what a bird eats...

[elseg]

I used to be under the philosophy that an animal should be fed whatever is found naturally for it in its natural environment.
However, dealing with animal husbandry, and studying the diets of various animals in their normal habitat, ive found that that this is somewhat of a fallacy.
An animal in the wild does not eat the things that are best for its health and longevity, they eat whatever they can without risking death and/or injury.
This is why, many times, captive raised critters last substantially longer than their wild counterparts. We humans amend their normal diet to best suit their biology as well as changing their indoor/outdoor habitats so they no longer need to fear predation, which equals less stress, enhanced diet, and longer life.
Since i lost my 14 yr old cat 3 months ago, ive changed this philosophy for my 9 yr old cat as well as the new bird ive adopted.
I now feed these animals whatever they want that I may be eating at the time with exception of hazardous foods for them. Or at least I let them try it if they want. They still have their food dishes and treats throughout the day, but i also let them enjoy the benefits of a human based relationship.
For instance, today i found that my bird will squeal like a lil kid in a candy shop when i give it hawaiian punch. It taps the bowl with its lil beak.. tap tap tap tap squeeealll.. drink, tap tap tap ..repeat.
I think they seem happier, well, at least my cat does. (butter pecan)
what do other members think of this approach to feeding?
and/or the question of quality vs quantity in regards to an animals lifespan?

 

[Vickiesbirds]

I would definitely not recommend filling your bird's bowl with Hawaiian Punch. It's absolutely packed with sugar, which is really not healthy at all for a bird. If you like giving your bird sips of your drinks, try some unsweetened, natural tea... cold or room temp... my guys love it cold, though. Whenever they see me with it they always know they get a sip or two. I think it's our job as owners to provide the optimum diet for the health of the animal. All my birds are on a pellet based diet, with fruits and vegetables each day. My cats are on a kibble mix that's very high in nutrients... as I have both a kitten and an elderly cat, so I really have to supplement to meet both their needs equally. You make good points about animals not always making the best choices in the wild, but 9 times out of 10 in the case of birds, the wild parrot always lives longer. But diet isn't the only factor... it's both the physical and psychological factors of the environment parrots live in. They're social creatures, and thrive on attention from their own kind.

Don't get me wrong, table treats are great for animals, but they have to be the right thing. I always give my birds corn, rice, and any other vegetables or fruits I might be eating. My kitten will even scarf down veggies when he gets the chance. Sometimes I even toss my cats a little bit or turkey, or steak, or other lean meat I might be eating. It's all about balance. Balancing treats with base diet. Maybe you're doing this now... I don't want to make judgments and say that you're feeding them doritos and fried chicken, because you never specified to that in your post.

I'll also share a little personal story. My very first bird was a budgie, and I got him when I was about 11 years old. He would eat NOTHING but seed. I tried constantly to get him to eat fruits and veggies, and switch him to pellets... but no dice. He wouldn't touch anything I gave him. He had lived in the pet store for awhile, and seeds happened to be what he was weaned onto. Since he was my first bird and I was young, I knew nothing about the benefits of pellets, and the dangers of a seed based diet. Needless to say, he died at just 6 years old, of cancer. Sure, it could have been genetics, but I'm pretty sure his diet played a huge role in his early demise. I was uneducated, and I really regret it. If I had known enough at the time, he would have been switched to pellets cold turkey... and maybe if he had been, he'd still be here today.

 

[elseg]

no the lil bugger doesnt get a water bowl of hawaiian punch.. tho im sure it would be eagerly sipped. The bird has 4 water bowls, 1 in cage and 3 throughout the house. 2 of the three are ro/di water and the last is structured akalined water through a kangan filter. He gets the HPunch in a tiny condiment bowl, and Hpunch is caffeine free where as tea usually is not. so sugar vs caffeine. both are bad, buts this issue is more to do with his "quality" of life and not "quantity". Basically, the same philosophy i eat and live my life by. This is not to say that his primary diet mirrors my own. Just the treats.
The bird gets a hi-pro mix of seed from a bird shop, and fresh fruits n greens daily as a primary diet, mostly fruit tho. The seed is supplemented with palm oil. And most of his daily treats are whole almonds, macadamia's, pecans etc. which I make him find around the house.
But every night, i do feed him a bit of whatever im eating, (last night, lasagna & cornbread), and the bird truley seems to relish this. Mostly starches.

i guess i was just wondering if other people feed their bird human food
... is giving him lasagna and cornbread viewed as bad by the bird community?
a healthy bird is a given, but i want my bird to be spoiled happy as well. LoL.

thanks for responding Vickie
btw, my bird just yoga stretched on my knee

 

[SharonC]

I think a lot about my birds diet...there are so many opinions. I do give Fred a little of what we're having for supper, if it's appropiate. That is cooked veggies, chicken, turkey, fish, wild game...sometimes spaghetti. I do worry about the salt content, as I use a small amount when I cook. He prefers our supper to pellets or seed mix....so I feed pellet based bird bread in the morning, seed mix in the afternoon, and then supper. I do worry a little though that he's not getting everything that he needs.

 

[Spiritbird]

HPunch is just sugar water with fructose. Not even good for us humans. There are several organic juices that do not have added fructose. My bird loves the fresh carrot juices that are available. You could also consider a juicer if you wanted the extra work.

 

[Vickiesbirds]

Well you didn't get into that much in your first thread, so it was hard to judge. I do not allow my birds caffeinated tea... like i said it's just the natural, plain kind without caffeine of course. And when it comes to sugar and caffeine, there really isn't a lesser of two evils. It sounds like your birds base diet is pretty high quality, though. I would still cut the junk food as much as possible. Sure, once or twice a week is fine, a tiny little bite. Lasagna noodles with tomato sauce really aren't that bad anyways, as long as you take out the cheese and the meat. Cornbread isn't even that bad either in small amounts. I actually make my birds their own cornbread with jiffy corn muffin mix and frozen veggies and baby food... it's their favorite treat. I think members would be lying if they said they didn't give their bird a nibble of a pretzel, or a little popcorn kernel at least once in awhile. The only issue is not doing it every day.