The Circus Diet for birds

[rocky'smom]

I bust my butt to make sure my 2 get fed a pretty good diet. they get chop plus mashed veggies (sweet potatoes, pumpkin, something orange) a cereal mix of kamut, millet, brown rice, steel cut oats , crushed flaxseeds all cooked. that is their breakfast. after dishes are cleared, they get tablespoon of seed mix and tablespoon of pellets until dinner time. they get worldly cuisines and some mash for dinner. I try very hard to keep their breakfast amounts to about 18 to 20 grams each and dinner is about 15 to 17 grams each. Sweet Pea's weight is about 85 to 90 grams. Bebe has gain some weight but I don't know how much. he is not easy to get on the scale. they get forging toys with Nutriaberries, millet balls, a few sunflower seeds daily also.
Dr. Tony showed me this diet on line, it's basically what they are already getting fed but in one portion. I am very skeptical about it. What Do you all think???

The 'Circus Diet' for Pet Birds | The Parrot University, llc

 

[rocky'smom]

this is what their current chop is:
4 oz. of cooked brown rice
7 3/8 oz. yellow squash/ zucchini, fine chopped
4 oz. of blanched carrots, finely chopped
4 oz. mashed cooked pumpkin
1 oz. of frozen blueberries
1 oz. pomegranate seeds
3 oz. kamut, cooked
2 oz. quinoa, cooked
3 oz. each: black beans, Great White Northern, red beans/ calico beans, cooked
1 3/4 oz. organic steel cut oats, raw
1 tbsp. dried red pepper flakes
1 tbsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano

 

[Calpurnia]

Just curious, what about the circus diet makes you skeptical?

IMO it looks like a fine diet. Too few pellets and too much seed/treats for my taste, but I do worry about diluting the "complete" nutrition of pellets with too many other, more palatable foods and nullifying their intended purpose.

 

[Mizzely]

Here's an old thread with some responses on it:

What do you think of the "Circus Diet"? | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum

 

[rocky'smom]

Just curious, what about the circus diet makes you skeptical?

IMO it looks like a fine diet. Too few pellets and too much seed/treats for my taste, but I do worry about diluting the "complete" nutrition of pellets with too many other, more palatable foods and nullifying their intended purpose.

mostly because I already feed most of what is in that diet already. Sweet Pea eats whatever is in front of her and is member clean bowl club daily. they get beans and rice and some corn. Cockatiels are not big fruit eaters, I know because I have blueberry stains and pomegranate stains on my wall behind their cages.
Bebe is not big eater of soft foods of any kind, I have to trick him in to trying anything that I want him to try. today's trick was 5 safflower seeds on the top of the food and 3 more buried in it. the same trick never works more then once in a week's time. he is seed junkie of 10 years and it bad addiction for him, according to his last blood work. his liver & kidney enzymes are funky. I don't like some of their treat ideas either Rice krispies for one and jiffy corn meal muffins for another, too high in sugar and salt. raisin bread for another, thought birds can't have raisins. I look at my birds treats as something like nutriaberries, a millet globe or two, or few sunflower seeds. but those they have to work for to get them.
my birds are not huge on sprouts either. but if I grow greens for Sweet Pea she will eat them, Bebe tries a taste or 2.
if they are already getting basically what is in that Circus, why should I change it?

 

[Jaguar]

Formulating your own diet is SO much work. On top of that, no one really knows the nutritional requirements of various parrots - it's all guesswork based on poultry studies.

It sounds nice - lots of variety - but there's no nutrient analysis, no explanation of why each ingredient is added in what amount... and this particular line really bothers me:

All of the items in our diet can be swapped for similar items.

Everything in that diet should be there for a reason, in a specific amount, to fulfill a nutrient requirement. The recipe should be strictly followed if it's to be nutritionally complete.

I am not trustworthy of most homemade "complete" diets. I use them as treats or supplements to a (quality) pellet base.

 

[finchly]

I like the circus diet idea. I also think for people who do not feed fresh foods, who've never learned about it, introducing them to a diet like this gets the point across!

I also like that there is only 20% pellets. I sometimes increase mine but right now that's about where my finches are, 20-25%. I spend a great deal of time making chop and researching/reviewing what vitamins are in each vegetable. But, I'm geeky that way.

I'm thinking that if you serve this the way they're suggesting, maybe keep a bowl of pellets available in the cage? for those of you who want more pellets?

@rocky'smom If that's how you are feeding and there are no 'new' suggestions that you like, stick with what you are doing! Was it suggested that you change their diet?

 

[rocky'smom]

I like the circus diet idea. I also think for people who do not feed fresh foods, who've never learned about it, introducing them to a diet like this gets the point across!

I also like that there is only 20% pellets. I sometimes increase mine but right now that's about where my finches are, 20-25%. I spend a great deal of time making chop and researching/reviewing what vitamins are in each vegetable. But, I'm geeky that way.

I'm thinking that if you serve this the way they're suggesting, maybe keep a bowl of pellets available in the cage? for those of you who want more pellets?

@rocky'smom If that's how you are feeding and there are no 'new' suggestions that you like, stick with what you are doing! Was it suggested that you change their diet?

he was suggesting that it's improvement to what I am already feeding.

 

[finchly]

Laurie, it sounds to me like you are comfortable with your regimen, and you've adjusted to account for the idiosyncrasies of your fids. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[rocky'smom]

Dr. Tony was not in the office today, so I talked to Dr. Barb about the Circus diet. she said that he doesn't feed it to his birds nor do any of the birds in the clinic eat it either. She read thru it and was not happy about the treats in the diet at all. too much sugar and salt in most of the stuff except the fruit and nuts.

 

[aooratrix]

I've met Steve Hartman and have my own opinions, so I'm sitting this one out. I'll just say your current diet seems to be fine to me, and I understand completely the desire to learn and improve the lives of your feathered friends!

 

[rocky'smom]

I met him years ago, when he was the head of the bird show at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley. we had a mutual disagreement about some of things in the bird show that he was doing at that time. it was not educational show and it was more "tricks for lousy treats" then teaching. he is know longer a part of it any more and the show is much better without him.

 

[Monica]

You could always look into Shauna Roberts Mash.... Jason Crean's Avian Nutrition.... or go even more complicated such as Mike Manna's Mash....