NATURAL FOODS

[sms090]

I was wondering if someone could give me a list of natural flowers, leaves, grasses etc that would be safe for all 3 of my birds to consume.
i live on large acreage so the wild growing stuff is 100% pesticide free.
I've been told pine cones and honeysuckle are ok but i am sure there are more stuff
(The natural foods will be as treats along with seeds, shell grit, cuttlefish etc)

[Wolf]

All of your birds are varieties of parrots. They all shell their seeds and because of this do not require grit. Why would you feed a parrot cuttlefish? If you will search through the nutrition section you will find several such lists as well as several links to the lists that you seek.

[sms090]

All of your birds are varieties of parrots. They all shell their seeds and because of this do not require grit. Why would you feed a parrot cuttlefish? If you will search through the nutrition section you will find several such lists as well as several links to the lists that you seek.

Sorry i meant cuttlefish bone.
And I don't believe a gouldian finch is a type of parrot......
I give my birds grit because birds have a muscular portion of the stomach called the gizzard, which grinds and crushes food. The smaller particles, then, are more easily broken down by digestive enzymes as they pass through the digestive tract. Some wild birds eat grit, which passes to the gizzard where it helps in this grinding process. It aids in removing the outer fibrous shell around some seeds (e.g.; sunflower seeds), if the shell was not removed with the beak prior to the seed being swallowed.
also because it just adds some variety

[Wolf]

I did indeed miss that one of your birds is a finch, Thank you for correcting me. The finch does need the grit. The cuttlebone is also a good thing for the calcium content and for their beaks. Parrots don't have a gizzard. While they can tolerate a very small amount of grit it really is nor a good thing for a parrot. And yes, I am aware of the ongoing debate concerning parrots and grit, but the vast majority of avian nutritionists agree that grit is not needed nor is it good for parrots.
In the long run the only real protection for your birds is for you to do your own research, listen to the opinions of others with parrot experience and draw your own conclusions based upon what you learn.

[Pajarita]

No, actually, the finch does NOT need grit. The only birds that need it are birds that eat the seeds or grains whole (like pigeons, doves, chickens, quails, etc). The grit in their gizzard acts like the grinding stone in a mill, crushing the seeds and releasing the nutritious inside so it can then be broken down and digested. Finches are specialized seed eaters while parrots can be both seed eaters and/or nut crackers (depends on the species) but they both have tomia (singular is tomium), a sharp edge that allows them to 'peel' the seed which they then swallow, disposing of the 'shell'. Anybody who has finches, canaries, budgies, tiels, lovies, etc knows that, if you blow on the seed cup, a lot of empty hulls will come up.

Now, there are grits nowadays that are 99% soluble and giving a tiny bit of it is fine (I give my canaries and finches a teeny, tiny treat cup of the soluble type once a month one day and take it out the next morning) but you need to make sure of the solubility because if you buy something like Hartz grit, which is nothing but sand, it's not good for them as it's not digestible and can cause both crop impaction or occlusion lower in the digestive tract.

Parrots do have gizzards. Gizzard is just another name for the ventriculus, which comes after the proventriculus, and it is a muscular 'bag' and the equivalent of our stomach but, by the time the seeds or nuts get there, they are already 'peeled' so, again, grit is not needed.

As to wild stuff you can feed them, you can give the entire dandelion plant (root, stems, leaves and flowers - finches love them and will peck at the roots to get pieces of it but not the parrots); lamb's quarter, purslane and plantain greens, bamboo shoots (only the very tender ones), wild watercress, red clover flowers as well as marigolds and wild violets.

[Wolf]

Maybe I read it wrong or perhaps the book on diseases and other medical problems in parrots was wrong. Either way I will look into this deeper. Thank you for correcting any misinformation that I have given, that is not my intent.

[Pajarita]

It's never referred to as 'gizzard' when you talk about parrots, it's mainly when you talk about fowl that people use that word (people eat chicken and turkey gizzards).