IndianRingNeck.com

I have found a good way to trick picky eaters into eating healthier is to make a basic wholegrain "bird bread" use pureed baby food in place for some of the liquid and throw various fruits and veggies in there. I use 3 cups whole wheat flour pour 5-6 jars vegetable baby food (I use mostly orange color ones sweet potato, carrot, squash) 2 or 3 eggs (grind the shells and toss those in too if you want) add enough water to make it the constancy of like a cake batter then cram it with tons of fruits and veggies grated apple, carrot, green beans, peas, cranberries, corn, chili peppers, Jamaica flowers.....the sky is the limit lol I add a little cinnamon for a treat and a hand full of bird seed and pellets and bake on a large cookie sheet at 350 for 30/40 minutes. It makes a big batch so I chop it in little squares and freeze it. My birds go CRAZY for it

Is Swede okay? Its a root veg, my Alex loved it cooked and raw

AJPeter wrote:Is Swede okay? Its a root veg, my Alex loved it cooked and raw

Chard?.. that red celery looking stuff?

If so, then yes.. it's good for them.

I believe Swede is Rutabaga. Think giant turnip.

Tasha, I would suggest ditch the baby food and use real food.

Swede is a large brown vegeatable akin to turnip, with orange flesh. Very good in stews, used to be fed to horses

MissK you are right, thank you, Swede is not as peppery as Turnip, swede is a favourite vegeatble for Welsh lamb stew/

Billie quite likes porridge made with water but today l made some for her with half fat filtered milk and she wolfed it down/

tasha87 wrote:I have found a good way to trick picky eaters into eating healthier is to make a basic wholegrain "bird bread" use pureed baby food in place for some of the liquid and throw various fruits and veggies in there. I use 3 cups whole wheat flour pour 5-6 jars vegetable baby food (I use mostly orange color ones sweet potato, carrot, squash) 2 or 3 eggs (grind the shells and toss those in too if you want) add enough water to make it the constancy of like a cake batter then cram it with tons of fruits and veggies grated apple, carrot, green beans, peas, cranberries, corn, chili peppers, Jamaica flowers.....the sky is the limit lol I add a little cinnamon for a treat and a hand full of bird seed and pellets and bake on a large cookie sheet at 350 for 30/40 minutes. It makes a big batch so I chop it in little squares and freeze it. My birds go CRAZY for it

Thank you for the recipe! I may try this for my 'tiel, who is stubborn about veggies. I like how simple the recipe is. Could you specify the size jar you use? It will be cheaper for me to just puree veggies and make my own, but I would like to know the size of the jar so I can approximate the correct amount of puree.

I use the little plastic gerber containers, I think they are about 4-6 oz each...and yeah its probably cheaper to just puree your own but I have a human baby that I bought a ton of baby food for and she wont touch the stuff so instead of letting it sit in the pantry I used it up in the bread lol its a life saver for my picky bird (cockatoo) the home I rescued her from had her addicted to junk food ((chips, french fries etc...)) and she will eat this bread!

Smart human baby!

Once you use up that stash you can feed something better.

Yeah lol shes baby 5 and the first one I ever tried to do baby food with...and for the bread I dont only use baby food, I only use the baby food in the mix everything else in there is regular fruits and veggies. I chop, cut, grate and smash them so theres many different shapes sizes amd textures in the bread. It smells so yummy too lol if it didmt have eggshells in it, id eat it myself

Eat it anyway. 5 babies? You need the calcium, girl!

Hahaha I made some to send home to my friends sun cunures and her husband didnt know and he ate it

Fun idea! I call it birdy ice cream lol I take a whole coconut, crack it into pieces freeze it and give it to the birds. I live in bakersfield california so its hot as heck here and all my birds go nuts for the "ice cream"

MissK wrote:Smart human baby!

Once you use up that stash you can feed something better.

Nothing wrong with baby food, MissK. Sally Blanchard's famous "Glop", for instance https://companionparrotonline.com/Diet.html features it.

The objections to jarred baby food (puree with no added thickeners- thickeners which really wouldn't harm a parrot given the different dietary requirements) don't hold water, in my opinion. Freezing, cooking, canning, etc. all have an effect on nutrition but with a balanced diet the effect is minimal. There is far more nutrition in a jar of baby food than the same amount of seed for a bird so in the end the bird still wins when baby food is added to the diet.

Helping parrots receive improved nutrition is the whole point of this topic and baby food is still fairly near to fresh. We all want to feed the best we can in our own circumstances- that's why we're here!

