Visited Bulk Barn Today :D

[skthurley]

:cool:I'm rather excited. :cool:Today I went to the bulk barn and purchased a bunch of beans and mixes for my Jack. Three kinds of beans, which are currently set out to sprout, and 2 rice/pasta mixes for cooking. He's going to eat like a king!! :D I also had set out a bunch of his seed mix to sprout two days ago, and he eagerly gobbled them all down today. I haven't seen him eat so freaking fast! He's also accepted green pepper, broccoli and carrots with enthusiasm. :p I'm just so happy to see him trying and accepting everything. I noticed he actually didn't touch his pellets today. lol. Why eat those boring things, when he can have sprouted seeds and veggies? lol. I'll likely mix some pellets in with his rice mix I've prepared and is now cooling for him for breakfast. Jack is just as fun to cook for as my husband! LOL!

[chapala]

Great, glad you have an adventurous eater! Some birds are a little more set in their seed-eating ways ;)

I'm assuming the pasta and rice are whole grain. Refined grains aren't good to feed our birds. And only certain legumes are recommended for sprouting, but you may already have read that!
Reta

[lineola]

It's so much fun to cook for our birds, isn't it?! I was just wondering if the rice mixes you mentioned are packaged ones, because often they are loaded with sodium, which isn't too good for birds or people. Or by "mix" do you mean a combination of different types of rice, without salt?

Maddie

[skthurley]

The mixes are from the bulk bins, so I got to scoop out the amount I wanted of each and bag and twist tie it.. Grabbed an ingredient slip for each mix, and ensured that no sodium was added. :D And definitely made sure I got whole grain rice and pasta :D Jack eats better pasta than myself lol!

I'm just loving taking care of this little guy! Yesterday I picked him up from my friend's. She was watching him for us, as Peter and I went away for the weekend, and he ended up spending all day with me. I did my errands- went to petsmart (to get him a wooden balll with holes in it - justine herself has lineolated parrakeets and she told me jack loved playing with the balls she had made of wood she had for her birds), went to the dollar store (to get a spray bottle so i can mist Jack with water, which he quite enjoys by the way lol) and the grocery store. He sat happily in his travel carrier, chirping. He's definitely a great conversation starter lol! It was also nice having his company. I did get an odd look at petsmart though. lol. The lady assumed I let him pick out his own toys, and i could tell by her face she thought i was weird. lol. I was quick to tell her I'd just gotten home from a weekend away and a friend had been bird sitting for me, and I hadn't yet taken him home. You wouldn't i'd be the first person who'd brought a bird to petsmart. lol. Justine has brought her birds to stores before and let them pick their own toys. lol. Meh. Either way, I'm loving having a parrotlet. I bought the wooden ball with holes in it, and filled it with goodies, and Jack has quite enjoyed poking his head and foraging to find what I've hid for him. Tonight he insisted in joining me in the kitchen while I was making supper. I chopped vegetables while he sat in the waste bowl and munched away on green pepper seeds. It was adorable. I love having him, as now there's no vegetables gone to waste. I also have guinea pigs and they get any pieces i dont use or eat for myself, but they can't have seeds, so Jack gets seeds and first dibs on the veggies, and my girls get the rest. :D No waste :D Another reason to get a parrotlet. lol.

[skthurley]

Oh, sorry to double post, but i have a random question. Is it ok for parrotlets to have babies breath? the white flower? I had a rose in my kitchen that has some babies breath, and Jack was bound and determined to get to it, and he did get a small nibble before i caught him and removed him. I don't care if he eats the babies breath, as the flower has dried up, but i wasn't sure if it was poisnous to him or not.

[Sally]

I have no idea about the Baby's Breath flower.

Great that Jack loves to eat good foods. Chipper is a good eater too, that does make it fun.

[adam]

I like this bird safe website: http://www.secondchancebirds.com/safe_plants_1.html
Baby's breath is safe according to this.

[skthurley]

Thanks Adam!

