Good nutritious diet for Senegals with little waste?

[Java]

I notice, the feed I was sold in pet shop, a bag of fruity like pellets and another bag of seed pellets, plus some egg crust calcium stuff to mix in, and 2 bottles of treats including peanuts, chunks of fruit, etc., most of it is wasted on floor of bird cage. He picks what he wants out, drops rest to floor, etc., and most of it is wasted.

What is a good diet that gives them all their nutritious needs and that will mostly be consumed and not found on the floor of bird cage?

What fresh stuff can they eat? Like maybe I can cook up a batch and give it to him daily with seeds that won't be wasted?

I really want to cut down on the waste. It seems crazy to spend money on this expensive bird seed when they eat maybe 20% of the bag.

[pchela]

Hi,

Okay, first of all, see if you can switch him from the fruity pellets to a more healthy one like Roudybush or Harrisons.

As for seed mixes, get one without sunflower seeds and no peanuts either. If you get a good, high quality mix, he will eat more of it although there will always be some waste unfortunately. I like Higgins Fruit to Nuts and I use it as a treat, not a meal. GoldenFeast also makes good mixes. Their main diet should be fresh fruits and veggies and pellets.

There is an excellent recipe for Glop that I love and my birds love. They eat all of it and it is quite healthy. I will put the recipe at the bottom of the post.

As for veggies and fruits, they can eat most of them but no avocado. You can make it easy and buy frozen mixed veggies for him if you like. Whenever you eat veggies, offer him some of yours. Also, sugar free cereals and most foods you eat, he can eat using common sense. No caffeine, alcohol.. avoid salts and sugars.

I also sprout seeds for mine which is really easy and cheap and extremely healthy for them. You can find good ideas about that just doing a google search on sprouting for parrots.

If you feed the glop and fresh foods and pellet, you may find that you don't have to buy the expensive seed mixes. As I said above, I still do but I use it as a treat food mainly, along with nutriberries. If you do stop buying seed mix, I would definitely buy them mixed nuts for treats.

I have also found that if I feed glop and fresh foods in the morning and then give them 1 to 2 tbls of seed mix in the evening, they eat almost all of the seed mix. Just don't fill up the bowl because they will pick through what they like (which is usually the unhealthy stuff) and drop the rest.

Hope this helped!


Here is the recipe for Sally Blanchard's Glop.

The following recipe feeds my 4 parrots of various sizes and appetites for their morning meal. 'Glop' also makes a great handweaning food to finger feed your bappy.

*1 small jar of baby food carrots, sweet potatoes, or winter squash (I use Earth's Best because it is organic - they also have high vitamin A vegetable varieties with chicken and turkey. I occasionally use apricot, peach, or papaya baby food.) You can also use baked yams, winter squash or cooked, mashed carrots.
*3 slices of coarse whole-grain crumbled toast. (I vary the bread but use the healthiest bread I can find without sugar. I particularly like a jalopeno-cornbread loaf I buy at Trader Joe's.)
*2-4 Tablespoons of nonfat plain yogurt.
*Optional: 1/8 cup high quality handfeeding formula or a sprinkle of a spirulina or wheat grass type supplement.

Put in a large bowl and mash together until toast is saturated with baby food and yogurt and everything is evenly mixed. Consistency can be changed according to your parrot's preference. Mine like the toast chunky and the mixture thick - about the consistency of turkey dressing. 'Glop' is ready to feed - it does not have to be cooked.

Anything that is nutritious can be added to the glop for a variety in texture, color, and shapes. I will feed it plain or mix one or more of the following: finely chopped collard (mustard or turnip) greens, kale or broccoli flowers, grated carrots, wheat germ, oat bran, no sugar breakfast cereal, low salt V-8 juice, grated tofu-cheese, nonfat cottage cheese, chopped nuts or raisons, chopped very hard boiled egg, pasta, brown rice, well, cooked chopped chicken, powdered pellets.