Thanks Melika, great info as always

Nice to have so much info in one place. A couple people mentioned canned - FYI - cans are lined with Bisphenol A unless marked Bisphenol A free. I would really avoid this stuff. If it is bad for humans and especially human babies, I cannot imagine it would not build up quickly in a bird. Besides, frozen is cheaper & usually frozen within a couple days of harvest so it sometimes fresher than some of the foods that have to travel a great distance to get to you when they are out of season.

SkyeBerry wrote:Nice to have so much info in one place. A couple people mentioned canned - FYI - cans are lined with Bisphenol A unless marked Bisphenol A free. I would really avoid this stuff. If it is bad for humans and especially human babies, I cannot imagine it would not build up quickly in a bird. Besides, frozen is cheaper & usually frozen within a couple days of harvest so it sometimes fresher than some of the foods that have to travel a great distance to get to you when they are out of season.

BPA can also be found in plastic milk jugs, plastic water bottles, tooth sealants, soda cans and canned foods, plastic microwavable plates/ovenware/utensils, baby toys/bottles/pacifiers/sippy cups (some countries have banned BPA in baby bottles and sippy cups). The reason BPA is being studied is because it has measurable 'estrogenic activity' that has been reported to cause adverse health effects as an endocrine disruptor, especially in baby or juvenile mammals. Interestingly, according to this study http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3222987/ , BPA-free plastics can release just as much, if not more chemicals with estrogenic activity. So the real suspected danger is the chemicals with estrogenic activity being released. You can minimise exposure by avoiding plastics (and commercially canned foods/drinks) in general and when using plastic by not exposing it to heat (cooking, washing, etc.). Not all plastics contain chemicals with estrogenic activity, but so far there is no way to know which ones do or do not.

Melika... wow you are well informed.

OK, here's something I didn't find in the list... horned melon, AKA African cucumber, AKA Kiwana. I read that they were a superfood for eclectus-- I am guessing they would also be ok for IRNs?
BTW, I thought it tasted pretty good. The texture is all gel-like and the seeds inside are kind of sharp. I personally wouldn't make them a habit, but the ekkies LOVED it.

ranechild wrote:Melika... wow you are well informed.

OK, here's something I didn't find in the list... horned melon, AKA African cucumber, AKA Kiwana. I read that they were a superfood for eclectus-- I am guessing they would also be ok for IRNs?
BTW, I thought it tasted pretty good. The texture is all gel-like and the seeds inside are kind of sharp. I personally wouldn't make them a habit, but the ekkies LOVED it.

As far as I can find, horned melon is just fine. Added to list.

Very informative, thanks
I'd heard that avocado was no good for sparrows and mynahs as it could be toxic; does the same apply to IRNs?

Melika, thanks for expanding on the Bisphenol A. I was tired at the time so I just addressed the cans. I just heard this today -> 'crocks' that are supposed to be food safe have been tested and are leaking lead. Not sure if just from China or some other company or if it is the glaze itself. Have not had time to research it. Glad I started using mostly 'Pyrex' after Bispenol A made the news here.

Afraz wrote:Very informative, thanks
I'd heard that avocado was no good for sparrows and mynahs as it could be toxic; does the same apply to IRNs?

Avocado has been found to be toxic, especially in caged birds. I don't know of any bird-keepers that feed avocado, instead preferring to play it safe.
http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/toxicol ... ocado.html

Yes l have heard that oven crockery can be unsafe for birds becasue it is leaking lead from the glaze.

Did a little research today about the lead in crockery story I mentioned above. The first couple sites revealed 3 different problems right off the bat so I stopped searching at that point. I posted their links below. In summary - some countries/individuals still use lead paint on items to be used for food even though they should not; lead in the pottery/clay itself can leach out onto the surface when the glaze gets worn/cracked, thin, chipped etc; it turns out that even if the potter uses lead-free glaze, their kiln (oven to fire/bake the item) is likely contaminated with lead from the previously fired leaded items. The now 'dirty' kiln contaminates the lead-free glaze when it is baked.

I started to wonder about ramekins- usually porcelain. Google results - can also be a lead concern.
Not sure if the moderators would prefer this info on a different thread or not but I just looked at the post title and it does list toxicities so it should be ok.

Some "Lead-Free" Pottery Can Still Taint Food
http://www.fda.gov/forconsumers/consume ... 233531.htm

"Should I Be Worried About Lead in My Dishes"
http://www.nowtoronto.com/columns/ecoho ... ent=188910

http://consumerist.com/2011/05/27/there ... -crockery/

I'll take chances on myself, but the animals generally get stainless steel. (Poor Canaries - they get plastic!) Please, nobody find any faults with my stainless!!

