New and Have a question.

[galeriagila]

Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!
I'm not particularly knowledgeable... but I'm a good cheer-leader!
Good for you!

[Wolf]

I can't really say much about he almond flour because I am not familiar with it, but I would suggest that you consider foregoing any of the baby food containing meat and stick with the organic vegetable types of baby foods for your bird. I understand that you are trying to provide him with some protein in his meal, but with the flours and vegetables and a few nuts, I think that he may be getting enough. If in doubt about the protein you could use a can of white navy beans and rinse them thoroughly to remove all of the salt in them and mix some of them mashed up into the food that you are making for him.

Protein can be a little tricky as he does in fact need some protein but not all that much of it. Protein also affects the level of hormones and although he is too young to be very concerned about hormones, this is a great time to adjust his diet so that he gats an adequate amount of protein from vegetable sources.

[Pajarita]

Oh, I am sooo glad that I could help finding something he likes so well! Nothing wrong with almond flour, my dear, keep on using it. Another flour that is easily found and which has a very nice level of protein is chickpea flour -and let's not forget the best of all flours: quinoa flour! Your best source for good whole grain flours is either Whole Foods or the internet. And yes, parrots should not be given, as rule of thumb, any kind of prepared food that is meant for humans. Iron is one issue as humans require a lot of it and parrots don't, but there are other issues as well, like preservatives, for example. Look for baby foods that have no additives and as long as you stay away from foods that are naturally rich in it (like spinach, for example), it will be OK.

Now, I have to strongly agree with Wolf, please, please reconsider giving your bird animal protein. I know that old breeders and keepers of parrots swear that meat is fine for them (and I can tell you, if you want, why they think this) but we have learned much in the last few years in terms of adequate nutrition for them and animal protein is not part of it. See, the thing is that nature evolves an animal to thrive from the food that it finds in its environment so it gives it not only the precisely necessary tools to acquire it (like teeth, claws, the ability to dig, a long sticky tongue, a lower jaw that can be displaced, etc) but also the digestive system to take all the necessary nutrition from it as well as eliminate what is not good about it and so you have an animal that only eats ants and another that can eat rotten meat and thrive on it. Macaws were not created by nature to eat meat and we know this not only because of observation of them in the wild but also because they have beaks that are good for eating fruits as well as opening nuts and seeds and a digestive system that cannot really get rid of bad cholesterol (as carnivores and omnivores have). Macaws in the wild don't consume bad cholesterol. They might eat some insects but insect protein is very, very low in fat and virtually has no bad cholesterol. High fat and high cholesterol means sure death to a parrot. We have a very good member here who very recently lost an adopted parrot from high cholesterol and fatty liver disease caused by a bad diet. He spent, literally, thousands of dollars in vet bills, made special food for her, set up a special cage for her, diligently gave her all the different medicines she was prescribed and, even though everything that could be done was done, she did not only did not get better, she died from it because even with medicines her body could not get rid of all that bad cholesterol. I, myself, had parrots that had high cholesterol to the point that they had deposits of it in their eyes (if a body doesn't have a mechanism to get rid of something bad, it looks for other avenues and deposits of it is one form, xanthomas and lipomas are other forms).

[Franky2Macaws]

Staying away from All animal parts in food is possible, while still receiving an amply amount of usable protein...
I was not raised this way, but I'm aware of the Fact...
Knowing the best source of Baby growth foods takes rewiring the brain, and a time of programming...
Sam is young and has not had an abundance of unhealthy foods that can slow or alter his growth...

I realize that both of you, Wolf and Pajarita have taken a lot of time to consider and to assist in teaching a better way to build Sam's little body and to make him strong physically and mentally...
What has been given is not a waste, but aids in rebuilding a way of life... Thank You Both...

Sam started his morning with papaya/walnuts/Bananas/Almonds and a short time later he ate his Mush of Almond flour/Oat flour/Spelt flour/Banana Carrot and Mango Baby Food...

I hope he is good to go...
Once set with the Idea that only Good Food comes from the syringe, The Peas and Carrots will come into play... Then onto the frozen and fresh vegetables...

I have already seen the light at the end of the tunnel with Sam licking my fingers... He is loving this way of interacting, and I have to say that it is pure gold...

Thanks, Both of You...

[galeriagila]

I'll second that! You senior members here are a dedicated bunch. Much appreciated. The biggest change in the Rickeybird's diet is what he DOESN'T get any more, namely dairy goods. Boyyyyy, he misses 'em, but... but I told him it's Pajarita's and Wolf's fault. Finally, I have just had to stop letting him see dairy. That includes bowls or plates, in the sink or elsewhere, that formerly housed dairy. He flies into a rage, pun intended.

[Wolf]

I know what you mean, I try to give my parrots foods that are good for them and even have to hide in order to eat certain foods that I require to remain healthy. That goes over like a ton of bricks. My parrots want some of whatever I am eating and get mad if they don't get it. They know when I go into the other room to eat something that they should not have and if I stay in the same room because I also have foods that they can have, they watch and want a piece of everything on the plate and I had better not miss even one item on the plate or the next piece is spit out and the piece after that is thrown at me. They are very smart and they don't miss anything.

[galeriagila]

I hear THAT!!!!!

My grandmother used to say... "That bird may only have the smarts of a toddler, but he has been a toddler for a lonnnnnnnnnng tiiiime!"

I once wrote a poem called "What a Parrot Wants"... as I recall, it was funny. I'll find it and maybe post it somewhere.

[Pajarita]

Yep, they sure do want everything we eat and they always prefer what is bad for them like cheese and meat. It's the umami taste, you know?, it's a marker for protein and birds are hard-wired to crave and gorge on protein. I let mine out when I first come downstairs but, when I go up to the birdroom, I put them back in their cages for safety and also so they can eat a good breakfast. Then, when I come downstairs after I am done in the birdroom, I let them out and prepare my breakfast which is usually a super large cup of café-au-lait and French bread with either cream cheese and strawberries or unsalted butter and orange marmalade. Well, I can keep my coffee next to me but I have to put the bread INSIDE a cupboard because, if I leave it outside, Sweetpea will fight me for it! So I get up, walk around the island, open the cupboard, take a bite, close the cupboard, walk around the island and sit down again several times until I am all done. The things one does for them!

[galeriagila]

I am envisioning this scene! Well, hey, you practice what you preach!

[seagoatdeb]

i am trying to teach Sunny right now if its a plate, he can have some of whats on it and i always make sure there is something he can have on it. If its a bowl, they cant have it, and I have to keep moving to keep Sunny away...lol... Gaugan already gets it....but Sunny....."sigh"

With Gaugan I say, "this is Debbys" and she wont bother me....."If i say, do you want....etc..." then Gaugan knows she is going to get something.