[Sondra]

After reading this yesterday I stopped my Central Market on the way to pick up my new p'let got all sorts of seeds and beans etc to do some sprouting and also cook up for the lil guy.

[skthurley]

It's so much fun! lol!

My fav are the adzuki, manzo (?) and legume beans for sprouting... I also sprout his seed mix... It's so much healthier for them, and Jack just devours it. Have fun cooking for your little guy! he'll love it!

[chapala]

Glad to hear the sprouting is going well for you and that Jack likes his seed (hopefully mostly grains) mix that way!

Mung beans are great for sprouting also, and one of the more digestible legumes like lentils, adzuki, whole pea and garbanzo, the only ones recommended for sprouting.
Reta

[skthurley]

I sprout the garbanzo, adzuki, mung and lentils :D He LOVES them!

then his seed mix, which is yellow,white, and red millet, canary grass seed, rape seed, and niger seed. He gets this every other day or so, sprouted, and mixed in his pasta or rice dish... or mixed in with his chopped fresh veggies. Typically all his seed is sprouted. I will hide some chopped up seeds that are from those treat sticks you can buy at most pet stores in the foraging toys I've made or bought.

He gets peas, carrots, corn, green pepper, red pepper, broccoli (sp?) and tomorrow I'll be adding some sweet potatoes. These veggies are usually raw (not the sweet potatoes though)... sometimes i mix them in with the rice or pasta.

Plus he has his Zupreem pellets. He has this available to him at all times. I usually give him a teaspoon of this in the morning.. Sometimes he finishes it, other days, no. Usually in the evening after he's finished his rice/pasta and veggies or beans, he'll help himself to his pellets. As I said, sometimes he eats a lot, othertimes, no

I also have an egg enriched Lil Snack available for him at all times as made by Kaytee. He has had it since we brought him home. He's nibbled at it every now and then... I moved it up near his perch and he took out his frustrations on it the other day when I was running late and wasn't able to take him out of his cage in the morning. He was biting it and hacking at it, but not eating it. It was kind of funny. He was screeching and making a fuss. lol! The ingredients for thus can be found at: http://www.kaytee.com/products/search/?pid=55062 I had bought this because I wasn't sure whether he would like his cuttle bone (I've read some birds have no interest in them) and wanted to make sure he was getting calcium. Needless to say he rather enjoys his cuttle bone. He perches on it everynow and then and i've seen him chewing it a few times.

I also have mineral block for him as well. He hasn't seemed to have touch it

i also make sure he gets 20 minutes outside on the balcony during the day so he has access to the sun's rays. This won't be continued for much longer as it's starting to get cold.

Any other suggestions?

I have some quick rise oatmeal? Can I give him that?

[chapala]

Any grains offered should be whole grain, not refined. Quick cooking oatmeal is not as good as plain rolled oats.

You are doing well with his diet and it sounds like he is eating a variety of foods - great start! I would suggest adding more grains to your seed sprout mix - maybe add in 3 or 4 of any of these grains to what you already have: wheat berries, hulless barley (not pearl), quinoa, spelt, kamut, brown rice, wild rice, teff, raw buckwheat.

I must admit I haven't seen a Kaytee product yet that I liked. What I don't like about the Lil Snack ingredients that you posted is that they contain corn sugar and corn syrup (parrots do best with no refined sugar products), salt, artificial color. Then, it's mainly a bunch of vitamins with some minerals. If you are feeding pellets (already fortified with vitamins and minerals) you risk overdosing on some of the nutrients. Synthetic Vitamin A easily can be overdosed, and can cause health problems. I recommend if feeding pellets not to provide any other fortified food.

Regarding Calcium, the pellets will contain some, as does the cuttlebone. Calcium needs also can be met by feeding such foods as the dark leafy greens (especially collard, mustard greens, kale, dandelion greens), broccoli, legume, almonds (small amount because of the high fat content), or a very small amount of plain, non-fat yogurt (1/4 tsp.) once or twice a week.
Reta

[skthurley]

Ok, I'll ditch the Lil snacks, because i definitely want to keep the pellets over the lil snacks.

