Healthy Raw Diet for Parrots Recipes

[Wolf]

Thank you, now I understand.

[Pajarita]

Yes, it's actually impossible to find fertile hemp seed here in the States because as marihuana is hemp, the seeds of the cannabis and the ones of the other varieties used for food and textiles look exactly the same so I assume they just decided to denature them to prevent people from passing the cannabis as 'regular' and growing them Although there has to be a way of getting fertile seeds because how do the farmers who grow the crops get them? I can get as much hemp seeds as I want and use them dry or in the soaking mix but they simply don't germinate (not that it bothers me as I only use sprouts during breeding season and very sparingly for the canope feeders).

As to the frozen and raw thing... The way I see it (and why I do it), it's more nutritious to buy frozen and mix with the soaked seeds (or in my case, lightly cooked grains) than to buy fresh and then freeze. I guess one could make the effort to buy fresh organic from local producers but it doesn't really work because not all fruits and veggies ripen at the same time so one would end up with a very small variety range (at least by me - I can't get more than 3 of 4 different fruits and veggies that are organic and locally grown at any given time) so it's not really practical. And it would still mean shopping three times a week and preparing stuff on a daily basis... And, even if you are willing and able, you can't do it during the winter, anyway.

I think that the concept of feeding everything raw all year round is great but unless you own your own huge greenhouse, it can't be done - not without sacrificing nutrition.

[seagoatdeb]

Feeding raw hasnt anything to do with frozen and fresh debates. Lots of parrrot whole raw food people will freeze and its still considered raw. What Raw whole food feeders dont do is cook or heat above 46 °C (115 °F) so hot soaks and dehyratating at low temperature is used. I am only about 90%-95% raw,in my feeding, I do use some cooked.

[Leanna]

I think that the concept of feeding everything raw all year round is great but unless you own your own huge greenhouse, it can't be done - not without sacrificing nutrition.

That makes no sense, feeding raw is using sprouted grains, seeds and nuts and raw seeds, nuts vegetables and fruits and can be frozen when needed, so how woud it be any harder that your gloop? Also it is more nutritious than your gloop, because sprouted grain has more nutrition than cooked grain. I do feed my birds mostly raw as I have already stated and I do that because it is more nutritious not less.

[Pajarita]

The comment was meant for the fruits and veggies which are the ones that provide the bulk of the vitamins and phytonutrients. Sprouted grains and seeds are more nutritious than cooked ones, no doubt about it! But, according to all the sources that list parrots natural diets, they are unnatural to canope feeders and not even ground feeders eat them all the time. Budgies and tiels, for example, do eat them but only at the beginning of the dry season (which is, also, their breeding season) when the seeds that fell start to sprout in the soil moistened and loosened by the rains. So, in my personal opinion (and, of course, you are welcome to disagree), they might be just too rich in nutrition for every day consumption.
Parrots (no bird, actually) don't really eat a daily balanced or too rich a diet - it all evens out but it could take up to a whole year for this to happen because they are seasonal eaters. Sources tell you they eat this and that but if you observe them in the wild, you see them eating the same fruit for three, four days in a row and, when it's all gone, then move on to eating something else until that is also finished. Now, we would not even contemplate feeding our parrots nothing but mango for three days, then just papaya for another three and only nuts for the next two but that is the way they eat in the wild. Just as an example, we have been keeping canaries as pets since the 1400's and have learned huge amounts about their best nutrition in the hundreds of years we've kept them just be observation and comparison of notes between breeders (things like longevity, resistance to disease, fertility, infant mortality, plumage, song, etc). So we know much more about them than we do about parrots, and, although they are natural grass seed eaters and, as such, sprout eaters, they are never fed sprouts outside of breeding season. Why? Because experience has taught that, sometimes, when it comes to nutrients, more is not best in the long term.

[Leanna]

The comment was meant for the fruits and veggies which are the ones that provide the bulk of the vitamins and phytonutrients. Sprouted grains and seeds are more nutritious than cooked ones, no doubt about it! But, according to all the sources that list parrots natural diets, they are unnatural to canope feeders and not even ground feeders eat them all the time. Budgies and tiels, for example, do eat them but only at the beginning of the dry season (which is, also, their breeding season) when the seeds that fell start to sprout in the soil moistened and loosened by the rains. So, in my personal opinion (and, of course, you are welcome to disagree), they might be just too rich in nutrition for every day consumption.
Parrots (no bird, actually) don't really eat a daily balanced or too rich a diet - it all evens out but it could take up to a whole year for this to happen because they are seasonal eaters. Sources tell you they eat this and that but if you observe them in the wild, you see them eating the same fruit for three, four days in a row and, when it's all gone, then move on to eating something else until that is also finished. Now, we would not even contemplate feeding our parrots nothing but mango for three days, then just papaya for another three and only nuts for the next two but that is the way they eat in the wild. Just as an example, we have been keeping canaries as pets since the 1400's and have learned huge amounts about their best nutrition in the hundreds of years we've kept them just be observation and comparison of notes between breeders (things like longevity, resistance to disease, fertility, infant mortality, plumage, song, etc). So we know much more about them than we do about parrots, and, although they are natural grass seed eaters and, as such, sprout eaters, they are never fed sprouts outside of breeding season. Why? Because experience has taught that, sometimes, when it comes to nutrients, more is not best in the long term.

