[sepulfer]

I have never given Barley any "birdie bread". The closest thing he's had to it is an occasional bite of wheat bread with oats or a sweet potato mash ball. I have heard that corn in high quantities is not the greatest for them due to its starchiness, but it's still a vegetable, so I don't know how concerned I should be if I wanted to start giving him a piece of home-baked birdie bread daily. Bird nutrition is very similar yet very different when compared to human nutrition.

I would like to do this because I sometimes do not know how long I will have to be away from home on a given day, and so I feel bad if his fresh food is left in his cage all day. I would worry less if I gave him birdie bread before I left home.

I'm also concerned because even though so many birds seem to like it, it does not necessarily mean it is good for them in large quantities. I like large quantities of mashed potatoes, but if I ate them everyday, I suspect that would be too much!

I could not figure out how to start a poll, but I was wondering how many of you feed your bird something like this, and if so, how often? Has your vet said anything about it?

 

[teagal]

I give birdie bread daily UNLESS we're doing mash. I made a new mash so he's been getting that daily.
I guess it wouldn't hurt to have both. I'm trying to get him use to the mash though.
Lots of good nutrients in it for him.

 

[PurdyGreen]

Corn is NOT a vegetable. It also offers very little in way of nutrients, and is high in sugars and starch. We are kind of tricked into thinking corn is good for us by the food companies. It is a filler at best. I avoid it where I can. I made birdy bread without corn meal and it turned out great!
Think about it. There is corn in their seed mix, treats, pellets, birdy bread, and many feed it fresh. Do they eat it in the wild, or something similar in nutritional values? Nope.
Yuri gets it in his pellets, and I pick out what I can from his seed. I will never feed him fresh corn either. I won't eat corn either. It's just sooooo bad for you, and you feel like your eating a vegetable but its just a grain.

 

[parrotletzoo]

I give Azuki birdie bread about once a week, I make a batch, cut it into squares and freeze it. I give it to him in the morning straight from the freezer and take it out when it's crumbly (about a day and half). I think he mostly likes foraging for the big pieces in it and doesn't really eat much of the bread because he only eats about 1/4 of it.

I put veggies, fruits, seeds, pellets, powdered bird food, pine nuts, puree'd sweet potato, eggs and chopped eggshells in it. Lots of fun things to forage for.

 

[Jinx n Noodle]

I give birdie bread at least once a week if not more frequently depending on the bird (my caique gets it daily since she eats it well and I can sneak good stuff in there for her).

Anyway, you can make birdie bread that is not corn based. I keep Jiffy corn bread on hand because it's easy to do. You can make wheat based or any other flour based bread for them too. My last batch of birdie bread for my guys was wheat based. My guys ate it without a problem

 

[crazyaboutmyparrotlet]

I give Oliver birdie bread every morning and veggie mash every evening. The bird bread I make is not using the jiffy mix, so there is no corn. I use this recipe: http://www.lineolatedparakeet.net/recipe/shandis-birdie-bread_486 . You could even use something else instead of whole wheat flour, like Barley flour to change it up. It is easy to make and I just scoop tsp size portions onto a cookie sheet, freeze them in weekly portions, and take them out as needed. I think this makes 48 pieces for me depending on how many veggies I add. It is far more veggies than anything else and Oliver doesn't consume the whole thing, he rips it up and forages for the stuff inside. It also has crushed pellets.

Oliver gets 2 tbsp seed/pellet mixed & 1 large tsp sized birdie bread during the day and a 1 tbsp of veggie mash in the evening. I do this because I think the mash is too moist to leave out all day, it is more likely to go bad. He has gotten used to his routine and pretty much eats about 85% of all of this in a day.

Birds do actually need grains in their diet. Corn is not the best choice of grain, but it is still a grain and their is no harm in offering it from time to time. Just like fruit such as bananas and grapes, they are also not the best choice either because they also have high sugar and low nutrients in comparison to mango for example. But it doesn't mean it can't be offered every now and then. Birds love fresh corn. Grains in pet food products have gotten a bad rap because they were infested with bugs and mold--just poor quality. But fresh, store bought is nice for a treat every now and then.

