Tops Chatter

Feeding parrots can sometimes be frustrating; because of all the food we have to throw away. It is natural for them to spread some of their food all over. In the wild that would make sure that new plants grow and provide their future meals. Though throwing away a good part of the fresh organic parrot foods every day, sometimes really hurt me.

But I have a dog. She gets raw meat with some fresh vegetables every day. One day it dawned on me that I don’t have to throw away at least the fresh food, which the birds left in their bowls. Now I collect the rests from the parrot food and mix it into the meat for my dog Deva. I am really glad that I finally got this idea and waste less of my fresh organic parrot food.

I love to eat. And when I cook, it relaxes me. But I don’t feel like doing it every day. Since I live with birds I prepare fresh organic parrot food every morning. And I often don’t feel like cooking for myself another time the same day. So, I want dishes that are easy and fast to prepare and at the same time healthy and nutritious. Therefore I am really thankful that I lived in Italy and learned many recipes, which are easy and fast to make. When you prepare every day two meals with at least 3 courses, you can’t spend hours for every dish. And many Italian recipes are really fast, easy and yummy.

Sometimes I meet people who tell me that cooking is just too time consuming. I never understood. I also never understood, why many cookbooks contain elaborate recipes only. Then I was talking to a friend about this and she said: people who write cook books probably think, you know already the simple daily dishes and use the cookbook only when you want to make something special. Now that makes sense. But it does not help someone who never learned to cook and wants to start.

I already shared some of the recipes I make for myself and I can also use as parrot food. I will continue doing this, so some people can start using them and see how easy it can be to cook for your entire family, including the FID’s, one healthy, yummy dish.

There’s a general misconception among new bird owners that all parrots, parakeets and similar birds like to dine on the same foods. That couldn’t be further from the truth. In reality, pet birds can be separated into five distinct groups, each of which boasts its own unique set of dietary needs. These include florivore, granivore, frugivore, omnivore and nectarivore.

Florivores function best when fed a steady diet of organic parrot seed, fruits and berries. As their name suggests, granivores such as the cockatiel thrive on grains and seeds. Frugivores like the blue-throated macaw flourish on a combination of fruit and flowers with seeds acting as a supplement. Omnivores eat a bit of each of the above foods in addition to small invertebrates. Finally, nectarivores like the lorikeet eat nectar, pollen and some small insects.

The days are getting shorter and the temperatures lower. Do you have any of your ‘organic parrot food on your porch’ left? Than it’s time to harvest and prepare them for winter use.

Here is what I do: I buy food grate paper bags. Then cut the herbs (I have basil, lovage, different mints, thyme, oregano), wash them, let them dry, put one kind of herb in one bag and close them with a sisal rope. Then I hang them in a dry cool place, like the garage, and let them dry. During winter I ad this herbs to the fresh organic parrot food. I also like to make an herb mix for my parrots. If you mix your dried herbs and offer them to your parrot, they will be able to pick out what is to their liking at any given time. You can also leave them in the bowl at a place where the bird can’t ad water, without running the danger that they spoil. Sometimes I buy some single dried herbs to ad to the herb mix.

One of my favorite parrot rescue organizations is Phoenix Landing. I met many of their members and still admire their dedication. What really impresses me is the variety of educational programs they offer. “Nourish to flourish” is a regular class on how everybody can feed a healthy diet to parrots. But parrot owners can learn much more than why and how to feed organic parrot food. This Fall is full of seminars like “A Parrot’s Point of View”,  “Foraging Fun, Hands-On Ideas and Contest”, “A HAPPY HEALTHY PARROT IN AN EVER-CHANGING LIFE”,  ”Behavior Workshop”, and much more. Here is the link to their newsletter, so you can see which ones are in your area:

http://www.phoenixlanding.org/2009FallPhoenixLanding.pdf

 I also want to congratulate them to their Education Center in Asheville and hope many parrot lovers will join them in giving parrot a better life there.

