LOOKING FOR GOOD GLOOP RECIPE!!

[sunconuresunny00]

hello HAPPY FEATHERS!! I'm looking for a good step by step gloop recipe explaining exactly what I can use and how to prepare and cook it JUST DONT WANT TO HARM MY PRETTY SUNNY BOY!!! THANKS!!!

[Wolf]

It is hard to give or find such an exact recipe for the gloop as it changes. It changes based on the availability of the individual ingredients. I do like to use the bags of mixed vegetables from the frozen foods section at the grocery store because they are always available and of a consistent quality. There are several bags of different vegetable mixes but the one that I use is called mixed vegetables. Sometimes I get one or two of the other ones to use as an add in, but mostly I use fresh vegetables for add ins. Things like broccoli, cauliflower, squashes and other items. I use four to five different whole grains and those vary due to what is available at the stores when I go shopping for bird food. and then I use fully cooked white beans and lentils. I use the same amount of partly cooked whole grains as I do of the vegetables which I add to the very hot whole grains and that is the only cooking the vegetables get. then I weigh this mix and I add a half and half mix of thoroughly cooked white beans and lentils to the mix of grains and vegetables For every 5 ounces of the grain/ vegetable mix I add 1 ounce of the bean/ lentil mix. When it is mixed this way it gives me roughly a ratio of 40% whole grains, 40% vegetables and 20% white beans and lentils.

I use the list that starts on the second page of this link viewtopic.php?f=8&t=12521 to make certain that I am using onlt bird safe foods.

[Wolf]

I have deleted the duplicate post in the General Care section as it is not needed, you will get just as many answers with this single posting as by having multiple posts asking for the same information.

[owlyssa]

Thanks for the walk-through, Wolf! I'm equal parts excited and nervous about going the gloop route once Kona's home, so it definitely helps to have a formula of sorts to follow. About how much gloop should a bird be presented with, and when? I remember reading in another thread (I think that gloop should be in the mornings, along with fresh fruit and veg, and seeds should be offered in the evenings...

In your (or anyone else's) experience, is it safe to use canned (sodium-free) beans for avian consumption? What are some of your sources for grains? Nuts.com is the only one I'm familiar with, but if there's another store/site that is more trustworthy/safe and affordable, I'm interested in checking them out!

[Wolf]

I cook my own beans, but Pajarita has said on several occasions that she uses the canned navy beans ( sodium free) but that she rinses them well before using them. I get the majority of the ingredients that I use in gloop locally, such as I get a large bag of frozen mixed vegetables at the grocery store. My grocery store also carries organic wild rice. If I don't find all of the ingredients that I want for my gloop at the grocery store then I head to the health food store for the rest.

[Pajarita]

No, not navy beans, I use the 'small white beans' exclusively (I actually think they are the same variety as Navy or Northern but just smaller but I am not sure). This is because I will only use white beans and I have different species of birds, some small, some medium and some big so the small beans 'fit' everybirdy

I am now using kamut, oat groats, hulled barley, black and/or red rice as well as wild rice, spelt and/or freekeh and black lentils (all cooked by me in batches of stuff that cooks in the same amount of time: oats with barley; rices with lentils; and the rest, which are all 'wheat like' grains together) to this I add canned small white beans which I rinse very thoroughly under running warm water as well as the following frozen veggies: chopped broccoli, peas and carrots, corn, butternut squash and chopped artichoke hearts. Lastly, I add the baked sweet potatoes (or yams) which I nuke in a Potato Express bag during the warm weather months and bake in the oven during the cold ones (I don't turn on my oven when it's warm), flax and sesame seed. I use more or less the same amount of each grain as I do of black lentils but much less white bean, flax and sesame seed and add enough veggies so it ends up been 50% veggies and 50% of the higher protein foods (grains and beans). I make a huge batch of grains/rices which I split into two, one half is prepared with veggies and the other is frozen for later. I buy in bulk and use about 3/4 lbs of each grain but buy the rices in the usual package sizes so the wild rice ends up been less than the other rices. I then add 4 cans of beans, 4 packages of broccoli, 1 large of each peas/carrots, corn and butternut squash (it comes cut up into little cubes and frozen), a smaller one of artichokes and a good, generous sprinkling of sesame and flax seeds. When I want to increase protein (during the breeding season all the way to molt), I add quinoa to the mix and, sometimes once, sometimes twice a week, I add a bit of freeze-fried mealworms to their daily gloop.

Now, you can use whole wheat kernels, either hard red winter or soft spring white wheat instead of the 'wheat like' grains I use. I used to but decided to switch to the 'ancient' grains instead because I believe are closer to what nature intended grains to be and not so high in gluten.

The easiest gloop is to buy Kashi's 7 Whole Grains Pilaf and simply follow the directions on the box (you can cook them in the microwave) and add veggies to it, but my birds are not partial to rye -which this mix has- and, as I do these large batches, I prefer to buy the stuff separately. And, its really not hard at all for me because I can actually get everything from my supermarket 'health food' section (next to the organic section) with the exception of the black lentils which I have to get from Whole Foods. Years ago, when you couldn't find whole grains in bulk anywhere, I used to order them from here: http://www.barryfarm.com/Grains.htm. I still use them for naturally dried and unsulfured organic fruits and veggies.

[owlyssa]

Thanks, Wolf and Pajarita!! I purchased some supplies off of Nuts.com (unsulphured and safe for birds!) because they're high-quality and have a super-speedy delivery time (they're expected here TOMORROW and I literally just ordered them) and I'm going to go to my local Shoprite for the remainder of my gloop supplies. I'm hoping they have the Kashi 7 grains pilaf there, as Amazon is out of it for Prime delivery.

I'm rushing to get prepared because I just received the news that Kona is ready to come home and I want him here as soon as possible! Thank you to you both; I'll let you know how everything turns out in the next few days.

[Pajarita]

OMG! You must be SOOOOO excited! Give us news as soon as you can, please!

[Wolf]

Navy beans are the small white beans while the great northern are a larger white bean. As far as I am aware of there are very few varieties of small white beans with navy beans being the most common. We keep getting asked what are the small white beans that we are using and as in most other areas that I have lived in they are usually navy beans and so I tell the inquirer what bean I am using, so for the sake of clarity if you are not using navy beans, what are the small white beans that you are using so that I can try and find them , please. If I am using the wrong bean then I would like to know which bean to use.

[seagoatdeb]

Wolf, White beans are much the same for nutrition, and what they contain, its mainly only a size difference. little beans for little parrots, but beans are cooked and soft for little beaks to eat, so all parrots can eat any size really. Navy beans are fine. I grow whatever white beans I can find seeds for.