 

[teagal]

Corn is NOT a vegetable. It also offers very little in way of nutrients, and is high in sugars and starch. We are kind of tricked into thinking corn is good for us by the food companies. It is a filler at best. I avoid it where I can. I made birdy bread without corn meal and it turned out great!
Think about it. There is corn in their seed mix, treats, pellets, birdy bread, and many feed it fresh. Do they eat it in the wild, or something similar in nutritional values? Nope.
Yuri gets it in his pellets, and I pick out what I can from his seed. I will never feed him fresh corn either. I won't eat corn either. It's just sooooo bad for you, and you feel like your eating a vegetable but its just a grain.

Thank you for sharing your opinion on corn. I love it and will keep eating it until the cows come home.

 

[Lynx]

I feed every other day - a little 1/2 inch square for Puzzle and one for the two parakeets (they don't seem to enjoy it as much as he does). It's alternated with sprouted seeds. I give them that in the morning, then when I get home after work they get to have outside time and I give them some veggies or a bit of egg.

 

[PurdyGreen]

Thank you for sharing your opinion on corn. I love it and will keep eating it until the cows come home.

Lol! Be my guest. Sorry about my rant.

 

[Kathy S.]

I give Oliver birdie bread every morning and veggie mash every evening. The bird bread I make is not using the jiffy mix, so there is no corn. I use this recipe: http://www.lineolatedparakeet.net/recipe/shandis-birdie-bread_486 . You could even use something else instead of whole wheat flour, like Barley flour to change it up. It is easy to make and I just scoop tsp size portions onto a cookie sheet, freeze them in weekly portions, and take them out as needed. I think this makes 48 pieces for me depending on how many veggies I add. It is far more veggies than anything else and Oliver doesn't consume the whole thing, he rips it up and forages for the stuff inside. It also has crushed pellets.

Oliver gets 2 tbsp seed/pellet mixed & 1 large tsp sized birdie bread during the day and a 1 tbsp of veggie mash in the evening. I do this because I think the mash is too moist to leave out all day, it is more likely to go bad. He has gotten used to his routine and pretty much eats about 85% of all of this in a day.

Birds do actually need grains in their diet. Corn is not the best choice of grain, but it is still a grain and their is no harm in offering it from time to time. Just like fruit such as bananas and grapes, they are also not the best choice either because they also have high sugar and low nutrients in comparison to mango for example. But it doesn't mean it can't be offered every now and then. Birds love fresh corn. Grains in pet food products have gotten a bad rap because they were infested with bugs and mold--just poor quality. But fresh, store bought is nice for a treat every now and then.

I've noticed that the recipe doesn't say if the egg is raw or hard boiled when put in with the other ingredients?

 

[crazyaboutmyparrotlet]

I've noticed that the recipe doesn't say if the egg is raw or hard boiled when put in with the other ingredients?

There have been times where I used egg food instead but yeah, they other times I put it raw because just like a cake or something, it will get cooked in the oven.

 

[Byrdman]

We made birdie bread for Tiki for the first time this week. We used the jiffy mix, some chopped peas and carrots, and some of his normal Goldenfeast seed and food mix. He loves it! He tears the square into little crumbs, and chirps a lot while he munches it. I was going to ask if feeding it to him daily is too much, but it looks like there are mixed opinions on that here.

 

[parrotletzoo]

I give Azuki birdie bread once or twice a week. I don't want him to get bored with his food so I like to change what fresh food mix (mash) he gets every couple of days with birdie bread intervals.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App

 

[Byrdman]

Thanks; we have been alternating broccoli, strawberries, and peas and carrots in his treat cup. We will just add the birdie bread to the treat mix.
Tiki knows the yellow dish is his treat cup; he even says, "Treat!" when we put it in his cage