Well done SkyeBerry, good research links are good too. Thank you

Yeah me! I think I've got my first 'like.'

what about italian salad dressing?.. when I make my birds a salad.. can I drop in a little flavor too?

I was thinking can bird taste? And then l remembered how Billie knows the difference between porridge made with water and that made with milk, I gave her an addtional choice some left over of my porridge which has lashing of golden syrup and she chose mine.

WHO'S BEEN EATING MY PORRIDGE?

I remember reading that parrots can taste but they have fewer taste buds which is why some parrots really like the hot peppers. I think what they eat is also influenced but what they already know as food as well as colour - which would refer back to already liking red things - as well as texture. I prefer porridge made with milk but I think it is because of the difference in texture. Sweetness seems to be something many animals enjoy - often more than we should. Like most things, in moderation I think it is fine.

regarding salad dressings - I would tend to read the ingredient list. I try to avoid preservatives and words I can't pronounce for both me and my animals. Different oils have different benefits. If my bird were overweight (not suggesting yours are) I would avoid extra oils.

Billie hates red peppers, dried or fresh she hates black grapes, won't eat monkey nuts, l think she has an aversion to beetroot. Ever since l was a weanie l had an aversion to vinegar, even the smell of it makes my toes curl! I have never liked oil on salads or in my food some people gargle with it so no hope for Billie getting fat on oils.

Billie and l are like Jack Spratt and his wife he could eat no lean and she could eat no fat.

London Bridge is falling down.

edited.

Donovan wrote:what about italian salad dressing?.. when I make my birds a salad.. can I drop in a little flavor too?

As was mentioned, you would have to look at the ingredients. Most people put way too much dressing. As you described, if you do add something, it's just for a smattering of flavour, not a salad-dressing soup. You could also try just a little fruit juice.



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As for hot peppers, most birds like them and can eat them with no consequences because they are insensitive (read: practically immune) to the 'pain' reaction from the capsaicin in the peppers. Some commercial bird seeds for wild birds actually add pepper to deter squirrels.

It is all rather efficient. It is believed that peppers have capsaicin to discourage other animals from eating it because a bird's system would not digest the seeds, whereas if larger mammals ate them, seed dispersal would not be as great for the wild pepper. Seeds of wild peppers seem to be exclusively dispersed through birds.

1 scrambled egg
2 tablespoons of cooked oatmeal
apple shavings
broccoli
cauliflower
red pepper
light spices out of the cabinet

I gotta say this is better than I expected.. apparently oatmeal, egg, and apple go nicely together.



Now, when I say scrambled egg and oatmeal I don't mean separately. I mean I cooked the oatmeal and then I mixed it with a raw egg and then scrambled it.

Thanks for all the advice! I'm always wondering about new foods for my boy to keep him interested and not just bored with the same thing everyday.

Mary what you were saying last month about taste, I offered Billie some mango she put out her tongue and tasted it and then walked away, she did the same thing for water melon, taste is a big thing for her.

violet wrote:hi there,

I am a brand new owner of a green indian ringneck. I was just reading this post and need to ask - its says they dont need pellets but the lady I got the bird from said they need these special multicoloured pellets and gave me some for him. also she gave me these seeds that i am supposed to make sprout and wash several times before giving them to my bird. I am way confused as to what i am supposed to give him. She also said to feed him small parrot bird seed.

Please help me, If i can just feed him fruit, veges and grain and seeds that would be much easier.

thanks for ur help,

Vi

By the way i havent named him yet

Hi Welcome to the forum I am also quite new. I feed my indian ringneck a bit of parrot food alongside water and fresh fruit and veg.

This list was extremely helpful thank you for making it. I feed my IRN parrot food which consists of chillies, seeds, peanuts,etc. Is it okay to feed him this.

If you read the posts you will quickly discover what to feed you IRN, l have an Alexandrine parrot who wont eat peanuts in shells (Monkey nuts) or out; she wont eat pellets but but she eats a lot of veg, and fruit, and seeds

Coming rather a bit late to it, I'm taking a stab at giving the birds "chop". It was pretty easy to accommodate individual tastes until I added two "new" birds in the month of May. Now I can appreciate the real benefit of just passing out the same stuff to everybirdy.

For my first shot at this chop thing I put some previously frozen mixed vegetables through the food chopper. I meant to include cooked rice and some organic canned beans, but forgot them today. (Hey, I'm new at this!) I am expecting to continue providing the leaf portion of the diet in whole pieces because of the fun they provide. I top dressed the chop with some seed and presented it as the first food of the day.

