Homemade Parrot food

[Iggy's here]

Well since I can't get a quality pellet yet in Australia I have decided to make my own food. In the blender I put in boiled organic kale, swede, zucchini, corn, carrot; wakame seaweed, flax seeds chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, goji berries, spirulina, chlorella, small amount of plum jam (homemade sweetened with honey). Plus some pellets that I have been feeding him up till now (these I pan to phase out as he grows more used to it)

I put a small amount of the mix in a container in the fridge and the rest in small containers in the freezer.

This was made with what I had on hand, but next time I am thinking of adding shredded coconut, hemp seeds, quinoa, brown rice, lentils, egg white (we get beautiful fresh organic free range soy free eggs).

If anyone has any other suggestions, recommendations, or cautions please share

[KimberlyAnn]

Oh FUN! This is a small list of what I give Emmi from memory as I'm so very comfortable under my blanket hehe. Some of it gets mashed together because of powders, some of it gets fed whole. I much prefer to feed it whole because she picks and chooses what she needs and is not a picky eater. Her favorites change a lot.

Wet mixed food is only left out an hour. Dry seed and herbs and fresh fruit are left out for about 6 hours a day. Gosh, this is going to get complicated, sorry. Lol

Also *DISCLAIMER* I don't know what your parrot eats :/ This is for a Conure who eats a ton of fruit. My vet has helped me make this specificly for mid canopy conures like a Green Cheek. Also some things I learned from The Best Bird Food web site and here. I would reseach where your parrot is from and call universities, zoos, anyone who would know your type of parrot well. Also look at GOOD pellet ingredients for ideas with herbs and stuff.

* Means mixed in/blended wet food
+ Means fed fresh
@ Means always fed cooked
# Means fed dry

Mango*+
Papaya*+
Kiwi*+
(Any other fruit in season)*+
Blackberries*+
Blueberries*+#
Raspberries*+
Lemons (With peel, no seeds)
Yams*@+
Wheat grass*+
Broccoli heads+@
Oregano*+#
Rosemary*+#
Alfalfa powder*
Bell Peppers+
Sugar snap peas+
Cayenne Peper Powder* (NEVER COOK OR WARM! It can become irritating when cooked)
Cooked Quinoa (Red and regular)*@
Brown rice*@
Whole roses*#
Chamomile flowers*#
Hibiscus flowers*#
Spirulina*
Hemp hearts*

Small amounts of...(Like, I really mean small)
Whole Chia seed# (She hulls them herself...AMAZING! They are so small LOL)
Whole Flax seed (Mix of white and brown)#
Whole Safflower seed#
Coral calcium powder*
Meal worms*#
Sesame seeds*#
Coconut# (No sugar)

So I just can't ever make a complete list because I change things constantly and it depends on what's in season. I'm forgetting a lot. The mix/blended food is fed every day and so is the dry food. Then she gets fresh whole something.

Don't be overwhelmed. I make a big batch and freeze. I go to work with fruit that has a small chunk cut out of it. I make salads with stuff she can eat. We basically share food or I buy just one of something that's hers. If it's in the fridge cut, my huband or step son eats it quickly. Lol

It's really not expensive. A big batch costs me around $30 and lasts for two months. I use ice cube trays and cut those into 4ths when they are almost frozen. So 4 feedings in each ice cube. She gets one in the morning and one at night. The small dry food is not enough to cover the bottom of her all day food dish. The fresh food is a small amount too.

But it's much simpler to do then to explain. It's a routine now and I've had a long bad day! Lol

[KimberlyAnn]

Now on to your food...

Well since I can't get a quality pellet yet in Australia I have decided to make my own food. In the blender I put in boiled organic kale, swede,

What's Swede?

zucchini, corn,

Corn should be fed sparingly as a treat I read...junk food for parrots lol

carrot; wakame seaweed, flax seeds chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, goji berries,

I have heard that goji berries are an unknown thing...if they are safe or not. Maybe someone else can answer.

spirulina, chlorella, small amount of plum jam (homemade sweetened with honey).

Raw honey can be dangerous to birds, but I'm not sure about cooked.

Plus some pellets that I have been feeding him up till now (these I pan to phase out as he grows more used to it)

I put a small amount of the mix in a container in the fridge and the rest in small containers in the freezer.

This was made with what I had on hand, but next time I am thinking of adding shredded coconut, hemp seeds, quinoa, brown rice, lentils, egg white (we get beautiful fresh organic free range soy free eggs).

