I have been working on new cook mixes with input from customers and their birds. I have requests for something with smaller grains that would appeal to budgies, lovies and tiels.
The first new mix is Quinoa Nut Crunch. It’s got the smaller grains like quinoa and millet with oatmeal to stick it all together. Although quinoa is called a “grain” it is actually related to leafy green vegetables like spinach and chard. The quinoa is packed with amino acids (protein) and is good for the littler birds’ activity levels. The amino acids in quinoa can help build and repair muscle tissue. Quinoa also has a lot of magnesium that can aid in cardiovascular health. Millet is a gluten-free “grain” (actually a seed) that most small birds adore. It is easily digested and used for energy to keep your birds active and happy. The millet remains crisp as a texture difference to the quinoa. Oh and nuts — that’s a must! Other quick-cook (20 minutes) ingredients have been added for texture, taste and flavor. This mix was tested on lovebirds, tiels, conures, quakers, African greys and macaws. Although made with smaller birds in mind, the larger birds seemed to take to it just as readily.
NOW AVAILABLE! “ABCs for Birdie“, another mix with the littles in mind. With a cook time of ten minutes, it will fit into a person’s busy schedule. Made with little vegetable alphabet pasta, quinoa and vegetables, this mix should satisfy the pasta-lovers.
The third little grain mix is a couscous mix. Many people miss the ease of the Beak Apetit instant mixes and we’d like to help out there. I wish I could find an alternative grain couscous, but I found a whole wheat couscous that seems to be good. I am still working out flavors. Some people’s birds miss the Alfredo flavor of Beak Apetit, but cheese has salt and I can’t bring myself to add something with that much salt to anything a bird would eat. I am trying blends of spices, maybe two different blends — a sweet and a savory. Birdies sensitive to gluten should not have this mix.
Into these mixes, we advise you to add fresh, finely-chopped vegetables and sprouted grains to boost the nutrition and get birds eating as many fresh, whole foods as possible. I have an African grey that doesn’t like his fresh veggies UNLESS they are mixed in with a warm, gloppy mash. He gets his fresh veggies and sprouts with his cooked mix every day.
My birds are really enjoying being test subjects, as our some of my friends’ birds. They are so spoiled! Here’s Jazzy, B and Stumpleton in California, enjoying ABCs for Birdie!
6 Comments
Hi! I have recently acquired two lovely Cockatiels and I am looking for a gluten-free feed because I have Celiacs Disease… Not sure if just being around bird food with gluten in it will harm me, but I don’t want to find out! I found this site searching on Google. Your mixes sound like they are potentially a good choice for me – do you have one or two that you would recommend? I looked at your website but I am not sure what to order. Any advise would be really appreciated!! Thank you… Namaste.
Thank you so much for working so hard to create these new mixes. As a budgie owner myself I have been frantically searching for alternatives to Beak Appetit and I will definitely be first in line to purchase your new products. They sound fantastic!
Hi, Kara.
I can’t do gluten either. But I am not as sensitive to it as some people can be. I can still eat oats and some spelt and Kamut which are lower in gluten than wheat, but still have some gluten. I can see it getting worse as I get older and I may end up having full blown Celiacs. That said, I have no problem handling the bird food. I guess it depends on how sensitive you are to it, because grains do have some dust. Many of our mixes are wheat free, but include the lower gluten spelt, oats, Kamut, rye, and some cornmeal.
For cockatiels, I recommend the small parrot blend, the small beaks sprout mix (it does have wheatberries), and our new cook mix: Quinoa Nut Crunch (this is gluten free).
We also can put together a specialty mix if you need. We have to add to the cost to make a specialty mix, but we do that kind of thing for some clients.
The ABCs for Birdie is now available!
I have been cooking Beak Appetite for my birds for many years and can’t believe they’re gone. My Cockatoos loved it and we started our Red Front Macaw on it when she was weaned. I am looking so forward to trying your Couscous mix on her. When will it be available?
Hi, Anita.
We have our couscous mix out for taste testing right now. We are just waiting for reports back to see if birds like it and if the instructions are easy enough. We like to make sure it’s approved by birds other than my own before we release it. Our birds are used to many different kinds of foods and we like to make sure that picky ones will accept it, too. We are just waiting for feedback! Hopefully the couscous mixes will be available in a week!
We were gearing these new mixes for the little birds, but I see the big ones like little grains, to