Many people are concerned with their parrot’s diets and also with the cost of food. And all-organic, human-grade mix can be expensive. In 3 years we have not raised our prices, even though the cost of bringing these mixes to you have increased on our side. We continually try to find better prices, better nutrition and shipping options to keep the cost down. We experiment with packaging, consolidate labels, and don’t have high marketing costs. We grow mostly by word of mouth, and by how much parrots enjoy the addition of our food to their diets.

Our cook mixes are currently very popular. You can really get a good amount of organic, human-grade food for the price. We have 5 flavors: Eat Your Veggies (with vegetables and wholesome grains), Wild West (vegetables with peppers, grains and brown rice), Lentil Stew (great-smelling cumin with lentils, mung beans, grains and brown rice), Fall Medley (with grains and oatmeal, apples, raisins and blueberries), and Sweet and Tasty (bananas, mango, grains and brown rice). The complete list of ingredients is on our store site. The mixes cook up to have great, appealing texture, not mushy like some other cook mixes. It’s easy to make the whole batch or 1/2 batch and put in ice cube trays and freeze for later.

I have a picky African grey (Cosmo, the Intimidator, and called so for a good reason) that doesn’t like to eat his fresh veggies. I chop up a variety of fresh vegetables in the food processor and add it fresh to a warmed cube of cooked mix. I add sprouts to this also. When food is warm, Cosmo is more likely to eat it. My other birds like it this way, too (as they do whatever Cosmo does, because he’s the king bird). I only let them have this food in their cage for a maximum of 2 hours. When I feed it this way, my birds get the added nutritional boost of fresh veggies and sprouts. I watch how much I give them, because they would eat all the brown rice out of it if there was enough to fill up on. My flock of 8 splits 3 cubes of cooked mix. I don’t have macaws or toos, or I think I would be going through cubes of food much faster! When I birdsit my friend’s piggy macaw, she gets a whole cube to herself.

Our cook mixes come in two sizes. We created the large size first and my friend that has little tiels told me that was way too much, so we introduced the “half-size”. They are easy to make with the simple package instructions. If you ever have any questions, you can always post here and I will answer!

The Pistachios included in our foods are NOT included in the March 25, 2009 recall. For more information go to:

http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/georgianut03_09.html

My grandson, Soren is in daycare. The last daycare he was in, my daughter had an ongoing argument with the daycare provider (I’ll call M), as to what should be served to her son as a treat. My daughter’s percetion of a treat is different than M’s. Organic fruits and yogurt, sprouted grain breads and muffins rich in carrots and squash are treats to my daughter. To M, it was not a treat unless it was sweet. Cookies, cake, candies and chocolate milk were her choices of treats. How they were both raised has a great impact on thier idea of what a treat is, as well as an impact on their health.

We carry our own notions of what a treat is into the lives of our pets. Many people will readily admit to sharing cookies, potato chips and buttered popcorn with their parrots and say, “It’s just a treat.” A parrot’s body is small and sensitive to overloads of excessive carbs, high fat and sugar. The majority of problems that vets see parrots for could be eliminated if their diets excluded these items. The problems include fatty liver disease, skin, feather and beak condition, and malnutrition. Birds that are overweight can be suffering from malnutrition.

We can redefine what we thiink of as a treat for our parrots by thinking of the following:

Treats should be tasty.
Experiment with what foods your parrot really enjoys.

Treats should be fun.
Try different textures (cooked, dehydrated, frozen) and different cuts (chopped, grated, cubed, shaved). Use different presentations. Use stainless steel skewers or tie treats into toys. Wrap tasty foods in kale leaves or hide around the cage to encourage foraging.

Treats should be out-of-the-ordianry.
Treats shouldn’t be given at every meal or presented in the same way so as to keep a parrot’s interest.

Treats should be shared.
Join in the fun of treat time. It’s a great way to learn what new foods you like, too. Cheer on your parrot at treat time.

Treats should be good for your bird.
Think of the treat’s nutritional content.

Examples of treats:
Baked treats: Birdie breads, sugarless, whole grain muffins

Warm mushies: Oatmeal or quinoa with red palm oil, squash or sweetpotato with cinnamon and applesauce, scrambled eggs with sprouts.

Fruity/sweet: Pomegranates in season, bananas with almond butter, dehydrated, non-sulfite fruits, frozen blueberries floating in a bowl of water

Nutty Treats: Crisp rice cereal and sprouts rolled in almond butter

Sandwiches and burritos: Whole grain breads with almond butter and mashed banana, mashed beans and brown rice in a whole grain tortilla.