If anyone has any other suggestions, recommendations, or cautions please share

I would feed the eggs separately as they should not have too much protein. Maybe once a week with eggs and a very small amount. But rewarding, isn't it? To make your own food? Emmi's feathers are beautiful and she's so healthy, the vet says. They LOVE fresh food and it's so easy to make food for one parrot. Good luck!

[KimberlyAnn]

Also, organic is important. I'm lucky I live by a bunch of growers. Health food stores sell bin organic food for cheap like flax seed and rice. I have a tea shop where I get dried organic flowers. I also get stuff from my aunt who eats healthy. I hope you can find things as easy as I have.

[Iggy's here]

Thanks so much for your detailed replies Kimberly Ann! The parrot food you make sounds awesome!


Our household eats pretty much organic or at least spray free. We are lucky we live in a lush sub-tropical area with lots of avid organic gardeners as neighbours and friends. So we have lot's of beautiful fresh produce around.

Swede is called rutabaga in the US.

Good to know about the honey. I wonder if it is because of a risk of botulism like human babies.

Also good to know about the corn. Iggy is only 13 weeks old and was weaned on seed and corn (frozen). We've had him 5 weeks and it has been a mission to get him to expand his tastes. Slowly slowly (at least the corn we give him is fresh organic).

Also thanks for reminding me of the flowers... I keep trying to remember to pick some hibiscus but always forget.

I used to have a rescued wild rainbow lorikeet, and because their diet is very special I made most of his food myself...and he loved loved loved flowers!!

Thanks for sharing

[Jakrob4]

This is the current mix our birds are devouring and seems to be the most favoured yet. Should easily last 6 hrs without going bad in their cage though most won't eat it once its sat for too long.
You will need a very large bowl for mixing.
All ingredients fresh as possible and organic-

small butternut pumpkin raw
1 Capsicum raw
2 large chili raw
small broccoli raw
few dandelion leaves raw
4 kale stalks/leaves raw
handful of spinach raw
6 or more baby carrots with greens attached raw
handful of snow peas or green beans raw
fenugreek sprouts raw
1 zuchini raw
little bit of parsley raw

All of the above ingredients are chopped raw into tiny pieces (not mush) with a food processor then added to the mixing bowl.

then add
1 cooked large sweet potato squashed. Microwave until cooked- about 10 mins total, poke holes in it with a fork first.
1 sweet corn cut off kernels with knife and cook them with sweet potato for 3 mins at the end.

add them to mixing bowl and mix thoroughly.

We then made a grain mix using only ingredients with 15 min cooking time and cooked them together. Cold rinse first then use absorbtion method so no nutrients are washed away.

quinoa
millet
short grain white rice (only used this time because it cooks in 15 mins usually use brown)
red lentils
green split peas

let them sit in strainer once cooked to remove excess water then add them to mixing bowl and mix thoroughly.
You can also cook a seperate mix of beans and add them for a more complete protein, but they require a far longer cooking time.
If you are already feeding sprouted beans they aren't required.


I then use a seperate small bowl to premix dry ingredients-
hemp seeds
sesame seeds
buckwheat
purple dulse powder
sea kelp powder
rose hip powder
lemon peel powder
orange peel powder
freeze dried barley grass powder
freeze dried ginger powder
chili flakes
turmeric powder
cayanne pepper powder

add this to mixing bowl in small amounts while mixing to ensure it gets mixed as evenly as possible.

We then spoon 2 days worth into ziplock sandwich bags. Remember to buy a few boxes you will be amazed at how many servings you get out of it. We then put these ziplock bags inside the more expensive "freezergaurd" ziplock bags and then put them in the freezer.

Make sure you feed it daily, and remember to put the next mornings bag in the fridge the afternoon before. If you heat it to defrost it will increase the speed of bacterial growth.
not sure if I've forgotten anything, hope this helps .
good luck

[KimberlyAnn]

Thanks so much for your detailed replies Kimberly Ann! The parrot food you make sounds awesome!


Our household eats pretty much organic or at least spray free. We are lucky we live in a lush sub-tropical area with lots of avid organic gardeners as neighbours and friends. So we have lot's of beautiful fresh produce around.

That's awesome! I don't live in a sub-tropical area and I'm so jealous! I would love to be able to grow my own coconuts, pineapples, and pretty much all the tropical fruits. My dream.

Swede is called rutabaga in the US.

Good to know about the honey. I wonder if it is because of a risk of botulism like human babies.

