fresh food question

[birdielove]

Hi everyone,

It has been a very long time since I last posted. I am STILL trying to get my cockatiels to eat fresh foods but to no avail; except for plain scrambled eggs. I admit I do get frustrated when days, weeks months go by and NO ONE is trying anything new. I have to get back at it. I work a F/T job and want to know what foods I can leave in their cages for hours that will be safe to leave in there for that amount of time? I work a split shift so generally I am only gone for roughly 3-4 hours at a time.

What usually work swell as far as the birds taking to it? I am desperate to get them eating a wide variety of fresh foods as I am worried about their health if they don't.

Thanks so much for any help you can offer!

Pam

 

[BeeBop]

For leaving out foods while your gone I would say to avoid strawberries, bananas, and pretty much any other fruits. You can get away with cucumber and lettuce and for the most part sprouts. Don't do anything highly spoilable like eggs.
Your second question - what foods most bird like. That depends. Budgies seem to be lettuce lovers not sure about tiels. I've had a tiel but not for very long sadly . Some other members will have some advice.

 

[birdielove]

Hi! Beebop,

Thanks for your advice. I am wondering also about broccoli put in the cage bars? Good to leave? Or no?

 

[Lady Jane]

Fresh food of any kind is usually not left in a cage over 2 hours. Can you give them fresh chop early am until you leave then take it out? There are people that sell dehydrated chop which would work in the hours you are gone. Broccoli will wilt just like other fresh foods.

 

[Rolanda]

Fresh food of any kind is usually not left in a cage over 2 hours. Can you give them fresh chop early am until you leave then take it out? There are people that sell dehydrated chop which would work in the hours you are gone. Broccoli will wilt just like other fresh foods.

Where can I buy dehydrated Bird Chop?

 

[Pipsqueak]

You can hang lettuce leaves or herbs, they will not spoil. My cockatiel likes leaves hanging wet and prefers that over chop. He doesn't eat fruit. But dandelion and raddichio , parsley, cilantro , fennel greens etc. I don't chop it up, just hang it and it doesn't spoil.

 

[Mizzely]

It depends on temperature etc too. My birds are in a cooler (65 degree) basement so I feel comfortable leaving fresh foods out for 4 hours. If it was 80, 1-2. You could try to give them partially frozen food and it will last longer as its thawing

 

[Lady Jane]

Personally I would not hang any greens for the length if time you are talking about. I buy small sized dehydrated chop from a lady on FB Texas Natural Freeze Dried Products - Home | Facebook
If you are not on FB you can find a nice variety of dehydrated veggies on TNT bird toys web page. Jen is a vendor here. And here is one more option that I have not tried out yet. Christine's Chop Shop

Side note: I mix the chop in with my bird's seed blends.

 

[Rolanda]

Personally I would not hang any greens for the length if time you are talking about. I buy small sized dehydrated chop from a lady on FB Texas Natural Freeze Dried Products - Home | Facebook
If you are not on FB you can find a nice variety of dehydrated veggies on TNT bird toys web page. Jen is a vendor here. And here is one more option that I have not tried out yet. Christine's Chop Shop

Side note: I mix the chop in with my bird's seed blends.

Thanks Lady Jane!

 

[sunnysmom]

It took probably 3 months of trying everyday with my tiel before he would touch a vegetable. They can be stubborn. Then he became a good little veggie eater. The first thing he ate was broccoli cut into tiny pieces, just the tops. They kind of look like seeds. And I hand fed them to him. I also then started making birdie bread and would put in mashed sweet potato, chopped up veggies, even sometimes baby food. It took a lot of trial and error to find out how he liked his vegetables. I found out he only liked them chopped really small and raw (except for sweet potatoes). And then he did like big leafs of lettuce but I had to hold it for him. LOL. So just keep trying and experimenting. And I think birdie bread is something you could leave out while you're at work.

 

[BeeBop]

Hi! Beebop,

Thanks for your advice. I am wondering also about broccoli put in the cage bars? Good to leave? Or no?

It might wilt. Personally I think if they are in an air conditioned room you can get away with most things except fruits which spoil fast. It's not likely there will actually be a problem with broccoli. I've left certain foods out all day in air conditioning and never had a problem. Outside or 75-80° temps is a different story.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

@Lady Jane The Texas freeze dried chop looks good. Are the pieces small enough for little birds? My cockatiels like everything so little.