Remember that any soft food will develop bacteria if left too long in the cage. I serve each batch fresh never use leftovers as ingredients. I never have to worry about this mushy mixture going bad because all of my birds eat it as soon as I put it in their food bowls. My grey, Bongo Marie, loves her 'glop; and my double-yellows, Paco and Rascal, have relished this food barely coming up for air when I feed it. The nutritious mixture as a part of their diet has kept them healthy for over 18 years. Their feather condition is superb. If you only have one bird and want to make the whole batch, the 'glop' can be rolled into balls or placed in an ice cube tray and frozen. Thaw as needed but don't overcook. Add any supplement after heating. If at first your bird doesn't like this nutritious mixture - keep trying.

[Java]

Hmm, interesting, like the glop idea. I think I want to make him somethinig to eat, at least once a day, and have the seed for all day long. Not sure yet, have not figured out his eating habits yet.

When I bought the fruity type pellet and the seeds, I put the stuff in containers to keep fresh and threw out the bags, so no idea what brand they were. I will look into the brands you mention and thank you.

He loves scrambled eggs I have noticed. I eat egg, sausage and cheese sandwiches in morning and he loves it, even eats some sausage, which I found odd for a parrot. Seems to like some cheerios from time to time. Toast, bagels.

I wish there was only one type of bird food to buy for a senegal parrot. Too many choices, too many things to think about. There are way too many brands and types. They do the same thing wtih feeds for pet mice, some hard bricks, some pellets, and most of it is wasted there too. Drives me nuts.


Thank you!!

[pchela]

You are welcome.

Are they pellets you use shaped like fruit? They are probably Zupreem Pellets. They are okay but they have added sugars and dyes. The Roudybush is better for them but if they won't eat it, Zupreem is better than no pellet at all.

Also, you are right to have food available all of the time while he is new. Once he is settled in and comfortable is when you'd want to change his eating habits. Sorry! Should have mentioned that before I told you all of the stuff to change.

BTW- what's his name?

[Java]

You are welcome.

Are they pellets you use shaped like fruit? They are probably Zupreem Pellets. They are okay but they have added sugars and dyes. The Roudybush is better for them but if they won't eat it, Zupreem is better than no pellet at all.

Also, you are right to have food available all of the time while he is new. Once he is settled in and comfortable is when you'd want to change his eating habits. Sorry! Should have mentioned that before I told you all of the stuff to change.

BTW- what's his name?

Yes, they remind me somewhat of human cereal, but are harder and shaped into like moons, bananas I guess, but smell alot like fruit.

His name is Java, couuld not come up with a name for him, and one day was about to make msyelf coffee and said I need some java, and it stuck.

One further question please if I may. I fill his bowls, one with these fruity like seeds, one with regular seeds, and he does not eat the whole thing in 1 day. I clean out the shells and what not but do not necessaruily change the bowls of food every day, unless it is dirty with poop in it, but how long can this food be left in his bowl w/o going stale?

[pchela]

I completely dump everything and start fresh once a week unless there is poop or something in the bowl. As long as nothing has gotten wet and you are cleaning out the empty hulls and shells and adding fresh stuff when needed, I think that's fine.

[Java]

Okay, couple of questions.

You mention liking Higgins Fruit to Nuts, but then say to buy a seed w/o sunflower seeds and/or peanuts in it, and when I search out Higgins Fruit to Nuts, they have sunflower seeds in it. First, why no sunflowr seeds and/or peanuts, he seems to really like peanuts. It is one of the things he actually is not too lazy to hold onto to maybe finish a whole one rather than to drop it on the floor of his cage. But, also, the Higgins Fruit to Nuts has sunflower seeds in it, accroding to the descriptions I find on sites where you can buy it.

The Harrison's cubes do not look all that enticing to me for a parrot, no color or texture to them, just cubes, do they really like them?

