PeeWee’s Playpen
LAYERED FRESH FOOD MIX & DIET CONVERSION
By
Pamela Clark
Reprinted with permission
The longer I work with birds, both my own and those of my consulting
clients, the stronger grows my belief that many behavior and health problems
are a direct result of poor diet. It is true that no one yet knows the optimal
diet for each species. However, certain health problems are emerging in parrots
who eat either a 100% pelleted diet, or a diet devoid of fresh foods. It stands
to reason that a parrot species that evolved to enjoy the best health eating
fresh, raw foods plucked from nature would also enjoy the best health in
captivity if fed a large portion of the diet in fresh foods as well. The
following instructions will allow you to feed a fresh diet with minimal effort
and convert any bird with as little trauma as possible to a fresh food diet. This
diet has several advantages, not the least of which is that I can feed fresh
foods to over 40 birds on a daily basis, while only chopping fruits and
vegetables once a week.
Once a week, I layer in plastic storage containers (I use seven
2-gallon containers since I'm feeding so many birds) the following:
Layer 1 (bottom layer) - chopped greens, which are varied each week. One
week, I'll use collard greens and parsley and mustard greens, and the next I
might use Swiss chard, kale and dandelion greens.
Layer 2- chopped (1/4 to 1/2 inch cubes) green vegetables, including any of
the following: Brussels sprouts, zucchini and other summer squash, jicama. red
or green peppers, fresh hot peppers, chayote squash, green beans, fresh peas,
cucumber, celery . anise root, etc.
Layer 3 - chopped broccoli and shredded carrots
Layer 4 - dry , uncooked pasta. This will absorb some of
the moisture from the mix and soften nicely.
Layer 5 - cooked beans. I usually buy one of the 13 or 17 bean soup mixes,
which I soak overnight, rinse, and then bring to a boil and cook for about 25
minutes, then drain.
Layer 6 - a mixture of chopped apples, oranges and whole
grapes.
Layer 7 - frozen mixed vegetables.
The containers are then placed in the refrigerator (don't freeze). Issues of freshness: this mix stays fresh in these tubs for up to seven days for three reasons. First, layered salads stay fresher longer. Second, the orange juice sinks/warm air rises). I do also wash all the fruits, vegetables and greens with Oxyfresh Cleansing Gele, which not only gets them clean but has some anti-bacterial action.
Use
Each morning, I empty out one container into a large mixing bowl. At
that point, I usually add other foods that might not either hold up, or stay
fresh in the layered mix, such as: soft fruits (blueberries, peaches, plums,
kiwi fruits, melon, etc), sprouts, or cooked grains (amaranth, quinoa, brown
rice, barley, etc). Sometimes, in order to generate a little excitement, 1'l1
sneak in a package of pine nuts or walnut pieces. Usually, I feed nuts
separately, but I like to use this fresh mix to surprise the parrots as well.
Once everything from the tub is completely mixed together, I put into
another large bowl - eight scoops of this fruit and veggie mix, one scoop of a
very clean, high quality seed mix and one scoop of pellets (either Foundation
Formula, Scenic Diet, or Harrison's High Potency). This is then mixed together
and fed to
the birds.
This recipe can be adapted for any number of birds with a little
creativity, by reducing either the number or size of the containers used or
both. For just one bird, you can create two small containers. One container
will keep for about three days, even after being opened and mixed up.
Advantages
1. There's
no need to chop fresh foods every day.
2. Parrots are very visual creatures. If you stick a bird feeder
outside, it will take the wild birds at least two weeks to start to feed from
it. When fruits and vegetables are fed singly, or in large pieces, or in small
combinations, and you add something new, it is likely to be rejected solely on
the basis of the fact that it is visually unfamiliar. When you feed a mix like
this, you can put anything into it and it will be accepted because the
appearance of the mix hasn't changed overall.
3. This mix is exciting for the birds, and allows them a foraging
experience. They never know what they're going to find in their food dishes and
show considerable interest when I feed them. A huge amount of variety can be
achieved. Greens and the types of vegetables used vary from week to week. The
pasta shapes are varied (alphabet, whole wheat, elbow, etc.). You can use other
types of citrus instead of oranges, including grapefruit, lemons, tangerines,
etc. Instead of grapes, you can substitute fresh blueberries and pitted ripe
cherries, or fresh cranberries. Instead of the 17-bean mix, you can use a soak and cook
mix. Instead of grated carrots, you can
use cooked and chopped sweet potato or winter squash. The possible variety is
endless. I also vary the type of seed I use.
I
buy the Volkman's brand, since it is so clean, but will use Hookbill Super one
day, and Parrot Super the next, or sometime canary seed, or a combination of
seeds from the health food store (sesame, pumpkin, etc).
4. Parrots that won't eat pellets, often will when they are combined
into this mix as directed above because ( 1) they are part of an exciting mix,
and (2) they will be slightly softened by absorbing some of the moisture from
the mix.
5. I leave this in the cages from 7:00 am until 4:00 pm, which you
can't do with mixes that have been frozen or cooked. Since the majority of the
foods are neither cooked nor frozen, they stay fresher longer. Bacterial growth
is increased by temperature, moisture, and the breakdown of cell walls. This
mix tends to be relatively dry because the pasta and pellets absorb the vast
majority of the moisture. Further the cell walls in the fruits and vegetables
are largely intact because they have not been broken down by either freezing or
cooking. In hot weather, it tends to desiccate rather than spoil.
And
lastly,
6. Seed junkies can easily by converted to a fresh food diet using this
mix and a methodical approach, which I will outline here.
Pamela Clark, Avian Behavior Consultant
mail to:exotics@theqrid.net
(805) 466-9023