Mix it myself?

[shirino]

So, this might sound dumb, but I just want to be extra sure. I looked around at the crates at the bird store and a lot of the ingredients looked like things I could buy myself and blend together. I plan to use pellets mainly, but for treats and snacks couldn't I just go to Sprouts (a local store here) and pick up from the fresh bins things like raw almonds, dried cranberries, banana chips, etc... They have bins and bins and bins of fresh nuts and dried fruit. Everything from salted to unsalted to raw or roasted. I know to stay away from salted. What about roasted vs raw?

Thank you in advance. We think we'll be bringing him home today or tomorrow!!!

 

[IcyWolf]

There is absolutely no problem with you making your own mix, a lot of us here do that as well. Not only does it save money, but it allows you to control just how much of each thing they get. Just be sure that what you are getting is unsalted, raw(for things like nuts) has no preservatives, is fresh, and organic is always best so you can be sure that there are no nasty chemicals on anything. You can also sprout your own bird seed. Just get a good mix of seed and lentils, rinse well with water and apple cider vinegar, then allow to soak in fresh water for however many days it takes that particular seed to sprout.

 

[BillsBirds]

Except for the pellets & Nutriberries, I get more of my birds food from the health food store than the pet store.

 

[stephend]

One worry about dried fruit is that they often use sulfer based preservitives. Make sure any dried fruit you get does not contain that.

 

[shirino]

They wouldn't have that stuff labeled on the open bins... How would I know that?

 

[BillsBirds]

Untreated dried fruit looks like very dried fruit. Not the juicy bits that you find in most trail mixes.