new feeding schedule! any thoughts?

[coral]

so i put a lot of thought into what you guys said and i have decided that i am putting marty on a specific feeding schedule..
7am before i leave for school he will get a small amount of dried fruit and nuts
i will leave pellets out for munching throughout the day and some dried peppers
6pm he will get his fresh food for the day because thats when hes really hungry
any thoughts on this schedule?

[GlassOnion]

I would personally make breakfast larger as the bird has fasted overnight. I give my birds a small plate of birdie pancake, chopped up veggies, some pellets, etc in the morning. By afternoon, they will have emptied the plate. The trick is to figure out how much your bird eats so you can give the correct amount without having much leftovers. For early dinner, I will feed them again with some different veggies, sprouts, etc and this makes the birds hungry again around 9. Then, I bring out the seeds for training.

[coral]

Okay sounds good thank you

[kaylayuh]

My birds don't have a feeding schedule. They have a pellet and seed mixture in their cage at all times. This is mostly because they don't have set times for when they prefer to eat. Often, they take a seed here or there and go about their business. Right now, I offer fresh foods three or four times a week to introduce them to new things, but my birds very rarely eat it. They always have dried fruits and vegetables available, though.

I'd say if the schedule works for you and the bird seems not to mind, then you should be fine. I'd watch to make sure he's eating his foods the first few days and make sure his weight stays up, but I don't see why it should be a problem. I would probably give him a larger plate in the morning because he would've been fasting all night, but other than that, it sounds great.

[idlepirate]

hmmm I prefer to feed fresh vegies/fruits in the morning and then i leave pellets/seeds/dried fruit/nuts in his cage 24/7 but i top it up or change it as i put him to bed. Lorenzo is hungry when he wakes up and when i put him to bed around 8:30. its a great way to get him into his cage by adding new dried food into his bowl in the cage to get him to climb in and eat dinner. he'll eat his fresh fruit throughout the day, most of the time something is left over by the time i put him to bed so i chuck that out and hell have his remains of the dry food from the night before to finish during the day as well if he wants a change. ill also give him a peanut or extra treats throughout the day or in training.

[coral]

i would give fresh foods in the morning but im gone from 6am-3pm 2 days a week and 6am-6pm 3 days a week, then im gone random hours during the weekend, but always am home to feed and play with my fid. how long can fresh food stay out because we both get up at 6am and go to bed around 9-10pm i wouldnt want to leave the food out and it go bad while im not home

[patdbunny]

How quickly fresh foods go bad depends on what the food item is and what's the ambient temperature. Cooked foods spoil faster. Definitely no more than a couple of hours. Preferably no more than about 30-45 minutes in my mind. In the summer I don't feed any cooked foods to my pairs. Household birds get to share in what we're eating, but they don't get more than what they can consume in about 15 minutes.

You can also put out just the amount the bird will consume in 30 minutes. Put out a particular quantity in the morning when you'll be around for 30 minutes. Check after 30 minutes and see how much the bird eats and adjust quantity as necessary. Do this over several days so you see any variation in amounts and you can average it out.

[Michael]

so i put a lot of thought into what you guys said and i have decided that i am putting marty on a specific feeding schedule..
7am before i leave for school he will get a small amount of dried fruit and nuts
i will leave pellets out for munching throughout the day and some dried peppers
6pm he will get his fresh food for the day because thats when hes really hungry
any thoughts on this schedule?

That doesn't sound like a feeding schedule, it sounds like an all you can eat buffet.

My parrots get a couple grams of pellets in the morning (about 5 for Senegal, 10 for Cape) and they will eat all of that right away so nothing is left sitting around, it's just the right portion. If I leave more that's still how much they will eat so no need to. On some days they will get fruit (like apple, mango, kiwi, or grapes) as a treat around lunch time but only for doing tricks. I train them in the evening before their final meal. During the final meal I give unlimited pellets and/or vegetables. If I'm letting them have any other special or fresh foods, this would be the meal when it happens.

When I don't follow a feeding schedule, not only do they suck at trick training but they just become too unmanageable. Then it's like they have too much energy but no purpose. At least if they are hungry they have purpose. And that purpose allows us to train them and maintain some kind of order.

I can't tell you what kind of feeding schedule to use. Everyone needs to discover with their own bird what works and be sure to keep it safe/healthy. However, not limiting their food is irresponsible and unnatural. It leads to over eating and problems associated with obesity as well as behavioral (including hormonal and nesting related) problems.

[kaylayuh]

However, not limiting their food is irresponsible and unnatural. It leads to over eating and problems associated with obesity as well as behavioral (including hormonal and nesting related) problems.

Not to hijack the thread here, but I wholeheartedly disagree with that. My birds don't have a regulated feeding schedule because they would never eat if they did. I've tried it multiple times, but my birds don't eat everything down at one set time. Instead, they pick a bit here and a bit there. My birds are no more hormonal or misbehaved than they would be otherwise.

Personally, I don't believe in limiting the food something (a bird or otherwise) eats. My birds don't over eat and their weight is maintained in a normal, healthy range. I have seen animals scarf absolutely everything down they were given at one set time because they had no idea when their next meal was coming. I also don't believe owning a parrot should be solely for the purpose of doing tricks, but that's beside the point.

My point is, you need to find something that works for you, your bird, and your schedule. If giving a couple grams of nuts and seed in the morning is what works for your breakfast routine, go for it. If your bird likes to scavange throughout the day on pellets and isn't gaining a huge amount of weight, that's fine too. Just make sure your bird maintains a healthy weight and is getting all the nutrients it needs.

[coral]

michael i disagree about it being an all you can eat buffet because my bird doesnt scarf down all his food like yours seem to do. i dont believe in trick training, he does have a purpose playing and cuddling and foraging.
kaylayuh i agree with you to about just leaving food out all day for them to pick at if its not making them gain a bunch of weight. i completely agree with everything you said actually lol seems like our birds have similar personalities