Spices for cooked food

[MAA65]

Hi, does anyone have an suggestions on how to season/spice the cooked food I provide my four parrots. I don't use salt but I think they are bored with their chop and they need some variety. Any Suggestions?

 

[henpecked]

I limit their choices and they aren't as picky. Maybe 3-4 fresh things per day. I change things up alot and but only offer a few choices. They seem to eat better (more different stuff) than eating the same old ,same old every day. Variety is best. Right now in my garden it's Brussel Sprouts , every one of them eats them like candy. Next week it'll be snow peas, and that stuff is like crack.

 

[horsesculpter]

Agree with henpecked. Sunny does not like the same things every day and will through them back at us the third or fourth time they are served. Spice wise though she is fond of hot spices or peppers in her food.

 

[BillsBirds]

Birds have different (and fewer) taste buds than we do. Vary the assortment of what you give them. Seasoning their food may not serve any purpose because we cannot know what things taste like to them. As others have said, variety is your best bet.

 

[Annageckos]

My GCC loves cinnamon and star anise. I hear a lot of birds like hot peppers.

 

[DooBird]

Spices like Dried Chilies, Turmeric, Fenugreek, Coriander, Cumin, Cinnamon and Ginger all have potent Antioxidant properties, just be sure to use very little and experiment to see which ones your Birds enjoy the most . I cook lots of Indian food and my Alex seems to enjoy pulses cooked with Cumin and Turmeric and a dash of Hot Pepper .

 

[SolarCat]

I ran across a list of "supplements" for parrots in my "Parrots for Dummies" book that have added health benefits. Some would work as spices, I've pulled them out and listed them here:

Cayenne: Helps with digestion and arthritis, plus parrots like spicy foods. Sprinkle on food or cook with it.
Cinnamon: Helps with digestion and blood sugar. Sprinkle on soft foods or cook with it.
Garlic: Natural antibiotic, among other things. Use extract from a health store, or offer your parrot a mix of carrot juice and garlic cloves.
Nutritional Yeast: Contains lots of B vitamins, and apparently it tastes a bit like butter? Sprinkle on soft food.

The suggestion is to mix things up a bit, though. For example, if you put cinnamon on her food for a week then don't put cinnamon on her food at all the next week.

This is just a bit from the book I'm reading, I've only had my Sunshine for four days now and I still can't get her to eat anything except those artificially dyed pellets they fed her at PetCo - we're working on that. But maybe this will help.