I was pleasantly surprised to find Sinbad most readily accepting of "chop", which is not to say he dove in head first, but that he did seem to actually eat some. Rocky consented to have a look because Sinbad did. Lynnie outright refused - that bird is so picky it's a wonder he's still alive. The Budgies had mixed reactions, and the Canaries jumped in as if it were business as usual.

There are a ton of chop recipes available, so I'm not really interested in hearing more right now, and for some reason I don't really think I want to make giant batches and freeze the stuff (possibly because my veg mix begins as frozen and they say not to refreeze stuff...?). I mainly hate cooking, though, so I'd like to minimize the pain. I would like to hear, maybe, how others prepare their chop on a daily basis, and ways they have found to streamline the process.

For instance, do you use the knife, the blender, or the food processor? Do you use the S-shaped all purpose blade or the shred blade? Do you chuck it all in there and press GO or some other method? Is it OK if you go too far and it comes out puree? How do you decide what quantity to offer? Is there anything else you can mention to make this easier for me?

Appreciate!

Have food processor, will chop. Sling the food processor!

MissK wrote:Coming rather a bit late to it, I'm taking a stab at giving the birds "chop". It was pretty easy to accommodate individual tastes until I added two "new" birds in the month of May. Now I can appreciate the real benefit of just passing out the same stuff to everybirdy.

For my first shot at this chop thing I put some previously frozen mixed vegetables through the food chopper. I meant to include cooked rice and some organic canned beans, but forgot them today. (Hey, I'm new at this!) I am expecting to continue providing the leaf portion of the diet in whole pieces because of the fun they provide. I top dressed the chop with some seed and presented it as the first food of the day.

I was pleasantly surprised to find Sinbad most readily accepting of "chop", which is not to say he dove in head first, but that he did seem to actually eat some. Rocky consented to have a look because Sinbad did. Lynnie outright refused - that bird is so picky it's a wonder he's still alive. The Budgies had mixed reactions, and the Canaries jumped in as if it were business as usual.

There are a ton of chop recipes available, so I'm not really interested in hearing more right now, and for some reason I don't really think I want to make giant batches and freeze the stuff (possibly because my veg mix begins as frozen and they say not to refreeze stuff...?). I mainly hate cooking, though, so I'd like to minimize the pain. I would like to hear, maybe, how others prepare their chop on a daily basis, and ways they have found to streamline the process.

For instance, do you use the knife, the blender, or the food processor? Do you use the S-shaped all purpose blade or the shred blade? Do you chuck it all in there and press GO or some other method? Is it OK if you go too far and it comes out puree? How do you decide what quantity to offer? Is there anything else you can mention to make this easier for me?

Appreciate!

Depends on the bird? Some birds like things cut smaller, some larger so they can hold. I buy fresh and chop with a knife (because I like knives and enjoy the practice of cutting quickly, as well as it is quieter) and then freeze. I've done the 'daily salad' etc. and I just can't keep it up for long. But sometimes I make sprouts or have some other fresh veggies that I am eating that day and will add to the top of whatever I am feeding Hane (or just replace the frozen altogether that day).

We try to have salad for the week already made up, so that helps because I can just give Hane a small portion and we can eat lunch together. We make our salad differently every time, so it's varied.

You might also try soak and simmer bean mixes like this one (Hane's fave) http://www.amazon.com/Volkman-Feathergl ... B0002FP40O Just soak overnight and then pour hot water on it (just extra water from making tea). By the time I'm done drinking my tea, it's ready to drain and serve.

Been on an alfalfa sprout kick lately. http://www.landofvos.com/articles/sprouts.html And loving my Easy Sprout.

I find that if I am at home with a good routine, I can do fresh foods daily since it usually goes along with my personal routine. When life gets crazy (which is at least half the time if not more) then having frozen is helpful- otherwise he wouldn't get anything extra.

That's what I'm looking to learn here - how did people streamline their routine? Because EVERY day is a crazy day in my life. Because fresh foods made to order for five cages was doable for me, but for seven cages was too much. Because if I try to use a knife that early in the morning I'll be losing fingers. Because, well, I'd rather learn from others than reinvent the wheel.