Yes, that is half of it. I don't remember the other half as to why, but that's enough for me! Lol

Also good to know about the corn. Iggy is only 13 weeks old and was weaned on seed and corn (frozen). We've had him 5 weeks and it has been a mission to get him to expand his tastes. Slowly slowly (at least the corn we give him is fresh organic).

Got it! Your parrot comes from the same area mine does, I found out. They are also heavy fruit eaters that loves to nest in coconut trees and will eat coconut exclusively, but that's not very healthy! Lol So I bet Iggy might like coconut and lots of fruits. I found it was easy to start Emmi off with the tropical fruits she might find in the wild (Pineapple too!) and then move on to the tender leafy greens and grasses, then on to other foods.

You can also try to dust new foods with a bit of cinnamon. This is healthy for them, but not an every day thing. Most love it! This works great on rice and quinoa or fruit. The other powder is cayenne pepper. This is also healthy and can be fed daily on leafy greens etc. Just don't cook or heat up this powder. Watch your eyes after this feeding. I can't tell you how many times I have forgotten she's just eaten this and it's found its way to my eyes during allergy season! Lol

Also thanks for reminding me of the flowers... I keep trying to remember to pick some hibiscus but always forget.

Emmi LOVES hibiscus flowers! She will eat them dry or wet, she will carry the petals to the very top back corner of her cage to eat them. It's like she's found gold and she's not sharing. She closes her eyes halfway too like it's chocolate to humans. Lol I put it in my tea in the mornings too, with the roses. Heaven.

I used to have a rescued wild rainbow lorikeet, and because their diet is very special I made most of his food myself...and he loved loved loved flowers!!

Thanks for sharing

I would love to see Rainbow Lorikeets in the wild, I've only seen them in the stores and they are so beautiful. Those tongues are so funny and their bite...makes me not want to bring one home. Lol If it weren't for that, I might!

[KimberlyAnn]

I just want to add a bit about oxalic acid. It's found in a lot of leafy greens like spinach and foods high in oxalic acid should not be fed in too much quantity or they should be cooked to get rid of a little bit of oxalic acid, although it does not seem to get rid of much.

In birds, oxalic acid is very hard on the kidneys and blocks calcium absorption. In humans, it can cause stomach issues too. There are a lot of lists out there that have high oxalic acid foods so it's a good thing to look up and use these things sparingly or in very small quantity.

[KimberlyAnn]

Jakrob4, the sprouted seeds and beans! I almost forgot. I have been lazy and have not sprouted anything since before Christmas lol

I use a jar, coffee filter, apple cider vinegar, and a bowl to turn the jar sideways. Lots of info on the net about this.

I feed sprouts when they are barely sprouted because that's when birds can digest the most nutrition from them. I sprout quinoa, lentals, millet, safflower, and sunflower. Just check this link and research everything you are wanting to sprout to see if it's parrot safe...that goes for any food.

http://www.landofvos.com/articles/sprouts.html

[Pajarita]

Well since I can't get a quality pellet yet in Australia I have decided to make my own food. In the blender I put in boiled organic kale, swede, zucchini, corn, carrot; wakame seaweed, flax seeds chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, goji berries, spirulina, chlorella, small amount of plum jam (homemade sweetened with honey). Plus some pellets that I have been feeding him up till now (these I pan to phase out as he grows more used to it)

I put a small amount of the mix in a container in the fridge and the rest in small containers in the freezer.

This was made with what I had on hand, but next time I am thinking of adding shredded coconut, hemp seeds, quinoa, brown rice, lentils, egg white (we get beautiful fresh organic free range soy free eggs).

If anyone has any other suggestions, recommendations, or cautions please share

May I ask why you are feeding three different types of seaweed (algae)? They are, obviously, not part of any natural parrot diet and they are also quite high in sodium.

My basic recipe has oats, wheat, barley, kamut, medium brown rice, wild rice, lentils, small white beans, flax and sesame seed (there are added raw to the cooked grains) and cooked vegetables as follows: chopped broccoli, corn, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, cauliflower and beets. Sometimes I add white hominy or artichoke hearts or blue kale or palm hearts or whatever else catches my fancy. To this basic recipe (which is not put through a food processor or a blender so it's actually quite textured and stuff is in different sizes -like sweet potatoes are in big chunks, for example), I add the stuff for the flavor of the day - for example, the 'apple pie' flavor has naturally dried apple chips, raisins, currants, grated lemon peel, honey and cinnamon. Everything is organic with the possible exception (not all the time) of the broccoli, cauliflower and the white beans (none of these needs to be organic).