 

[Rolanda]

@Lady Jane The Texas freeze dried chop looks good. Are the pieces small enough for little birds? My cockatiels like everything so little.

I wondered that too. But then I figured that It's freeze dried, I could chop it up smaller if I needed to for my Lovebird. I will sometimes do that with the foods my two have in common. The food looks really Healthy... has lots of good veggies in it.

 

[Peachfaced]

I wondered that too. But then I figured that It's freeze dried, I could chop it up smaller if I needed to for my Lovebird. I will sometimes do that with the foods my two have in common. The food looks really Healthy... has lots of good veggies in it.

I am so very tempted to get this for my guys.

 

[Rolanda]

I am so very tempted to get this for my guys.

I went ahead and jumped in for a small 1-2 cup bag. The shipping was almost as much as the chop. Since they're such Picky Bum's I figured it was worth it to try to get some good veggies into them! If RPO only came flavorless and freeze dried, we'd be a healthy flock...! LOL

 

[Peachfaced]

I went ahead and jumped in for a small 1-2 cup bag. The shipping was almost as much as the chop. Since they're such Picky Bum's I figured it was worth it to try to get some good veggies into them! If RPO only came flavorless...! LOL

I bought one of (just about) everything. Big bag of chop and all the fruit bags. Rupert loves food. I dunno if Sherbie will take to chop, but we'll give it a try. At least it'll keep for years.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

I went ahead and jumped in for a small 1-2 cup bag. The shipping was almost as much as the chop. Since they're such Picky Bum's I figured it was worth it to try to get some good veggies into them! If RPO only came flavorless...! LOL

Let us know how they like it, I'm thinking of getting that size too...

 

[ode.to.parrots]

For my birds, the answer was quinoa. I include cooked quinoa in my batches of chop, and because quinoa is a grain-like seed, even as seed addicts, they took to it very well! By picking through the chop, they got a taste for the other veggies and started eating those too.
While the freeze dried stuff may be good for the daytime while you are away, chop would be good to serve at night while you are home. I have found, too, that if you are eating your meal in the same room as your birds, they will start looking for something to eat. Be sure to serve whatever food you are trying to introduce to your bird in a bowl that is familiar to them.

As for the food spoilage discussion, as one who has previously worked in the food industry and has received training in food safety, there are certain "high risk" foods. "High risk" foods are that are moist and high in protein and nutrients, which create an optimal environment for bacteria growth. So foods such as meats, eggs and, yes, chop would fit these categories (especially chop that includes some sort of protein, such as cooked beans or quinoa.) However, foods such as kale leaves, broccoli, dandelion greens, ect. are not as much of a high risk food because (1) because they are in their whole form they are not as moist as chop and (2) because they don't have very much protein.
The "danger zone" for bacteria growth is between 40F and 90F. So if you have some frozen chop, for example and serve it your birds, it won't be until the surface temperature of that chop reaches 40F that it will start harboring baterias. In general, food can be exposed to this "danger zone" temperature for about two hours before bacteria spoils it. If the air temperature is higher than 90F, this time is only one hour.
I hope this helps!



Edit: I also just remembered that SUGAR is another trait of "high risk" foods! Which explains why fruit such as berries and bananas would spoil so fast. Meanwhile, leafy greens are still favorable.

 

[Rolanda]

My Beaksey LOVES Quinoa. There is an Organic Frozen Quinoa meal/side (kale and some other things) that @saroj12 recommended that I LOVE. When my Sprouts store has it we share! no one else in the house likes it

 

[Lady Jane]

The small size chop from Texas is really good for small birds. Its small enough that I can mix it in with the seed blend. No extra cutting or chopping needed. I had to cut up some of the dehydrated veggies from TNT. My boys don't even know they are eating veggies! I use it mostly when I know I am going to be our for several hours. Otherwise they are very good about eating the fresh I get them chopped several times over. They have not caught on to romaine lettuce yet though. Do not seem to go for blueberries which are in the stores now from US. Once in a while I have mixed in quinoa and they do not go near the veggie dish. One thing I have found that helps is to feed the chopped veggies in a shallow dish. I have 2 that fit into the SS bowl just enough so it is held in place. This way they don't have to dip their heads in a bowl to eat. Gives them a better chance to forage through the veggies.

I will take a photo of the dish arrangement for veggies so you understand what I am talking about