Hi can anyone please help me out i got a blue male and white female IRN (has all finges but no nails) bought 3 months ago breeder told me they are breeding pair and gave me one of their baby too, they breed in aviary with other ringneck and now they in big cage inside in my sitting room .
got 2 question:
1- they are only interested to eat sunflower seeds ive tried (Harrison high potency,Harrison Life time,zupreem and tropimix bird food which has 30 different seeds +Add mineral block and add boost in water) but they just come down test them and leave.
ive mixed sunflower with Harrison Palets but they eat only seeds and nothing,also tried fruits and veg but same result. im so worried because ive noticed they are getting week they re not as they were before. please help me.
2- after ive bought i put nest box they start going in male spend more time then female in nest box but after a month they stooped ,ive clean box again put nesting material and put it back but nothing happened.
they are very bonded( sit together and little bit peen each very rarely ) but i never seen male whistle or shows any other signs of breeding, sometimes i thought baby that breeder gave me with them which i hand reared is not their and he sold me because he wanted to get ride of them
does anyone know what's the problem and guide me please

mokhan65 wrote:Hi can anyone please help me out i got a blue male and white female IRN (has all finges but no nails) bought 3 months ago breeder told me they are breeding pair and gave me one of their baby too, they breed in aviary with other ringneck and now they in big cage inside in my sitting room .
got 2 question:
1- they are only interested to eat sunflower seeds ive tried (Harrison high potency,Harrison Life time,zupreem and tropimix bird food which has 30 different seeds +Add mineral block and add boost in water) but they just come down test them and leave.
ive mixed sunflower with Harrison Palets but they eat only seeds and nothing,also tried fruits and veg but same result. im so worried because ive noticed they are getting week they re not as they were before. please help me.

Since this is a diet topic, I will focus only on this. The breeders in the breeding section will need to handle the other question. Please don't post in multiple forums with the same questions in the future, alright?

Please read through the first post in this topic and follow any links that apply to your question. You will need to educate yourself here, as I cannot simply tell you what will work and what will not. Be willing to try new things and have a lot of patience- you will need it over the next 20 years!

I tried Harrison's high potency but had to throw it away after two weeks because my hen would not eat it but the Vet said l should have perservered even up to 9 months. That makes a pretty expensive outing, l put fruit pellets (from the pet shop) in with her seeds but she just ignores them.

Asparagus

This list shows asparagus as being a healthy food. Recently I saw another list that said it was okay but said not to feed too much of it for whatever reason.
Can I get some clarification on this?
Is it like spinach in that it's okay but too much can be bad?

Donovan wrote:Asparagus

This list shows asparagus as being a healthy food. Recently I saw another list that said it was okay but said not to feed too much of it for whatever reason.
Can I get some clarification on this?
Is it like spinach in that it's okay but too much can be bad?

Good question!

This was asked previously and answered in this post http://www.indianringneck.com/forum/vie ... 078#p63290 but I have done more research since then...

In humans, asparagus can cause digestive upset if eaten in high amounts. There has been no evidence so far for us to believe this applies to parrots. In humans, we have difficulty digesting raffinose (also in broccoli, beans, cabbage, etc.) and so the body ferments the food, creating gas which leads to 'stomach aches'. This is where people are assuming it also applies for parrots. Though, as we all know, not everything a parrot can eat is edible for us and vice versa (e.g. horse chestnuts http://www.ruralramblings.com/wild-ring ... in-london/, avocado).

As for parrots, I could only find application to lories. Raffinose slows digestion in lories, and while they cannot digest it, is especially thought to be beneficial to gut flora (good bacteria).

Like any food, an individual parrot can be more sensitive (just like people) to it. It is good with ANY new food to keep closely observing your parrot for signs that the food may not be agreeing with him/her such as vomiting or loss of appetite.

And finally, when you are feeding your parrot variety is always important nutritionally. Besides, too much of any one food is just boring!


*updated first post to add true yams for clarification*

Melika and others,

The breeder I purchased one of my IRN's from told me that he regularly took a few pieces of brown bread, tears it into bite-sized pieces and moisten it just enough to make it palatable and feed it to his birds. According to him the brown bread contains some nutrients that aren't easily available in other food-sources but he was unable to tell me which nutrients. However he couldn't stress enough to NEVER try this with white bread.

I tested it a few times and every single time there wasn't a single crumb left in the dish...the birds literally devoured it.

My question is: which nutrients would be available in the bread that the birds seem to enjoy so much? The obvious answer that pops up in my head is corn but somehow I don't think it's that simple. Regarding his warning about white bread I'm not sure what's in there that might be potentially toxic to IRN's except for the fact that white bread is more of a "processed" food than plain old brown bread.

Has anyone else ever heard about this or have any thoughts on the topic?

Kind regards,

Wessel

PS on an unrelated note: I recently started grating apples (after making sure all the seeds are removed) and carrots together in the same dish for my birds instead of just slicing it since it seems they waste less that way. Is there something else I can add to that mix?

Um.. it seems like white bread is starchy.. or turns to sugar big time or something.. it's something along those lines... it's not really toxic.. there just isn't anything good about it.. unless someone can correct me on this.