Which foods are safe?

[FluffyFeet]

I wasn't sure where to post this because it deals with nutrition, but also baby birds. I settled on posting it here because the birds are canaries, so since I was not sure which of the other two it went in I thought this would be the best place.

We want to give are canaries a more varied diet. We have a few types of fruits and veggies around the house, but we do not know if they would be safe for our birds. The other problem is two baby canaries who are refusing to eat anything other than formula (and possibly romaine lettuce, I think they might be eating that but it is hard to tell). We have tried egg food, soaked seeds, normal seeds, etc. I am wondering which of these foods are safe for the birds, and also which ones would be best to get the babies eating.

Blackberries
Grapes
Cauliflower
Asparagus
Butternut squash
Canned pure pumpkin (no spices)
Raspberries

 

[RainbowFlo]

 

[Shezbug]

@finchly @Monaco

 

[finchly]

All the foods mentioned are fine except I have never given them asparagus so I’m not sure n that one.
Don’t give too much fruit. Concentrate on grains and greens instead. Kale, spinach.
How old is the baby? They don’t start picking at foods until 4-6 weeks.

 

[Monaco]

They're safe, but I would be careful about the grape skin, and the berry seeds. Broccoli is a great easy to pick at choice. Asparagus is something I avoid for my ekkie, so the canary doesn't get any either. Same for spinach, chard, collard, and a couple of other greens. Some is okay, but kale and dark leafy or romaine lettuce are great and don't have enough oxalic acid to block calcium absorption. Big lettuce leaves wet are fun bathing opportunities.

The squash, especially butternut is excellent. Fresh papaya is low sugar, and has digestive enzymes. Whatever you choose, chop into tiny pieces or smash it, except for super fun broccoli tops. Variety now will help them try new things later.

 

[Mantis64]

They're safe, but I would be careful about the grape skin, and the berry seeds. Broccoli is a great easy to pick at choice. Asparagus is something I avoid for my ekkie, so the canary doesn't get any either. Same for spinach, chard, collard, and a couple of other greens. Some is okay, but kale and dark leafy or romaine lettuce are great and don't have enough oxalic acid to block calcium absorption. Big lettuce leaves wet are fun bathing opportunities.

The squash, especially butternut is excellent. Fresh papaya is low sugar, and has digestive enzymes. Whatever you choose, chop into tiny pieces or smash it, except for super fun broccoli tops. Variety now will help them try new things later.

If you dont mind me asking with papaya do you offer the seeds as well or not.

 

[finchly]

If you dont mind me asking with papaya do you offer the seeds as well or not.

No seeds

 

[Mantis64]

No seeds

Okay just the fruit are there any other fruits that are low in sugar ik scared of feeding my bird high sugar fruits dont want the yeast coming back.

 

[Monaco]

If you dont mind me asking with papaya do you offer the seeds as well or not.

It's funny you should ask... Usually I don't leave seeds. The latest fruit chop I made for Monaco was closely supervised, and she was going down to eat the melon seeds over and over again. I decided to leave lots of seeds in it this time. She pushes the papaya seeds out of the way.

I dried some for sprouting, and they are really odd. Slimy round balls, and when you get the slime orb off and dry them they're spiky and look like a tiny rambutans or sweet gum seed pod... Either way they're too big for a canary to deal with, and at best would just be something scary or interesting touching their food.

 

[Monaco]

Okay just the fruit are there any other fruits that are low in sugar ik scared of feeding my bird high sugar fruits dont want the yeast coming back.

Have you tried things like cucumber and sweet peppers? It's alright to stay with veggies that are mildly sweet.

 

[finchly]

@Mantis64 does your bird actually need fruit? Some species don't so you can just skip it. I've never had a ringneck so I don't know about them.

 

[Mantis64]

@Mantis64 does your bird actually need fruit? Some species don't so you can just skip it. I've never had a ringneck so I don't know about them.

In the wild they have a higher fruit diet.

 

[finchly]

In the wild they have a higher fruit diet.

Great! Then you're doing the right thing, and your bird is not as susceptible to yeast as some we hope.

 

[Monaco]

In the wild they have a higher fruit diet.

They do, but it's about balancing what they need as they are. They don't need the same calories as their wild counterparts, and definitely not much if it's causing a yeast overgrowth.

We're hijacking the canary thread, but it's going to take careful monitoring if you decide to increase the fruit.

 

[FluffyFeet]

All the foods mentioned are fine except I have never given them asparagus so I’m not sure n that one.
Don’t give too much fruit. Concentrate on grains and greens instead. Kale, spinach.
How old is the baby? They don’t start picking at foods until 4-6 weeks.

For grains, we have oats and flax seed. Are either of these good?
Also these babies are about 5 weeks old.

 

[finchly]

these babies are about 5 weeks old.

Oh, they should be picking at foods then. Oats are good. Flax seeds are good but I usually grind them for finches/canaries.

As far as the babies not eating, the parents may just be stuffing them really well. I would continue to offer soaked seed, chopped veggies (especially broccoli) and maybe even cooked, mashed sweet potato. They'll pick at it eventually.

 

[Shezbug]

I was of the belief that asparagus can cause gut issues so is best to avoid or feed very sparingly.