Bird Safe Fresh Foods & Toxic Food Lists + Sprouts

[Monica]

*Thought I'd post this here for a reference! Not sure if a mod would like to sticky or not*

The list for the grains, legumes, veggies, and fruits are mostly from the Feeding Feathers YH-group. The list of foods to avoid is from Buffalo Parrots. List of seeds, well I just looked at a few packages of bird food to get the ingredients off of. I did add a few things to the lists but didn't remove anything.

FF recommends feeding 1 part legumes to 2 part grains, and for this to consist of 40% of the fresh diet. Another 40% would be a variety of veggies, and the last 10% fruits. All of this can be mixed together as a 'mash' diet. Fresh foods should take up a minimum of 25% of the diet, but can take up as much as 90% with treats, pellets, nuts, and seeds taking up the rest. Sprouted seeds are healthier than dry seeds. *Some pellet companies may only recommend no more than 10% fresh foods as having any more may "unbalance" their 'balanced' diets*

Cooked grains - can also be sprouted

• Millet
• Quinoa
• Amaranth
• Whole Oats
• Hulless Barley
• Spelt or Kamut
• Teff
• Brown Rice
• Wild Rice
• Buckwheat

Cooked legumes - or sprouted with 1/4" tails

• Adzuki
• Mung
• Sprouting Peas
• Lentils
• 13 Bean Soup minus Spice Packet - not as good as others but works

Vegetables - Fed fresh, lightly steamed, or even frozen (thawed) out of the frozen section in grocery store

• Pumpkin
• Carrots
• Acorn or Butternut Squash
• Red or Green Pepper
• Kale
• Dandelion Greens
• Mustard Greens
• Collard Greens
• Turnip Greens
• Broccoli
• Celery
• Cucumber
• Romaine or other dark leafy lettuce
• Jicama
• Peas
• Zucchini
• Green Beans
• Tomatoes
• Cabbage
• Chinese Cabbage
• Bokchoy
• Carrot Tops
• Cactus Leaf
• Okra
• Kohlrabi
• Spaghetti Squash
• Cauliflower
• Radish
• Chayote Squash
• Brussel Sprouts
• Escarole
• Endive
• Corn
• Beet Root

Fruits

• Papaya
• Mango
• Any type of berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc)
• Pomegranate
• Kiwi
• Oranges
• Melons
• Nectarines
• Cherries
• Apricot
• Grapefruit
• Banana
• Pears
• Apples
• Figs
• Pineapple
• Lemons
• Limes

Other Foods

• Whole Wheat Pasta
• Whole Grain Breads
• Corn Bread
• Cooked Eggs
• Sprouted Seeds

Avoid the following foods
-Avocados

-Dairy Products(Except Yogurt)

-Fruit Rinds

-Rhubarb

-Raw Meats

-Onions

-Garlic

-Chocolate

-Salty/Sugary Foods

-Alcohol

-Fruit Pits

-Peanuts

-Uncooked Rice

-Uncooked Beans

-Seeds of: Pears, Oranges, Papaya, Grapefruit, Grapes, Apples & some Melons

-Mayonnaise products

-Caffeine


And here's an imcomplete list of seeds you could feed: safflower seed, white millet, oat groats, buckwheat, canary grass seed, sunflower seeds, hemp seed (human grade), whole wheat, rolled barley, pumpkin seeds, shelled peanuts, almonds, pine nuts, pistachios, red millet, nyger

[Monica]

List of Suppliers who sell sprouts!!!

1. Organic Bird Food - Dynamo Sprout Mixes - Nature's Choice Essentials 100% Certified Organic Bird Food
2. Certified Organic Sprouts, Sprout Mix for Parrots, Avian Naturals Preservative free parrot foods.
3. Sprouts for pets
4. Avian FRESH Diet Parrot Food
5. Birdcamp Sprout Mix Information
6. http://www.thebirdbrain.com/html/FoodForUs.cfm
7. sproutmix
8. Parrot Sprouts and More
9. Parrots on the Porch
10. FOOD - SPROUT SEEDS AND MIXES
11. Bird Food, Organic Sprouts, Parrot Food, Bird Seed. Bulk Bird Food. Grey Feather Toy Creations.
12. Bird Food_parrot seeds, treats and nuts for parrots
13. Beane's Birds - The Charlene Beane Company

Sprouting Information & Diets

Pamperedpeeps Aviary- Parrot mash
Parrots are my Weakness.: Sprouting for Parrots
This is a step by step How to pictures from food & drink photos on webshots
HolisticBird and HolisticBirds
Diet
Winged Wisdom magazine ezine e-zine - Sprouts, first aid kits, cultures articles

[Jannabellsmom]

Thank you! I'll print this list out fro my bird sitters and I learned a few new things too. Always good to get new ideas, I might try feeding the tiels figs, I love em. But then again they don't eat too much fruit generally.

[Jannabellsmom]

Oh btw, my tiels seem to get messy beaks when I feed them beans or soup/bean mixes because it gets mushy. Am I just cooking it too long do you think?

[B CAMP]

Jannabellsmom
Your doing it just right I think there beaks are messy cause there eating and enjoy it

[Monica]

It's better to overcook the beans rather than to undercook! I like to soak my beans for at least 24 hours (seems to make them hold together better when you cook them), then do the quick-cook method, and then mix with other ingredients!

Of course you can always put the beans through a food processor (once fully cooked), make "bean dip", then mix this in with other ingredients, for those birds who don't eat beans!

[MusicalFeathers]

I like the idea of processing the beans. I tried cooked beans and my birds didn't like it much. I will try it processed and add all the other goodies in there. Thanks!

[jimpierce7]

avoid garlic? This is a first that I have seen garlic on an avoid list.

[Monica]

In small portions, Garlic is perfectly fine, if not healthy! It's when people take advice *TOO* literally, and then feed overly too much. In that case, it's better on the toxic list rather than the safe list.

MF, let us know how the mash bean dip goes!!!!

[B CAMP]

I put garlic in my egg food for finches they love it,and have been eatting it for long time