About feeding pastas and grains

[Wasabisaurus]

Starch is a carb, which consists of a large number of glucose units, right? Since glucose is sugar, how is it that feeding rice and pasta to birds is OK? I bought some long grain brown rice and some multigrain Kashi rice, but the vet did not seem too thrilled about the idea.

I am wondering that even if birds do eat grains in the wild, is it OK to feed them that when our companion parrots don't get the same flight exercise to burn those calories? Wasabi should not be gaining any more weight.

I am not being critical of anybody who feeds grains and pastas. I just want to understand.

 

[Katster]

I do not have insight about this. I read that parrot owners feed that in the thread about "what do you feed your parrots". I am still introducing new veggies and fruits. We did not go to the rice and pasta yet. It will be interesting to read this thread.


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[wonderb]

I do not feed pasta to my bird. I do include some grains, some sprouted (oat groats, buckwheat, millet) and some cooked (quinoa and a bit of wild rice). There are only 3 things that can make up food: carb, fat, protein. So if you lower the carb you are feeding your bird, you will have to up the fat & protein to make up for it. Depending on the specie, that is worse for them (not so for macaws, for ex, that need lots of fat). But I also think it is very important to maximize nutrition and not fill them up with stuff that is devoid of nutrition. In other words, maximize vitamin and mineral content and worry less about whether a food is carb/protein/fat. So lots of vegetables, fruits (esp low sugar options like berries that have a ton of antioxidants!), sprouts, coconut, greens and herbs, etc.

 

[Jally]

Wait, don't you give Wasabi oatmeal every morning?

My guys get pasta, rices, and other grains. They also get steamed and rax veggies, fuits (not dried), nuts, and ocassionally they'll get some meat. They also get cereals and breads, pellets (for the big ones and Nutriberries for the little ones), and seeds (for the little ones). And, everyone needs a treat such as a chip every so often.

Feeding our avian friends seems to be a personal choice and something that we are always learning new things about. Much like feeding children. And, dogs. What is good for them today, we'll learn that isn't so good for them tomorrow. But, will be OK again next week. My motto is, everything in moderation...but that 'everything' can be questionable.

 

[Ming-Ming]

In general, my birds do not get a lot of pasta.
Sometimes they get some cooked grains - quinoa, couscous, rice. But when they do get pasta (usually in their chop if i make it), i try to find veggie pasta, or kamut pasta, or something like that from the organic bulk food store.
I think it is okay in moderation. When I fee these spiral pasta, the birds usually only get one or two spirals a day.

And yes, sprouted is great too! I sprout a lot of grains, and they are just full of awesomeness

 

[Tangle Elf]

I wouldn't feed them a lot, but I don't see how grains would be a problem. I definitely don't see the natural sugars being a problem. Fruits and veggies contain sugar. I feed very limited amounts of pasta, but don't see an issue at all with grains.

 

[jmfleish]

Terri, I think it's going to depend on the types of grains, rices, and pastas. Just like humans, I'm sure that birds do much better on less processed whole grain foods. I think it's definitely needed in their diets but as many people mentioned, they stick to the Old World grains and pastas that are made from them. It's a complex carbohydrate that way and is very good for the body in moderation.

 

[Big Blues]

Our birds get cooked whole wheat penne pasta once a week sprinkled with cayenne pepper which is healthy for them, they love picking up the long tubes and chipping away at them.

 

[lotus15]

There are various different types of pastas and grains. They key is looking at the glycemic index of those. Things like white pasta or white rice have a very high glycemic level-- these should definitely be avoided. But other grains, like quinoa, kamut, amaranth, spelt, etc. have a much lower glycemic index and can be very healthy.

It's not that glucose is ALL bad because it is a sugar. Fruits, for example, have a ton of sugar. It is important to understand how that sugar is metabolized. The sugar in fruits can still be a healthful addition in the diet because it is ingested and digested with all of the fiber of the fruit, making sure that the sugar very slowly and gradually enters the blood stream. Pure sugar, on the other hand, immediately enters the blood stream and causes an immediate spike in blood sugar. Similarly, different grains are digested at different rates-- that's why you want whole grains, because they have more of the bran and the fiber and are digested more slowly.

 

[Wasabisaurus]

Wait, don't you give Wasabi oatmeal every morning?

My guys get pasta, rices, and other grains. They also get steamed and rax veggies, fuits (not dried), nuts, and ocassionally they'll get some meat. They also get cereals and breads, pellets (for the big ones and Nutriberries for the little ones), and seeds (for the little ones). And, everyone needs a treat such as a chip every so often.

Feeding our avian friends seems to be a personal choice and something that we are always learning new things about. Much like feeding children. And, dogs. What is good for them today, we'll learn that isn't so good for them tomorrow. But, will be OK again next week. My motto is, everything in moderation...but that 'everything' can be questionable.

Ha! can you imagine!? I know Hiram gets oatmeal. I would just get a dirty look.
I think I am confusing whole grain with pasta. Whole grain should be fine in moderation I would think. If he deigns to try it is another thing. The Kashi is the 7 whole grain pilaf. There is buckwheat, triticale, rye, hard red wheat, barley, oats, brown rice and sesame. bought some quinoa and long grain brown rice separately. I shoulda paid attention in Home Ec, which I despised.

 

[Macawnutz]

We add wheat spiral pasta to our chop, it adds up to maybe one spiral per bird every twoish days. Sometimes they eat it, sometimes pick around it. Makes eating interesting.

 

[Mizzely]

You can choose lower glycemic level grains, like quinoa, spelt, barley, and buckwheat, to negate this some.

Now I think it should be said that there is a difference between types of sugars, and that when paired with proteins and fats, the amount of sugar actually absorbed is reduced. The more sugars (glucose, fructose, etc) vs protein and fat, the worse the food is.

~*~ Sent from my phone, so please excuse any typos! ~*~

 

[Jally]

Ha! can you imagine!? I know Hiram gets oatmeal. I would just get a dirty look.
I think I am confusing whole grain with pasta. Whole grain should be fine in moderation I would think. If he deigns to try it is another thing. The Kashi is the 7 whole grain pilaf. There is buckwheat, triticale, rye, hard red wheat, barley, oats, brown rice and sesame. bought some quinoa and long grain brown rice separately. I shoulda paid attention in Home Ec, which I despised.

Bwahahahaha!!! I hated Home-ec, too. Except for the babysitting/parenting curriculum! Loved that! I can imagine Hiram's face cause I get the same look from Sophie when she is uh-ohing for her toast in the morning while I'm trying to give her something different, like an egg the horrors!! Hubby started that, by the way!

 

[Leza]

The way I look at it is that in the wild, birds do not get cooked rice, beans, or pasta. I try to give them as fresh as possible when I can, a lot of leafy greens and in season stuff. They will get a bit of pasta as a treat once a week, but not all my birds will eat it. All my birds love beans though so I try to give them a good variety there since i know they will eat it.

 

[Kathy N]

I'm Italian, so every Sunday we have macaroni in my house. Naturally, the birds get one or 2, and they love it. First they lick off the gravy (sauce to you!) and then they eat the pasta. I don't think one or 2 a week is extreme.

Funny story: A few years ago I was very sick and a friend stepped in to take Elwood while I was in the hospital. (That's not the funny part!) I told her how he enjoyed his macaroni. She made her dinner using a jar sauce. Then she offered him his tribute. Elwood took his macaroni, tasted it, stuck out his foot and let it drop. It wasn't his grandma's homemade tomato sauce! She still laughs at Elwood the food critic.

 

[FreeByrd]

ELWOOD