For a long time I thought, I am the only one who first tastes a new food for my birds. When we started to make and deliver Totally Organics pellets, I saw often how our customers grabbed some of the pellets and popped them into their mouth. Our vet grabbed some ate them and kept grabbing more eating them. Until her assistant said: you are eating bird food. This is an all organic parrot food. So there is no harm in eating it for humans. I am sure it is healthier than what many people eat on a daily base. None less I have to smile every time I get another email, telling me how tasty the TOPs pellets are.

The Tops pellets are yummy. But the Tesoro Treats are for some people irresistible. More than one customer told me that they really have to hold themselves back, so their birds will get at least some of them. One store owner called me and he said: I need more Tesoro Treats, my wife ate them all, again. I had to laugh and told him to order a certain amount just for his wife. The good thing is, we have always something to eat at home and it is healthier than what we mostly eat. LOL

Organic parrot food is important for a healthy, happy parrot and their owner. But there is much more to what a bird needs.

One thing is, that we learn how to understand the behavior of our  ‘fids’ better. And one of the best teachers I know of to help us there is Susan Friedman. She does a really great online course. But you have to wait about 18 month, when you sign up for it. This in my opinion shows how greatly respected she is, not only by myself. Next Saturday (September 12^th) PEAC organized a whole day workshop with her in San Diego. I think this is such a great opportunity to learn directly, in a hands-on way, that I just had to tell everybody. I am surprised that there is still space left at this event and wish I would live closer to be able to attend.

If you are in the San Diego area, have a look at the link below and don’t miss this great opportunity to learn more about your parrot’s behavior.

http://www.peac.org/docs/Living_and_Learning_with_Parrots.pdf

It seems, like there are as many ways to feed a bird as there are people owned by parrots. I always love to hear how other parrot slaves feed their birds. My experience is that we constantly try to find new foods and recipes to spoil our birds. That’s why I share recipes here on this blog.

Today I want to share my daily feeding schedule.

The morning is fresh food time. My fresh, always organic parrot food consists a few times a week of cooked quinoa with 2-3 different pureed or cut vegetables and 1 or 2 fruits on top. Sometimes I just cut some fresh vegetables and fruit. Other days I soak some of the All-in-One Soak mix and feed it the next day, with or without some fruit. Or I make an omelet with vegetables. During the day my birds have the TOP Pellets to chew on. In the afternoon is goody time. Every bird gets an ounce of All-in-One Soak mix or Napoleon’s seed mix and some nuts or fruit and a piece of the Tesoro Treat. The Napoleon’s seed mix is rather for small birds. Though my big guys like them too. So, once a week they all get the small seeds and enjoy them.

If you’re looking into purchasing a parrot, you might look to an experienced friend for some advice. Be aware, however, that there’s plenty of misinformation out there regarding a parrot’s dietary needs. Some people swear by a diet of seeds alone because, they say, that’s what the birds would eat in the wild. Unfortunately, that viewpoint fails to consider a parrot’s natural desire and physiological need for variety.

A well-balanced diet will mix and match parrot seed with pellets, fruit and maybe even a cracker or two. Establishing a diverse meal plan will actually help to prolong a parrot’s life while also improving plumage color and feather condition. A healthy parrot is a friendly and active one, so be sure to vary the diet immediately if you bird seems sullen or withdrawn.

A while ago I was reading an article about parrot food. There was a lot of good information in it. But at one point it stated that parrots don’t like bitter foods. That surprised me. My fresh organic parrot food often contains such things as dandelion leafs, arugola, radicchio. All of which are bitter. I thought, maybe they threw it out and I did not realize it.

So, this morning I made an omelet for us. I took 2 eggs, beat them up, cut 1 zucchini in small cubes and cut up ½ of a small radicchio, added a pinch of pepper and mixed it all with the eggs. I heated some coconut oil on medium heat, threw in the mix and fried it from both sides. I cut it in half. One half I cut in small pieces for the birds, the other half I ate.

And than I was watching what they ate, and what they threw out. Well, they ate all of the egg, some of the zucchini and all of the radicchio. I love radicchio and use it in a variety of dishes. And I wonder if parrots take on the likings of their owners.