Tops Chatter

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.

I ordered some eucalyptus branches from California. When the package arrived I was not here and the postman left it on the front door. When I came home there was a green bug sitting on top of the box. It stalked away when I grabbed the box. I had never seen such thing. It looked like a grasshopper, just bright green and much bigger (about 4 inches). Over the next few days it mostly hung out on the screen of my living room window. Which enabled me to get a very close look at it. I finally found it on the Internet. It is a praying mantis. Every once in a while it climbs down and (I assume) eats some bugs. Then it goes up the screen again. We keep looking at each other and I am totally fascinated. They usually live in warmer climates. Though, so far it is still pretty warm during the day. I wonder if it will survive here.

I know this has nothing to do with parrot food, but I did not even think that something like this might happen every once in a while. I don’t know how often a critter sneaks into a box and gets shipped like this, to end up in a total different state than where it is at home.

I am glad to live in an area where we have 4 seasons. I can’t imagine that pumpkin pie tastes as good in the south with 80 degrees than here, where it is getting cold. I also love the golden colors of fall. Many of the gold colors now are in the grocery store, which are full of all kinds of pumpkins. And they are a great parrot food, which can be severed in many ways. How much easier can it get, than cutting a squash or pumpkin in big chunks and let the birds have fun with them for the rest of the day.

I like to bake them for myself. What I don’t eat, I cut in cubes the next morning and another parrot breakfast is ready in not time. It is a joy to see how they welcome the food they did not get for several month.

It often takes some time for new bird owners to make sense of their pets’ behaviors. To the uninitiated, many of a parrot’s actions might seem random and illogical. In some cases, a perfectly normal aspect of behavior could be misconstrued as a sign of displeasure or discontent. If your parrot begins to lose some of its plumage, don’t fret; molting is occurs on a regular basis for all birds, and it can depend on environmental factors more than anything.

Don’t be dismayed to see your bird throwing its holistic parrot food around the cage. Parrots have an instinctive tendency to chuck the remaining seeds after they’ve finished eating. Theoretically, this behavior would send seeds to the jungle floor in the wild, perpetuating a plant that’s vital to the bird’s livelihood. Unfortunately for you, that mess of extra seeds will begin to pile up at the bottom of the cage if you don’t clean it regularly.

Over the last  year the number of our customers increased, who voiced that they love TOP pellets, but would be happy if we could remove the corn. They were concerned about allergies. During the same time period, mycotoxins seemed to become more and more of an issue. Though, corn is a good source of fiber, folate, vitamins B and C and potassium, it is also the second most prevalent ingredient in foods processed in the US today. Not only in human food, but in parrot food too. At the same time corn allergies seem to become more common; in humans and in parrots. It looks like corn is one of the foods which, when eaten daily, can trigger allergies.

After researching this issue for a while and consulting with nutritionists, we decided to change the TOP pellets formula and replace the corn with a higher amount rice, millet and alfalfa. To be able to sell our pellets in all states we took the amaranth out. In some states amaranth is not allowed in pet food. We also replaced the barley grass and wheat grass powder with nettle leafs and kelp.

 And here is the new recipe of the organic TOP Pellets:

Rice, hulled millet, barley, alfalfa leafs, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, quinoa, buckwheat, dandelion leaf, nettle leaf, carrot powder, spinach powder, purple dulse, kelp, rose hips (powder and crushed leafs), orange and lemon peel powder, rosemary, cayenne, red chilli.
Crude Protein min 13.02%, Crude Fiber min 12%, Fat min 7%.

 Our birds here love the new formula. We hope yours will too. Oh, one of our trial customers said that the pellets taste great.

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.

I did not much care for omelets until I lived with parrots for a while. Now I am a fan of them. All my birds love them. They make a good food to hide things, like fresh vegetables and herbs, a bird otherwise don’t want to eat.

In Italy I learned to make, the Italian version of an omelet, called frittata with onion, garlic and zucchini. Shortly after discovering that parrots need some animal protein and most of them love eggs, I started to play with this recipe. By now omelets are once or twice a week on the menu list of parrot food in my house. The great thing is, they are so yummy, that if you have only one or a few birds you can share them with them. And you can throw in almost everything you find in your garden.

Just an example here:

I harvest about 10 leafs each of one of the mints, basil, lovage, and oregano and chop them up into small pieces. Chop a small clove of garlic. Ad all of this to beat up two eggs and mix it well. Heat some coconut oil a pan and fry the omelete mix on each side by medium heat until each  lightly brown. Don’t eat it all, leave some for your birds;-).

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.

After reading that parrots don’t like bitter foods and seeing my birds eating radicchio, dandelion and drinking some of my often bitter teas, I started to wonder about how much our attitude influences our birds food choices. Sometimes I meet people who tell me “my bird does not like carrots”. Though, the same bird, when at a boarding place where the lady feeds organic fresh parrot food, including carrots, the bird eats them. As soon, as he is back home, he refuses to eat them again. Unfortunately I did not ask the woman if she likes carrots.

I like bitter foods and it seems like my birds do too. They always have the choice to leave it in the bowl. And they sometimes do. But other times they eat it, which I think they would not do if they really don’t like it.

Thinking of how our birds pick up on our moods and emotions, they might pick up on how much we savor a food or dislike it. I would really appreciate it, if some of my readers would experiment with this and give me some feedback. How much do you like the parrot food you offer to your bird? What do you think about its taste?

I always found it rather funny, that zucchini originate from the Americas, but have an Italian name. They are high in folate, potassium Vitamin C, vitamin A and contain some minerals. Don’t peel them, because the nutrition are in the skin. They are readily found year around in the grocery store and easy to grow in the garden. 

The easiest way to feed them as parrot food is to just give the whole zucchini to the birds (like  in our photo). This way it is not only a healthy food, but provides plenty of “work time”, which usually only a rather expensive toy would do. I also use them, cut into cubes and ad them to the omelets or the cooked quinoa I make for my parrots. Another way of feeding them, would be to cook them lightly in steam for a few minutes. They should be still crisp. Cut them into pieces or stripes. Mix some olive oil with fresh pressed orange and lemon juice, add some mint and pure it over the zucchini. This Italian recipe and is not only a yummy parrot food, but after adding some salt and pepper a wonderful side dish for yourself. Buon appetito!