Birds are so graceful

[JessiMuse]

Joey is a diamond dove. Because dove beaks are the way they are, they are unable to crack open seeds. Instead, they swallow them whole. They also tend to only like vegetables, when chopped up pretty small. So the vegetable part might not be too hard.

I'm not sure how diamond doves are with fruits, but I think he might be ok, as long as they're really soft fruits like berries. I'll have try and experiment, to see what Joey specifically likes. He may or may not have been aviary raised, so the chances of him being exposed to these things are perhaps unlikely.

Plus, Lucy doesn't like fruit, and Dudley seems to like it sometimes (depending on his mood).

I live in Arizona, but circumstances prevent my from buying online at the moment anyhow. Luvkily, there is a farmers market nearby that sells a bunch of organic produce, and I can often find things there I don't usually find in the typical grocery store.

I would probably expect my gloop to be mainly of veggies and grains, considering how my birds eat.

[liz]

i have a gadget that cuts fruit and veggies into little tiny cubes. I just put the veg in and close the lid down on it. the pieces are a perfect size for little parrots like cockatiels. I cut enough for 3 days and stor in a closed container with lemon juice on it to keep it's color.

[Wolf]

I use a 50/ 50 mix of whole grains and mixed vegetables and then add some white beans and lentils to this mix maybe 20% or about 1/5th as much by volume. I add the white beans and lentil for the protein as birds do need a certain amount of protein, but not too much. I then feed a good seed mix for dinner which I remove after they go to sleep for the night or before they wake up in the mornings.

[Leanna]

Liz and Seagotdeb, I am very interested in your sprouted and soaked bases with your glop or chop. I am the feed as natural as possible type, and I feed 95 percent raw and soak and sprout too. I have not used many spices and am interested if anyone has a list of all the good spices for parrots.

[Pajarita]

Pretty much any spice can be used, the trick is in the amount because some must be used very sparingly and others liberally. Cinnamon (which should always be the Ceylon one and not the 'plain' -or cassia- cinnamon due to its higher content of coumarin), garlic, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, anise or fennel seeds should be used sparingly but, with them, a little bit goes a long way so using a little still gives a lot of flavor. You can be more generous with black or white pepper, paprika, oregano, rosemary, basil, thyme, sage, chili powder, crushed pepper and any other 'hot' spice. I never use parsley or laurel (or bay) leaves.

[Leanna]

I knew about all those spices, I already use them, I was hoping for a list of all of the spices that can be used and the ones that cannot. I was also was hoping to hear from Liz and Seagoatdeb who use more natural raw and sprouted on more recipes or foods I have not known about.

[seagoatdeb]

Leanna I think I have the places for you to find more info about raw diets, and spices too. Your links are Jason Crean, who I follow too, but Machelle Pacion is really good support as well. I will PM you the info.

[Leanna]

Leanna I think I have the places for you to find more info about raw diets, and spices too. Your links are Jason Crean, who I follow too, but Machelle Pacion is really good support as well. I will PM you the info.

Thank you so much for the information, it is just what I was looking for.

[liz]

My method is fresh soaked and fresh cut every morning. It takes time but they are worth it. I do portion assorted dry grain and put in little zip locks. That makes it a little faster to use a packet instead of spooning the dry stuff every morning.

On mornings that I don't even get breakfast I will room temp thaw veggies. Most are already cut to the size an Amazon picks up so I only have to prep for the cockatiels.

[seagoatdeb]

My method is fresh soaked and fresh cut every morning. It takes time but they are worth it. I do portion assorted dry grain and put in little zip locks. That makes it a little faster to use a packet instead of spooning the dry stuff every morning.

On mornings that I don't even get breakfast I will room temp thaw veggies. Most are already cut to the size an Amazon picks up so I only have to prep for the cockatiels.

I do mine fresh every day and yes they are so worth it. It helps I am retired though...lol