And when my beans run out and i have to do another bulk barn run, i'll get some of the grains you suggested and add them to his seed soak/sprouts.

One question I've found from some reading I did this afternoon, is should i be concerned about a D3 deficiency this winter (as i won't be putting him outside because it's really cold)? Jack hates yogurt so i can't buy yogurt that has D3 in it.... now, i did just grab the pellet ingredient list and saw that they have D3 added, but the pellets aren't really the main food source. typically he's eating the rice/pasta, veggies, sprouts and beans. Should i be concerned or no?
I could also stir the yogurt in with his mash.... just thought of that now.

[chapala]

Yes, the plain non-fat yogurt with D3 an be stirred into something he likes, maybe 1/8 tsp. at a meal, for 1/4 tsp. once or twice a week. D3 is essential for the utilization of Calcium, so it is important to provide it somehow. I put my birds out in the sun year round, but realize that most of you can't do that!
Reta

[skthurley]

Ok i'll do that then. :D thanks Reta!

Oh i was also on the yahoo group you mentioned in another post... feeding feathers, i think... I saw this recipe for mash to feed birds, and essentially i'm following it.. but i did want to ask about 2 things:

Oils and EFA.
it was mentioned that flax oil or seed, hemp oil or red palm oil be added in. What are these for? how important are they? Am i feeding something else that provides these nutrients?

Daily Green supplement
it was also mentioned that Alfalfa powder, wheat or barley powder, or kelp can be added in. What are these for? how important are they? Am i feeding something else that provides these nutrients?

[chapala]

The Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) are Omega 3 and Omega 6 oils. Omega 6 is in a lot more foods in the diet and generally does not need to be supplemented. Omega 3 is often deficient. Flaxseed is an excellent source. The seeds should be refrigerated, and they can be ground in a coffee grinder saved for this purpose, or fed as is since our P'lets will crack them (not so with the larger parrots). Flaxseed oil must be fresh and dated, kept in the refrigerator and used by the expiration date.

Do the math: 1/8 tsp seeds or ground seeds for birds from 250 to 500 grams, so VERY little required for P'lets, and I might offer something like 8 flax seeds every other day. If using Flax oil, it's even tricker because the amount to feed is 1 drop per 250 grams bird weight. Hard to break a drop down to 1/8 drop! Too much of these supplements is not better - they are very high fat, good fat, but still loads of calories, so they need to be limited to recommended amounts.

Hemp oil also provides both Omega 3 and 6 EFAs, but is higher in the 6 than Flaxseed, so Flax is a better source to supplement Omega 3. Hemp oil has the same problems for P'lets in that the dose is so small, it is difficult not to give them too much.

Organic red palm oil (not regular palm oil) can be fed also as an alternate if desired. It contains carotenes and lycopene, and is a good antioxidant. A very tiny amount for P'lets! 1/8 tsp. is given to birds 250-500 grams.

The green supplements are natural vitamin and mineral sources. Organic alfalfa powder is a nutrition powerhouse, and you don't have the danger of vitamin overdoses of the fat soluble vitamins that you do with synthetic supplements. I feed just a little bit, about 1/8 tsp. for the bigger parrots, and a dusting for Cello. Alfalfa alone is fine given daily, or you can alternate a couple of times a week with organic powdered barley or wheat grass, also excellent nutrition sources.

Powdered Kelp is provided for iodine and other minerals, but in VERY minute amounts. If you were adding it to 3 cups of the grain and legume base for mash (and few of us have that many birds unless the mix is being frozen), you would add only 1/4 tsp. kelp, and then the fresh vegetables and a bit of fruit would be added also for another 50% or so of volume. Another way of measuring - for a medium sized parrot, about 400 grams, the amount to add would be 1/10 of 1/4 tsp, or the amount that would fit on the end of a pencil! Even less for a P'let, just a few grains is what I give Cello.

Okay, I am supplemented out!
Reta

[skthurley]

Thanks so much Reta!