Archive for the 'Organic Parrot Food' Category
I know many people, who are convinced that only raw food is the best organic parrot food. In Nature there is no cooked food. 
Then there are the ones that cook and bake for their birds. Who is right? None of them is right or wrong. It often depends on the bird.
It is correct that there is no cooked food in nature. But what about parrots, that don’t eat raw vegetables? My Grey, for example, eats specially carrots only when at least slightly cooked. Or I know people who bake birdie bread to hide fresh vegetables, so their bird will eat them. Warm food, for many living beings is comfort food. It reminds them of the times, when they were babies and nurtured from their parents. At that time the food they were fed had the body temperature of their parents. Also the nutrition in some veggies are easier to be absorbed by the body when cooked. It often is enough to cook them in steam for a short time.
With some birds we have to be quite tricky to get them to eat fresh foods. And we have to find a way to get to eat them their veggies.
As experienced parrot owners know, taking good care of a feathered friend takes serious commitment. Parrots resent being cooped up in tiny cages; they prefer to climb around and fly if possible. It’s therefore best to provide them with a home that’s suitably tall for their particular species. Bigger birds such as macaws, Amazons and cockatoos will require particularly large spaces to explore. But space isn’t the only essential element you’ll need to provide for your bird.
Parrots thrive on a diverse and sophisticated diet. Seeds, nuts, fruit and other plant material all factor into their dietary habits. For this reason, a parrot seed mix is ideally suited to the bird’s liking. An effective seed mix should include a number of wholesome grains such as rice, barley and buckwheat in addition to sunflower seeds and other typical bird fare.
We look for the best organic parrot food to feed our birds. We buy safe toys and make sure our house does not expose our birds to any health hazard. But no matter what we do, our environment contains things, which can make our birds and us sick. One of these things are heavy metals. We just can’t avoid them. Therefore I am very grateful for cilantro. If eaten fresh it extracts heavy metals out of the tissues of our bodies. In a research Dr Omura found that during a treatment for chlamydia infections some bacteria were hiding in heavy metal pockets in our bodies. After the treatment was over they come out and the whole problem starts all over again. He also found out, that eating fresh cilantro carries the heavy metals out of the body and the bacteria don’t have any place to hide anymore.
Therefore every other month I make a chelation pesto, which I will share below. It is a wonderful organic parrot food and most humans like it too. You can read more about it in my book “What Happened to my Peanuts”.
And here we go:
4 cloves garlic
1/3 cup Brazil nuts (selenium)
1/3 cup sunflower seeds (cysteine)
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds (zinc, magnesium)
2 cups packed fresh coriander leaves (cilantro, Chinese parsley) (vitamin A)
2/3 cup flaxseed oil
4 tablespoons lemon juice (vitamin C)
2 tsp dulse powder
Process the coriander and flaxseed oil in a blender until the coriander is chopped. Add the garlic, nuts and seeds, dulse and lemon juice and mix until the mixture is finely blended into a paste. Store in a dark glass jar if possible. It freezes well.
Nasturtiums are easy to grow and their beautiful yellow and orange flowers bloom all summer long. But they are not only a joy for our eyes in our garden or pots. Their peppery taste is a Delight in Salads and for our birds. They give the fresh organic parrot food, we feed daily, color and a spicy bite the birds enjoy.Because nasturtiums are great climbers, they are wonderful to grow around outdoor aviaries. That way the birds can help themselves to a spicy organic parrot food whenever they feel like it.
Nasturtiums are native to Peru, where the Indians used them as cough remedy. Our modern medical research supports this. They also have stimulant, expectorant, antiscorbutic (anti-scurvy) properties. In the 16 century the Spaniards took seeds to Europe and soon after nasturtiums appeared in the first herbs books.
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.
Sunday mornings I often make omelets for my birds. I wanted to do that today. Without thinking much I started to cut a clove of fresh garlic, throw it in some olive oil and started frying it. Then I cut a carrot, a piece of fennel and celery and added them too. It smelled so good and instead doing my usual Sunday morning omelet, I just added a handful of quinoa flakes and a tablespoon of organic goat yogurt. Some fresh lovage from the porch and a delicious Sunday morning breakfast was ready
I just wanted to share this organic parrot food breakfast recipe with you, because my birds, which always love their breakfast, specially relished this one. It became very quiet in the bird room and the bowls were all empty after 10 minutes.
There is one green I just can’t pass by. Arugola!
Since I lived in Italy it became my absolute favorite. It is slightly 
bitter and a bit spicy, like it would contain a little cayenne pepper. You find it as part of many salads today. But I can eat a salad made just from it. After finding out that it also has a lot of beneficial properties, it became one of my most favorite organic parrot foods too. Arugola is a good source of calcium, vitamin C and K and beta-carotene and omega 3 and 6 fatty acids.
It is really easy to grow. I start with seeds any time during spring and summer and just let them grow. It is so easy to go out on the porch, cut some arugola, and ad it to the soaked All-in-One Mix or the cooked quinoa or whatever the menu of my organic parrot food for that day is.
In case you want to know more about its health properties, here is a good site:
The first thing to realize when you’re dealing with a parrot’s diet is to recognize how many different unique species of parrot there are. To that end, there are approximately 300 species of parrot, and almost half of those are species kept as pets within the United States. Typically, parrots are herbivores, but there is a very select group of parrots that do eat insects during breeding season.
On the whole, however, feeding your parrots from the plant family will be your best bet. The most common types of parrot food are seed diets, pellet diets, and cooked diets. On the whole, a strictly seed-based diet is considered lacking in many essential vitamins and nutrients. Seeds can be incorporated into the diet, of course, but they shouldn’t be relied upon entirely. Every diet, however, has its pros and cons, so it’s necessary to do some basic research. Figure out what’s easy and financially viable for you as well as what’s nutritious for your parrot.
Sometimes I hear people telling me they can’t afford to buy organic parrot food for their birds.
If we look at how much we spend per month to feed a parrot, it really is not much. At least if we compare the cost of bird food with dog or cat food.
There are always different views to look at something.
One way to look at this is that, we think we can’t spend lets say $10.00 a month more for organic parrot food.
The other way of looking at it is this: your bird (you self, your kids or any pet) develops a problem because of malnutrition or chemicals in the non organic food it eats. Now it has to be brought to the vet. Which often costs much more then feeding a balanced, healthy diet, which includes organic parrot food. At that point it is not only a money issue. Now the bird we love suffers. Which makes us as miserable (or more) as our beloved parrot. Sometimes it is a small issue, which can be fixed by adjusting the diet. But parrots are masters in hiding that they are sick. So, often when we realize there is a problem, it is more serious and will take month (or more) and a lot of money to have a healthy, happy bird again. And naturally a happy bird owner too.
So, in the long run we save money and, in my opinion even more important, a lot of emotional stress.