When to give a treat:
Bonding time. When it’s just you and your parrot’s one-on-one time, use a treat as a happy, bonding tool. The way to many a parrot’s heart is through his stomach.

Positive reinforcement:
Use a treat to reward your parrot for good behavior. If your parrot is a one-person bird, have the other person use treats to create a happy experience. Use a treat to train your parrot to do tricks. It took only 5 minutes to teach my quaker how to wave for a squash seed.

My daughter never won her argument with M at the daycare, but my grandson, Soren, is in a new daycare with a person that feeds an all-natural, mostly vegetarian, organic diet.

In my local area (Metro Detroit), we have quite a few organic food sources. Our regular grocery stores have a decent selection and our Whole Foods markets are dedicated to organics and local sources. My family buys into a share of an organic farm. During the growing season, we receive a box of mixed organic veggies a week. I love the surprise of what’s in the box! Early in the season, we get lettuces and cool-weather crops, then later in the spring we get the best strawberries! In the hot times of summer, we get tomatoes, corn and peppers! It is all grown locally, and is as fresh as can be! My parrot flock enjoy the changes in the seasonal fare as much as I do. The farm grows some vegetables that are out-of-the-ordinary, to help introduce you to new tastes. The farmers include recipes and descriptions on their website. The cost of buying a share of a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm is comparable to buying organic produce from a grocery store every week, and you can always split a share with a neighbor of friend.

There is plenty of time in this off-season to locate a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm in your area. 

This is the organic farm that we get our veggies from in the Metro Detroit Area:

http://www.maplecreekfarm.com

The following website can help you find organic farms in your area that are CSA farms or that sell their produce at local farmers markets:

http://www.localharvest.org/

We order ingredients by the case, in large quantities. I found a great price on some organic raisins from a diffrent source and instead of a small trial package, went ahead and ordered a 30 pound case. What could be so different about raisins from one source to the next?  I opened the case, unwrapped the plastic and saw a solid block of raisins. It took me 2 hours to separate the raisins and I was a sticky mess. Sometimes paying a little more may be a better idea than the labor involved dealing with a lower cost product. The site of a 30# chunk of sticky fruit made me laugh. I should have just used it as a door stop. But a door would have stuck to it. But the raisins are very tasty, indeed! I wonder… since they are so dense and sticky, maybe I could make some good raisin/nut/sprout balls. Parrots might like those!

We did find a source for pre-chopped mango and pineapple! We use to spend a long time tearing up pineapple and mango into bird-sized bits by hand. Did you know tearing mango can give you blisters!? When I received the cases of organic chopped mango and pineapple, I was very pleased with the quality, and taste! But the size just won’t do for the larger birds. It’s cut a bit too small for macaw feet to hold, so we will still be tearing mango and pineapple for the big guys.

I don’t know about your birds, but my greys love raisins and mango.

Raisins are low-fat, high energy food. The natural sugar content is raisins is quite high, so be aware of how many your birds eat. All fruit, especially dehydrated fruit, has a lot of natural sugar and are high in calories. Raisins have a good amount of antioxidants and are high in fiber. In people, raisins can help fight bacteria in the mouth that causes tooth decay and gum disease. (http://www.calraisins.org/nutrition/news.cfm) That’s interesting for a sweet treat! 

Mangoes are considered a “superfruit” or a fruit with high nutritional value. Mangoes are high in carotenoids and Vitamin C, and also high in fiber. Mango can be soothing to the stomach, having enzymes that help break down proteins, and contain calcium, potassium and magnesium that can help neutralize stomach acid. I love mango…. dried, or fresh. In mango salsas, mango chutneys…. yum! My parrots all like mango, except Hubble. He’s a cockatiel and doesn’t like anything sweet unless it has a seed attached to it (raspberries and strawberries).

Pineapple is high in fiber, and in enzymes that aid in reducing swelling from gout and arthritis. Pineapple can stimulate kidneys to work better and can help digestion. It is high in Vitamin C. The pineapple we use in our bird food blends has NO ADDED SUGAR. And of course, the fruits in our foods have NO SULFITES.

Again, watch your bird’s intake of fruit, especially dried fruit. A little is beneficial and too much can have too much sugar and too many calories. If your bird has liver issues, sugar — even natural sugar, need to be restricted, as it makes livers work harder.