Could You Just Feed Chop and Skip the Pellets? What are the Risks or Concerns?

[LoveOfallAnimals]

My eclectus has refused to eat any pellets the last three days. She just wants chop. Should I be concerned? Or is a good chop consisting of fresh vegetables, grains, pasta, and legumes a better choice?

 

[BirdyBee]

My eclectus has refused to eat any pellets the last three days. She just wants chop. Should I be concerned? Or is a good chop consisting of fresh vegetables, grains, pasta, and legumes a better choice?

@kme3388 ? @saxguy64 ?

 

[chris-md]

Yes. Most serious eclectus owners don’t feed pellets. The key is diversity, feeding as wide an array of foods as possible to ensure you don’t miss out on any micronutrients.

 

[LoveOfallAnimals]

Yes. Most serious eclectus owners don’t feed pellets. The key is diversity, feeding as wide an array of foods as possible to ensure you don’t miss out on any micronutrients.

So out of all of the different parrot chop recipes and cookbooks for parrots is there one that you would recommend?

 

[Owlet]

So out of all of the different parrot chop recipes and cookbooks for parrots is there one that you would recommend?

I know birdtrick's bad rep but their parrot cook books are actually really nice. I use their seasonal feeding system for my ekkie. Though I do alter it a bit. Less beans, no pasta, and try to get some more vitamin A in where I can. When I do use pasta I try to stick to veggie pasta or lentil pasta.

 

[Owlet]

If I could I would feed all chop and no pellets, i would, but it doesn't work out for me unfortunately :c I think it's better for ekkies specifically to be off pellets. I use them more as a filler and try to make sure he's getting all his nutrition from his morning chop.

 

[chris-md]

So out of all of the different parrot chop recipes and cookbooks for parrots is there one that you would recommend?

Not really. When you’ve been making chop long enough you don’t think in terms of “recipes”. Just grab a bunch of fruits, veggies, and grains that you know are parrot safe and mix them together. That’s about it.

You might start with:
Kale
Lentils
Chickpeas
Brown rice
Assorted bell peppers (including the seeds)
Corn
Peas
Green beans
Carrots
Rotini pasta
Flax seed
Rolled oats
Red cabbage
Fennel/anise

You have a lot of different colors in there, a lot of different parts of the plant (leaves, stems, roots, fruit, seed), etc. good diversity. And this doesn’t include an actual fruit you might top dress with at serving time, like kiwi/papaya/apple.

 

[LoveOfallAnimals]

Not really. When you’ve been making chop long enough you don’t think in terms of “recipes”. Just grab a bunch of fruits, veggies, and grains that you know are parrot safe and mix them together. That’s about it.

You might start with:
Kale
Lentils
Chickpeas
Brown rice
Assorted bell peppers (including the seeds)
Corn
Peas
Green beans
Carrots
Rotini pasta
Flax seed
Rolled oats
Red cabbage
Fennel/anise

You have a lot of different colors in there, a lot of different parts of the plant (leaves, stems, roots, fruit, seed), etc. good diversity. And this doesn’t include an actual fruit you might top dress with at serving time, like kiwi/papaya/apple.

Thank you

 

[HeatherG]

I had an older Barron’s paperback book titled “feeding your pet bird” (by Petra something) which really broke down the nutrients and values of different vegetables, fruits, grain. I may still have this book. If I were feeding without pellets I would definitely be using that book or one more up to date.