A few questions about making chop

[Newbsi]

I had made my first chop a week or two ago (the breeder had sent me home with chop).
My first chop consisted of lentils, brown rice, carrots, broc, peas, snow peas, green beans, pumpkin seeds. All the veggies were fresh except peas which were frozen. I cut them up into small pieces but they were big enough for him to pick up.
Today I took what was left and put it through our food processor along with the lentils and rice.
My question is, should it be more like mash? or small chunks? Does that really matter? We are talking about a Senegal.
I did weigh him this morning and he has gained 2g in about a week (I will have to look back and see what day I got the scale and posted in here)
I have Roudybush pellets available at all times in her cage. (after reading yesterday, I will get goldenfeast next time!)
I feed her chop twice a day and fruit for lunch. (Honestly, I am not sure how much fruit actually makes it into her stomach, I think she is just shredding it).
This week I got
snow peas
Chicpeas
flax seed
pumpkin seed
sunflower seed (hulled)
butternut squash
bell peppers three colors
carrots
alfalfa sprouts (Spelling?)
green beans
kale
spinach
peas in the pod things

I finally see why you have to freeze it!

How much grain to veggies? I got some kind of wheat pasta for this batch.
Chicpeas do you have to soak them?
Chicpeas do you have to cook them?
(or just put them through the processor hard and dry)
Alfalfa sprouts- when I wash them the little brown seed looking things all fall off. Is that the part that is good for them? If so, it would seem pointless... but i have to wash them.
Should I be getting the same things for each batch of chop? Is changing chop ingredients like changing brands of food?
T

 

[SilverSage]

Texture is a matter of preference. When teaching a bird to eat chop it's usually better to go smaller so they can't pick anything out. But I also have a couple of birds who prefer food big enough to hold in their feet and munch on. Up to you and the bird.

Grain to veggies has to do with specific nutrient needs and depends on the needs of your species, and I know virtually nothing about your species.

All legumes should be either sprouted or cooked. Something about the dry form inhibiting something or being hard to digest... I honestly don't remember the reason. It all legumes are supposed to be cooked or sprouted before feeding.

If you wash your sprouts in a fine wire mesh strainer even the parts that call off will be saved and can be fed.

Variaty is the spice of life! I try to feed the widest variety of foods I can, which gives my birds the widest variety of nutrients. I try to switch it up often and feed fewer things each day because it helps me keep everything fresh.

 

[Newbsi]

Thank you so much!

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

My chop is different every time I make it. Sometimes I use whole wheat pasta, sometimes I use a pasta I get locally that is made with organic veggie "juices". Sometimes I use brown rice, sometimes wild rice. Sometimes I make it more like a mash and sometimes I leave larger "chunks" Sometimes I use a 15 bean mix and sometimes I choose 1 or 2 specific beans to use. And I always change the veggies, use different ones, add more or less of one or another, anything to keep it interesting for them. I don't want to eat the same thing every day so I don't make them.

I even make a couple different chops and serve one for breakfast and a different one for dinner.

Yes they are spoiled

 

[Newbsi]

My chop seemed dry. Are you suppose to add water?

 

[Doublete]

No!
If it's dry it just means the veggies you used have low water content.
I put so much stuff in mine, and include fruit as well, so mine is always a bit watery. Despite putting quinoa in it.

 

[Newbsi]

Okay, Thank you!. I havent put fruit in it because I thought it would get slimy. I just cut her fruit fresh each day

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

I also don't add fruit to chop I am going to freeze. I do however feed fresh fruit and/or frozen(defrosted) berries daily.

 

[DexMom]

I make a chop mix similar to yours and use it as the base of Dexter's meals, then add fresh veggies that wouldn't freeze/thaw well (watery veggies like cucumbers, peppers, romaine lettuce), any cooked veggies I have on hand from human leftovers (if they have no butter, sauce or salt), diced fresh fruit or rehydrated fruit/nut mix (like goldenfeast caribbean bounty). I feel like it keeps the chop interesting because he's always finding other foods mixed in it. My first batch ended up coming out in a very fine chop because I lost a piece of my food processor and I couldn't use the shredder/slicer blade. So, everything got pulsed finer than I would have otherwise prepped it. I found that was not such a bad thing because the tiny pieces stick to the other wetter foods I'm adding in at each meal, so I know the good nutritious stuff is going in and not being picked around and ignored.