be used in addition to other healthy, nutritious foods, and as a substitute for other less wholesome foods, such as rice and pasta.



vitamins A, B, C, and E, in addition to an assortment of minerals including Calcium, Iron, and Potassium.

Thanks to this vitamin & mineral two-fisted punch of nutrition, bean sprouts are gaining popularity as a health food, turning up in everything from salads to soups or just as a healthy snack. Available fresh all year round, their delightful crunch and mild flavor make for an enjoyable snack experience, and are a welcome addition to many meals as an accompaniment or ingredient. It should be taken into consideration that the actual nutritional content is not sufficient as a total source of vitamins and minerals for the day; rather, they should be used in addition to other healthy, nutritious foods, and as a substitute for other less wholesome foods, such as rice and pasta.



vitamins A, B, C, and E, in addition to an assortment of minerals including Calcium, Iron, and Potassium.

Thanks to this vitamin & mineral two-fisted punch of nutrition, bean sprouts are gaining popularity as a health food, turning up in everything from salads to soups or just as a healthy snack. Available fresh all year round, their delightful crunch and mild flavor make for an enjoyable snack experience, and are a welcome addition to many meals as an accompaniment or ingredient. It should be taken into consideration that the actual nutritional content is not sufficient as a total source of vitamins and minerals for the day; rather, they should be used in addition to other healthy, nutritious foods, and as a substitute for other less wholesome foods, such as rice and pasta.

Produced from mung beans, the sprouts are free of cholesterol, and are ideal for anyone counting calories. One cup of mung bean sprouts contains only approximately 30 calories, 3 grams of protein, only 6 carbohydrates, and only .2 grams of fat. Sprouts also contain a high source of fiber, are easily digestible and contain a high concentration of enzymes facilitating the digestive process.

A health advisory was issued for raw sprouts some years ago regarding the risk of food-borne illnesses. The reasoning was that sprouts are usually grown in a warm environment, ideal for the growth of bacteria. Cooking the sprouts will destroy this harmful bacteria. Washing and chilling raw sprouts will also reduce the risk of harmful bacteria.

THIS! is due to people trying to store them instead of using them fresh.

Another site: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2333/2

 

[Mel]

I agree 100% not to believe everything you read and I am very sceptical, esp with the net however when I read something over and over and over again in magazines, websites etc I start to think there must be some truth to it. I believe the Ecky problems are often from feeding a high pelleted diet, pestacides, preservatives, additives or adding supplements, I have NEVER heard of it being from adding sprouts to the diet in fact almost every ecky article/website have advocated them.
Thank you for the warning Birdamor but until I am told by more than one person they are not good for my birds I'll keep feeding them.