Tops Chatter

Wheatgrass is a tasty, wholesome grain that can be used to supplement a parrot’s diet. It goes without saying that your bird still requires a balanced array of seeds, fruits and other healthy parrot food, but you can add a bit more variety to the mix by offering wheatgrass as a treat. There are a few small risks associated with wheatgrass, but those only apply when it is eaten in excess.

Feed this iron-rich grass to your parrot no more than four times a week. Serve it after cutting the grass approximately one inch above the seed. As is the case with most green grasses, wheatgrass has a long shelf life. You can leave it in your bird’s cage for him to graze off of at his leisure. In the long run, this dietary addition will improve the parrot’s circulation.

Despite popular belief, birds won’t eat just anything. Well, they shouldn’t eat just anything. Like people, birds have a specific diet that’s best when eating something that is better for their system, such as organic parrot food. Here are some foods that they should avoid:

Apple Seeds
Believe it or not, apples - along with other members of the rose family including cherries, peaches, apricots, and pears - contain trace amounts of Cyanide within their seeds. While the fruit of the apple is fine for your bird, be aware that in addition to the poisonous seeds, there may be pesticides present on the fruit’s skin. Be sure to thoroughly cleanse and core any apple pieces that you share with your bird to avoid exposure to these toxins.

Avocado
The skin and pit of this popular fruit had been known to cause cardiac distress and eventual heart failure in pet bird species. Although there is some debate to the degree of toxicity of avocados, it is generally advised to adopt a “better safe than sorry” attitude toward them and keep guacomole and other avocado products as far away from pet birds as possible.

Onions
While the use of limited amounts of onion or garlic powders as flavorings is generally regarded as acceptable, excessive consumption of onions causes vomiting, diarrhea, and a host of other digestive problems. It has been found that prolonged exposure can lead to a blood condition called hemolytic anemia, which is followed by respiratory distress and eventual death.

Before I go on with my parrot food on our porch, I want to share something; I spoke about with one of our customers. Do all foods we feed to our birds have to be organic?  Some people tell me they buy only organic fruits and vegetables of which they know are heavily sprayed. They think it is not necessary to feed all organic bird food and it is ok to use lightly sprayed, non-organic foods. If it would just be for the herbicides, fungicides and pesticides I maybe agree.

But there is another issue to consider, GMO. We get told there are no side efforts. Why then, are there so many countries, which don’t allow it? Because they think long-term effects cannot be seen yet. Our birds are living a long time. Do we want to wait 10 years or more and then maybe find out there are problems caused by long term feeding of GMO foods? How then can we avoid GMO vegetables and fruits? Very easy, organic foods are not allowed to contain GMO. So, I rather be save than sorry and feed all organic bird food.

 If you want to know more, here is a very informative site, which contains a lot of information on GMO:

 http://www.responsibletechnology.org/GMFree/Home/index.cfm