New food

[Luckyandjenn]

I don't think that dehydrated anything is good for parrots - especially macaws that eat A LOT of fruits which have a water content of 75 to 95%. For one thing, they are not as nutritious as frozen or even fresh (the only preparation that is marginally more nutritious than frozen is freeze-dried but the stuff ends up like pieces of crunchy cardboard!) but the more problematic side is the lack of moisture which, in fruits, for example, go from 1 to 7% - a HUGE difference to what they are meant to eat!

If you are going by their natural diet moisture requirements, safety (in terms of bad bacteria and such) and nutrition in general, the best you can offer is something you grew yourself and picked when ripe -which is great but not what one would call practical, right? The second is frozen produce that is allowed to thaw in the fridge - which is what the gloop has. Accompanying the gloop with raw produce rounds up the nutrition because although the raw is not as nutritious in terms of vitamins, it does still have live phytonutrients.

With a macaw, I would offer very little seed... I would use nuts, instead (bigger and more nutritious than seeds) and then only for dinner.

Actually i have a bunch of organic veggies to give him thoe hes not so into them yet he has bad eating habits from his previous home and what is gloop? Other than having a hard time changing his diet hes an active healthy guy and best part is hes not a screamer lol lots of happy chatter i love him and i love all the learning i get to do to inprove our lifes

Gloop is a dish made out of lightly cooked (al dente so they are soft in the outside but still hard in the inside and retain their shape) whole grains and pulses (I only use white beans because they are the lowest in a toxic lectin that all beans have - and black lentils but regular lentils are fine, too) mixed with chopped veggies (I use frozen and mix them into the cooled grains after cooking them so they remain frozen until the daily portion is allowed to thaw). I use: kamut, oat groats, hulled barley, wheat kernels and teff or spelt and black and red rice for grains. And, for veggies: chopped broccoli (it comes already chopped in a bag and frozen), corn, peas, carrots, butternut squash (it comes cubed and frozen), white hominy (this is from a can, not frozen), baked (or nuked in a Potato Express bag) sweet potatoes (I cook them with the skin so as to not to loose any nutrition and then just peel them) and chopped artichoke hearts and green beans (these are the only two things that I need to chop myself). To this I add flax and sesame seed after the grains, beans, lentils and veggies are all mixed in and this mixture becomes the 'basic recipe'. This is put into freezer baggies with a daily portion each and frozen and, every day, I use one to which I add the flavor of the day by adding stuff and spices (they love cinnamon and chili powder!).

I have transitioned over 300 birds to it and they all loved it!

Going to write all this down and do this tommarow thanks so much

[Luckyandjenn]

Raw food style dehdrated is still very nutritious and it is similar to what parrots have in the wild when they eat the berries etc. that drop too the ground. dehydrating at temperatures below 112-118F is what is considered still raw. I dont think you can go wrong with their natural diets. Also they must be stored in the fridge becasue they still have a high water content, but they keep for a month and sometimes more. Also when you raw food dehydrate flax veggie birdie bread... they are much more nutritious than anything baked and also have a higher water content than baked.

Since the Op has expressed an interest in dehydrating i will give my basic raw birdie bread recipe. Here is my recipe I use and I often season it for me and may have a different seasoning for a little of it for my parrrots.

1.Grate some flax seeds and also some other seeds too…… you can also grate some raw nut pieces if you like.

2. In a blender blend some garlic, some orange sweet potatoes (also called yam), and some greens, season with ginger, coriander, cumin and/or other spices you like or what you think will be good for your parrot.

3.Mix it together it should look like a mash.

4. then put some seeds in (pumpkin, sesame, sunflower, hemp, flax etc. )

5. press flat then cut into squares and dehydrate 112-118F.

They will store in your fridge and are great for birdie bread treats and power snacks for you.

Omg thanks for the recipe I'm going to get stuff in the am and make some and see. If he likes it sounds delish

[Wolf]

LuckyandJenn, both Seagoatdeb and Pajarita are among our most experienced parrot caregivers and both of them have done extensive research into parrot nutrition. Both of them want nothing less than the best for your bird, I must also say that they very often do not agree with each other when it comes to parrot diets. Actually this is not all that uncommon in this area as you have no doubt already become aware of if you have tried to find out what the best diet is for your parrot through the internet, not even the food manufacturers agree with each other.

What I suggest is that you do some research to find out what your birds natural diet is and then look at what each of these two people have to say and then try out some of what they both have to share and use the best of it to create you own diet for your bird. That is what I do. You will find in what they both say areas that overlap each other in regards to what is good for your bird and that is often a very good place to begin. There is still so much that is not known about our parrots and what their diets should be that truthfully you are right on the forefront of what is known and what we are just beginning to learn about parrot nutrition.

[Pajarita]

Indeed! Wolf is 100% correct. One should never follow anybody else's suggestion without checking other sources first (what they eat or do in nature been the best guideline to follow) for the simple reason that, although everybody has the best of intentions, it doesn't mean that everybody is completely right or completely wrong... especially since something can be good for one species but not that good for another!