Trained Parrot BlogParrot Wizard Online Parrot Toy StoreThe Parrot Forum

Good Diet?

Talk about bird illnesses and other bird health related issues. Seeds, pellets, fruits, vegetables and more. Discuss what to feed your birds and in what quantity. Share your recipe ideas.

Good Diet?

Postby JaydeParrot » Fri Sep 12, 2014 7:44 pm

My two Sennies have 3 bowls, one water, one containing carrots, cucumber and oranges and another containing millet spray pieces, nyjer seeds and dried banana slices. That is their usual day to day diet although every few days they'll also get egg white, baked potato, apple, a few chopped up almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts or some steamed and cooled corn on the cob.

I just wondered if their day to day diet sounds healthy? I've completely cut sunflower seed from their diet but left them with nyjer seed and some millet spray pieces for protein and also because they couldn't take a completely seed free diet.

Besides pellets are there any foods or vitamins they aren't getting from their usual diet?
JaydeParrot
Poicephalus
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 346
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: 2 Senegal Parrots.
Flight: Yes

Re: Good Diet?

Postby Wolf » Fri Sep 12, 2014 9:23 pm

Senegals are one of the species of parrots that have a higher need for protein than most other species of parrot. So, I do not think that you are presently feeding an adequate diet. I feed mine gloop in the mornings. It is basically a cooked mixture of white beans, lentils brown rice whole grain pasta, quinoa, millet, hulled oats, chia seed, wheat and barley. I also add vegetables either frozen or fresh such as squash, both yellow and green, snow peas, carrots, green beans, bell peppers, corn sweet potatoes and kale. I also give them a fresh fruit and vegetable for nibbles during the day, between meals snacking. And I feed a seed mix for dinner. I also give a couple of peanuts or almonds for dinner right now as I want to increase Kiki's weight a little bit.
Wolf
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 8679
Location: Lansing, NC
Number of Birds Owned: 6
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal
African Grey (CAG)
Yellow Naped Amazon
2Celestial Parrotlet
Budgie
Flight: Yes

Re: Good Diet?

Postby JaydeParrot » Fri Sep 12, 2014 10:04 pm

Without following your idea exactly Wolf, what food do you think I should definitely add to their daily diet, should I bring sunflower seeds back? My birds don't really have breakfast, dinner, it's more like an all day buffet. I leave and return at different hours each day, I worry that if I take their bowl out and don't immediately return it I might forget and they could be without food for hours.
JaydeParrot
Poicephalus
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 346
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: 2 Senegal Parrots.
Flight: Yes

Re: Good Diet?

Postby Wolf » Fri Sep 12, 2014 11:40 pm

For the most part birds only eat twice a day once in the morning and then just before busk in the evening. So you can give them enough gloop for all day, or give less at breakfast and give some a little later in the day, so that either way they have it available to eat. Save the sunflower seed for treats.
My birds have enough food to last all day and it is normal for them to not eat anything for 3 and 4 hours at a time that I am sure of.
Wolf
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 8679
Location: Lansing, NC
Number of Birds Owned: 6
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal
African Grey (CAG)
Yellow Naped Amazon
2Celestial Parrotlet
Budgie
Flight: Yes

Re: Good Diet?

Postby Pajarita » Sat Sep 13, 2014 10:26 am

OK, for one thing, nyger seed (aka thistle) is a seed fed to small passerines like finches or canaries but never by itself, it's always a very small percentage of a good mix because it's very high in oil. Millet is the Wonder bread of the seeds, it supplies little in terms of nutrition compared to other seeds and it's mostly used as a treat or to fatten birds that, for one reason or another, have lost too much weight. Dried banana slices all have sugar, as far as I know (I might be wrong on this but all the ones I've seen out there have it). And, cucumbers are one of the lowest veggies in terms of nutrition and one of the dirtiest ones out there so, even if you were getting organic ones (I can't even find them in my regular supermarket), the nutritional benefit the bird would derive from it is negligible. Oranges and carrots are good but the key is variety because you can't provide everything they need with just two good items.

Basically, you need to provide better nutrition in terms of vitamins and minerals, more protein and less oil.

Get a good quality cockatiel seed mix and use two heaping tablespoons of it for dinner (you can't free-feed the high protein - parrots are not canaries) and, for breakfast, continue offering the raw oranges and carrots but also alternate with other fruits and veggies (apple, blueberries, blackberries, mango, papaya, fresh banana, grapes, etc -you can get some a variety from the salad bars) and greens like broccoli, romaine lettuce, dandelion greens, etc. and don't forget the king of all veggies: sweet potato! (you can get them frozen, vacuum-packed or fresh and cook them yourself -microwave works great) and peas (all birds like peas), sweet corn, snap peas, etc. (again, think salad bar to get one nice piece of several different ones. Make a simple gloop by cooking Kashi 7 Whole Grains Pilaf in the microwave (the box has directions) with a bit of tomato paste mixed with the water and adding a can of small white beans (rinse them VERY well under running water to get rid of the salt) and frozen veggies to it. It takes about half an hour to prepare a large batch from beginning to end, everything can be found in a large supermarket and it will provide good nutrition for two weeks or more (freeze daily portions -two to three tablespoons- in little freezer baggies).
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: Good Diet?

Postby Annie Revie » Wed Sep 17, 2014 2:15 am

Please can you tell me what glop is. I live in Australia. Can I buy it here?
Annie Revie
Parrotlet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 10
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: One Green cheeked conure
Flight: No

Re: Good Diet?

Postby Wolf » Wed Sep 17, 2014 3:29 am

I don't know of any place where you can purchase gloop, you can, however buy all that you need to make it anywhere you live. The closest to it that I have found that you can buy is a product called bean cuisine, I don't know who makes it but it can be ordered from Drs. Foster and Smith online. I don't know who makes it, but you would still have to add to it. As I said it is the closest but you should be able to buy everything that you need to make your own gloop at your grocers.
Wolf
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 8679
Location: Lansing, NC
Number of Birds Owned: 6
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal
African Grey (CAG)
Yellow Naped Amazon
2Celestial Parrotlet
Budgie
Flight: Yes

Re: Good Diet?

Postby Pajarita » Wed Sep 17, 2014 10:08 am

Here in the States, there is a product called Kashi's 7 Whole Grains Pilaf (https://www.kashi.com/our-foods/pilaf) that you can use for the grains and then you add beans and chopped veggies to it for a quick, easy gloop. I don't use it because a lot of my birds don't like rye and this mixture has it but it's very convenient for people who have only one bird or two.

But, if you can't find it where you are (or anything similar), you can always purchase whole grains (they sell small bags of them in the supermarkets over here) and make it yourself.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes


Return to Health, Nutrition & Diet

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 20 guests

cron
Parrot ForumArticles IndexTraining Step UpParrot Training BlogPoicephalus Parrot InformationParrot Wizard Store