You also mention seed sprout. What is this? Do you mean buying seeds and actually letting them grow into little sprouts by adding water? What seed is best, can I buy it in bulk already sprouted, and keep in fridge and serve out daily portions?


This whole post was mostly for Pchela, but anybody else wo has anything to add is appreicated. Thanks!!

[lzver]

You mention liking Higgins Fruit to Nuts, but then say to buy a seed w/o sunflower seeds and/or peanuts in it, and when I search out Higgins Fruit to Nuts, they have sunflower seeds in it. First, why no sunflowr seeds and/or peanuts, he seems to really like peanuts.

Java, sunflower seeds and peanuts are high in fat and low in nutritional value, so they should only be fed as an occassional treat. In regards to peanuts, if they are not human grade they can contain a mold (can't remember name) that can make birds sick.

The Harrison's cubes do not look all that enticing to me for a parrot, no color or texture to them, just cubes, do they really like them?

Yes, Harrison's is very plain jane looking, but from the research I have done, it is one of the best pellet foods on the market. I'm working on transitioning my birds to Harrison's and giving them as treats right now. Both my Senegal and Red Belly are enjoying as treats. Try getting a sample pack if you can - I got a sample of the fine and course high potency from my vet, but I think you can also order a sample from their website.

You also mention seed sprout. What is this? Do you mean buying seeds and actually letting them grow into little sprouts by adding water? What seed is best, can I buy it in bulk already sprouted, and keep in fridge and serve out daily portions?

I don't sprout seeds to much, but I do sprout beans and legumes (mung beans, garbonzo beans(chick peas), adzuki beans, red/green lentils). I basically soak them for 24 hours and then keep them in a dark moist place for about 2 days. Once they start sprouting a little tail, that is when they have the highest nutritional value. I buy my beans bulk from a bulk food store and if you're willing to take a little time to sprout them, it is a very inexpensive yet healthy food. As pchela said, you can google this - that's how I learnt how to do it myself.

Personally, I feed my Senegal and Red Belly a mix of fruits/veggies/sprouted beans in the morning and at dinner time. I leave in their cages for 2 - 3 hours max. The rest of the time I offer a pellet food.

Hope this helps.

[pchela]

Hi,

The HIggins Fruit to Nuts does not have sunflower seeds. Here is the ingredient list.

Ingredients: Almonds, Cashews, Pistachios, Roasted Soybeans, Walnuts, Black Eyed Peas, Pine Nuts, Buckwheat, Safflower, Kibbled Corn, Corn Flakes, Oak Groats, Pumpkin Seed, Green Peas, Raisins, Pineapple, Papaya, Banana, Coconut, Apples.

I think it's actually called Snack Attack, Fruit to Nuts or something like that.

Anyway, Lzver answered most of your questions. You don't have to cut him off from peanuts, just make sure to buy human grade peanuts from the grocery store. (non salted) They are known to grow a certain fungus on the shell that causes aspergillosis and the ones in the seed mixes are not inspected as thoroughly as the ones that are human grade.

Here is a good site on sprouting. http://www.landofvos.com/articles/sprouts.html I don't know of a place to buy already sprouted seeds but it is really easy to do at home. I bought a hemp sprouting bag and I soak the seeds/legumes/grains overnight and then put them in the bag and rinse twice a day. About 2 or 3 days later I have sprouts which I keep in the fridge and serve from daily.

[myakando]

Hey there..... peanuts contain aflatoxins. I think that may have been the word/name you were thinking of. The bad thing about peanuts is that aflatoxins are found in any type pf peanut, whether it be raw, roasted, human grade and/or organic. When I first learned about aflatoxins and that peanuts have a high percentage of them, I stopped feeding them to all of my birds. Peanuts are also high on the list for aspergilosis. Peanuts are grown in the soil which is where aspergilosis is found. You want to keep your bird from contracting asper at all costs. There is no cure for this ailment. Great post!