Most dont feeds the sprouted every day, as long as the seeds and nuts are raw they are used. The parots are not eating their natural diets at all we just do the best we can and even if we feed sprouted everyday, that woudnt give them everything their natural environment did. There food were all eaten right off the tree or plants and some on the ground. They had fresh air, and lots of sunshine. Feeding them cooked everyday is feeding denatured unnatural food and they never ate that in the wild. if you werent going to add to the body of knowledge about natural raw eating why are you even commenting, You dont have the experience and are not well read on Raw natural diets, so if its just to try to argue with all the experts who now promote the raw natural diet, maybe you should argue with them and let the ones like me who want this information be allowed to get it without you disagreeing with what you arent experienced with. I was so happy to find some posts on natural raw food diets and wanted to have conversations and posts about those diets. We should be having conversations about better sprouting methods, what seeds and nuts birds like better, that kind of thing.

[Wolf]

Leanna, I really enjoy reading more about the feeding of raw foods to our birds, and it is an area that has been somewhat neglected on this forum, but please understand that just because someone presents a different point of view that it is not an attack, it is merely another point of view. The people on this forum deserve to have as much information on nutrition as we can provide for them so that they can make informed choices of their own. This process can not occur if we only present certain views, we should try to give them as much information as we can, that is or should be our purpose the choice of what to do with that information is theirs to make and not ours through censorship.

[Leanna]

Leanna, I really enjoy reading more about the feeding of raw foods to our birds, and it is an area that has been somewhat neglected on this forum, but please understand that just because someone presents a different point of view that it is not an attack, it is merely another point of view. The people on this forum deserve to have as much information on nutrition as we can provide for them so that they can make informed choices of their own. This process can not occur if we only present certain views, we should try to give them as much information as we can, that is or should be our purpose the choice of what to do with that information is theirs to make and not ours through censorship.

Sorry thats how you see it Wolf. Whole Raw foods are about not cooking, I didnt understand what posting about frozen and raw had to do with it. I thought it was arguing for no reason, about a different issue, and claiming it was a raw issue for the sake of arguing. If I was confused about why a issue that didnt have to do with raw was brought up then I apologize. I will not post again here.

[Wolf]

Leanna, the reason that there are statements concerning the other methods of providing adequate nutrition is to try to understand the differences and how they affect our birds, no one is arguing for the sake of arguing, they are trying to reconcile what they already know and understand with that which is new to them, it is really just a part of the learning process. There is nothing wrong with your information and I for one want to learn more about it. Do I agree with it? Some parts of it I do other parts I do not and some parts I do not know enough about to make up my mind. Although it might be easier to share your knowledge in a lecture type setting, this is a forum and neither of us can dictate when or how others are going to question us on our information. Try to look at this more along the lines of people are asking as well as presenting to you the reasons for what they currently believe, not for the purpose of arguing but so that you have the opportunity to show them where they may be misunderstanding either what you are saying or what they thought they understood. They are not trying to argue, they are trying to understand.

[seagoatdeb]

Leanna, the reason that there are statements concerning the other methods of providing adequate nutrition is to try to understand the differences and how they affect our birds, no one is arguing for the sake of arguing, they are trying to reconcile what they already know and understand with that which is new to them, it is really just a part of the learning process. There is nothing wrong with your information and I for one want to learn more about it. Do I agree with it? Some parts of it I do other parts I do not and some parts I do not know enough about to make up my mind. Although it might be easier to share your knowledge in a lecture type setting, this is a forum and neither of us can dictate when or how others are going to question us on our information. Try to look at this more along the lines of people are asking as well as presenting to you the reasons for what they currently believe, not for the purpose of arguing but so that you have the opportunity to show them where they may be misunderstanding either what you are saying or what they thought they understood. They are not trying to argue, they are trying to understand.

Wolf, Leanna already apologized if she took Pajarita wrong. I really think you should have just have accepted her apology instead of posting the same thing basically as you did before her apology. She is a new member, it takes a while to see that Pajarita has good intentions.

Leanna, I understand exactly what you must have felt and why. You were very nice to explain and apologize. Very few people have apologized on this forum when they realize they took something wrong. You have my deep respect for that.