Andrea's Critters

Lots of people ask me about the fresh and cooked foods that I feed my birds. Avian nutrition is much more difficult to accomodate than that of a dog or cat, and all birds benefit from the addition of fresh foods in their diets. Always wash fruits and vegetables, and remember, the darker the color of the veggie, the more nutrition-packed it generally is! Avoid empty water-filled plants like lettuce and celery; instead concentrate on vibrant greens, yellows, oranges, and reds, such as mustard/turnip/collard greens, kale, carrots (leave the green tops on - they love them!), zuchinni, squashes, sweet potato, pumpkin, corn, broccoli, watercress, parsley (limited amounts - contains a compound that limits calcium absorption), strawberries, blueberries, etc. Use what is in season or on sale. Never offer your birds spoiled food that you yourself would not eat - birds are far more sensitive to pathogens than we are. Be persistent and find different ways to offer fresh foods to your birds. They may resist at first - a bird's natural instinct is to avoid consuming anything unfamiliar - in nature, unfamiliar could mean toxic!

You can offer fresh/cooked foods as a thin layer over the bird's normal food so that she has to dig through it to get to the regular diet, and in the process she will realize that it tastes good! If this does not work, offer veggies hanging from a kabob (no pointy ends please!) - this way it looks like a toy, and in playing with it, again - the bird will realize that it tastes good. Hang fresh greens from a clothespin, put berries and melon bits into foraging toys, etc  - the possibilities are endless. Birds also love different legumes (beans), grains, pastas, etc. Check your local grocery or specialty food store for variety. I use different beans such as moong beans, black beans, great northern, lentils (brown and red), green split peas, yellow split peas, black-eyed peas, garbanzo beans, etc. I use other grains such as quinoa, millet (yep, same stuff that's in bird food is available at some grocery stores), pearl barley, buckwheat, flax seed, wheat berries, etc. Budgies and cockatiels especially love couscous - a tiny pasta that cooks very fast and makes a great base to add other foods to such as veggies. Be creative in feeding your bird! Make a small pot (or a huge one, depending on how many birds you have!), save enough for a few days in the fridge, and freeze the rest in ice-cube trays for single servings or place the remainder in freezer bags. Just don't forget to remove any fresh foods from your bird's cage within 2-3 hours, especially on warm days. Deadly bacteria can grow quickly.  

Below are a few recipes that I have used with good success - feel free to substitute ingredients or modify as needed!

Ingredients out and ready to be cooked for the birdies!

Sweet Potato Birdie Bread

1 package Jiffy Cornbread mix

1-2 cups boiled and mashed sweet potatoes (depending how dense you want the bread to be)

1/4 cup quinoa

1/4 cup millet

1 egg (shell included - the calcium and minerals are beneficial to birds)

1/3 cup liquid (I use all natural apple juice, with no sugar added. Water or milk are also fine)

*optional powdered or liquid bird vitamins

Mix it all up and bake either in a loaf pan or in individual muffin cups according to package directions. It will probably take much longer than the recommends because of the density of the sweet potato. Just check checking it until it is firm and begins to brown.  Let cool and serve!

Batter ready to go into oven:

Finished product:

Birdie Goulash

This is a very flexible recipe - use whatever ingredients you happen to have on-hand. This is simply a mix of different beans, grains, and pastas with veggies added at the end. I try to use the greatest variety possible for the best nutrition and bird interest. This is what I used in this particular batch:

1/3 cup dry white northern beans

1/3 cup dry black beans

1/3 cup moong beans

1/3 cup yellow split peas

1/3 cup brown lentils

1/2 cup buckwheat

A handful of fresh Kale

1/3 to 1/2 cup dehydrated bird veggies *I buy these commercially - you can also dehydrate your own)

You can also used rice and pasta in this mix - I simply ran out of room in the pot!

Directions: Set a large pot on the stove with water to boil. When the water comes to a boil, add the largest beans first. Let them cook 5-6 minutes, and add the next largest set of beans. Again, cook 5-6 minutes, and then add the small beans/legumes/pasta/rice last. Add water as needed through the cooking process. Once all the beans have been added, turn off the heat and add any fresh/dehydrated veggies, stir them in well, and allow to cool. The goal is to use just enough water to cook all ingredients without having to drain it at the end - you're just draining away nutrients. If you have extra water, add a bit more rice or pasta to soak up remaining liquid. Cool and serve. Freeze remaining amount into 3-4 day portions.

Here is the goulash after all the beans have cooked and I have just added the fresh and dehydrated veggies. After this I turn off heat, stir, and let cool.

Couscous Verde

This is a very simple concoction that my birds love. Try this one with fussy feeders. You need:

Couscous

Washed/chopped greens (Mustard, Turnip, Collard, Kale, Spinach, etc) 

Optional seasonings, bird vitamins, or other supplements. You could make it savory with some basil and oregano, or heat it up with some cayenne pepper or crushed pepper flakes.

Directions: Blend/puree the greens with enough water to make a viscous, green liquid. Here is an example - I used washed/chopped kale and pureed with a stick blender:

Pour this mixture into a pot and bring it to a gentle boil. You can add seasonings at this point. Once boiling, take it off the heat and add enough couscous to soak up all of the liquid. This will cook the couscous and incorporate the vegetable material nicely. Now your bird has a warm, nutrition-packed meal.

Homemade Seed Sticks

These seed sticks last much longer than the ones that you buy at the petstore and are probably healthier for your bird. Since you control what goes into them, they are a great way to sneak some fruits, veggies, and vitamin fortification into an otherwise picky bird's diet, or to simply give your bird a great treat.

Here are ingredients to start with:

Parakeet Seed mix

Egg food or crushed bird egg biscuits (I think egg food works better)

Eggs

Dried fruits and or veggies (Note - almost all dried fruits for humans have sugar and preservatives added. Try to get dried fruits made specifically for birds)

Any other seeds you would like to add such as flax, hemp, etc

Honey

Popsicle craft sticks or dried fruit tree sticks from untreated trees

Directions: Mix the dried ingredients in a large mixing bowl. At the same time, lay out the sticks on a large baking sheet and preheat them in the oven at 150 degrees Farenheit. Next, mix egg into the dried mixture until you have a gooey, cohesive texture. Pull the sticks out of the oven and form the seed mix around the sticks to desired thickness. Bump the oven up to 200 degrees and bake the sticks for at least 30 minutes - it may take longer than this depending on how thick your sticks are. Remove them from the oven once they are firm. Glaze/brush them with honey and bake another 5 minutes to set. Take them out, cool, and watch the birds enjoy!

Dry mix minus fruit:

Fruits to be added - today it's dried diced apples, dates, and apricots:

Sticks going into the oven:

Birdie Brunch

This is an easy and very flexible recipe that allows you to tailor it to your own bird's tastes. It's highly nutritious and makes a great warm meal. This recipe makes quite a bit, so if you're only cooking for one or two you will want to half or quarter this recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked rice (whatever you have on hand. Today I used Jasmine rice)

3-4 hard boiled eggs, shell and all

2 cups pasta (again, whatever you have on hand - I used whole wheat elbow macaroni)

1 32-ounce bag of frozen mixed vegetables (use a smaller bag if making the recipe smaller!)

Simply boil the rice according to package directions, cook the pasta, chop the boiled eggs finely, and mix all ingredients together. I typically just take the frozen veggies out of the freezer to thaw slightly as the other ingredients are cooking, and then when I mix the other ingredients together, the veggies will thaw in the warm mix. No need to really cook them - they will retain more nutrients if you simply pour them into the warm mix.

 

I will add more to this page as I get the time!