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Am I Feeding My Bird the "Right" Stuff
Thousands of people see our toll free number daily and we get any number of customer service tickets seeking advice on avian nutrition. Or to put it another way what the heck do I feed my bird? You would think that having sold nothing but exotic bird supplies for 16 years, we'd have all the answers. Our parrot and bird food selection is second to none on the Web. But don't you see that's the problem? Are there too many choices? No, I don't think so. Because these birds are so intelligent they contain get bored easily. I know this may come as a big surprise to many of you but some of these birds are actually fussy about what they eat (an inside joke for parrot lovers). So it turns out for the past week or two instead of giving advice I've been asking some of our customers for advice on what they are feeding their birds. The answers have been quite interesting. One woman with lots of smaller birds parakeet & cockatiels, starts with a Volkman seed base and sprinkles Goldenfeast Australian blend & Tropic IV Bits & Pieces over it Another woman with a 27-year-old Blue and Gold macaw, 26-year-old Jenday Conure and a five-year-old blue fronted Amazon, mixes Scenic Jungle Cheese, Zupreem Avian Maintenance & Harrison's 1 lb Adult Lifetime Coarse Pepper Formula Organic Bird & Parrot Food, wets the mixture and using a spoon, hand feeds all three birds twice a day. A gentleman customer of ours who has a Hyacinth Macaw, a Scarlet Macaw & Queen of Bavaria Conure feeds every bird and individual diet. the Hyacinth gets fresh kosher turkey from the butcher daily. the Scarlet macaw gets Goldenfeast Schmidt's Original Fruit N' Nut in the kind you gets Zupreem Avian Maintenance Fruit Blend For Conures .He also swears by Nekton S Multi-vitamin Supplement. Looking the bird's feathers, you'd be a believer in Nekton too. All three people introduce fresh vegetables and human food on a regular basis. Obviously this is a small sampling of our customer base. which brings me back to the question what are you feeding your bird(s)? We would like to hear from you would like you to share about your successes and the problems if you've had introducing new food. To weigh in on the discussion post your comment below or join us on Facebook |
Categories: Feeding Exotic Birds
Tags: Bird Food
I have constantly been doing research on my caiques diet ever since I was first introduce to my birds about five years ago. From various sources I have read that in the wild, caiques largely feed off of fruits, grains, pollens, and nectars. As a result I've developed what I feel to be a natural based diet for my two birds.
They get a base of pellets and seed. The seed I use is Higgins Safflower Gold. Normally either the pellets or the seed is placed in a foraging station for them to work at. They also get GoldenFeast Lori Nectar a couple of times a week. Additionally, they get a higher fruit content then the other birds in my flock. Of course they also get a variety of fresh greens, veggies, and appropriate cooked foods. They are fiends about birdie bread, and I use a cornmuffin base to whip up some homemade batches. If you cook the bread in mini muffin form its easy to pull out of the freezer and unthaw for individual servings.
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When I opened your e-mail I noticed a curiously familiar Blue and Gold Macaw. Upon closer inspection I realized that it must indeed be our Raj (15 yrs old) adorning the heading of your latest correspondence. One of you, or one of your readers/ customers must have snapped this when we were vacationing in Bayfield, WI. This picture was taken in front of The Candy Shoppe. She is enjoying one of her special treats of Black Cherry ice cream. As you can see from her plumage, this is not the main staple of her diet. She enjoys a wide variety of fresh fruits, veges, seeds, nuts, pelleted food plus some healthy home cooked meals in addition to her special treats (guilty pleasures) from time to time.
It was neat to see this even though this is obviously an example of what not to feed your bird!
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And I think Jesse gets spoiled...if you read the comments below -- one lady handfeeds three birds twice a day and they are old -- 26, 27 , and 5. Whoa....
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I have a 20 year old african gray that will eat anything,he likes hamberger,eggs, and just about everthing, what should he not eat??
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