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Best leafy greens to feed birds?

FeatheredM

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My budgies absolutely love their leafy greens, and it is the main vegetable they eat, I'm curious of what leafy greens would provide alot of nutritional value so I can make sure they are getting better. Getting them to eat other veggies is hard sometimes, so I want to make sure they are getting the best of what they do eat.
 

Mizzely

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Basically all of the dark leafy greens are good! One thing to note is that all of them are healthier when slightly cooked because they have oxalic acid which actually prevents the calcium in them from being absorbed by the body. Cooking breaks that bond and allows them to benefit from the calcium in it :)

I tend to offer beet greens and dandelion greens the most, but also will get swiss chard, collard greens, arugula, and even herbs like basil, cilantro, and parsley :)
 

Olliebirb

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My budgies love kale and broccoli!
 

FeatheredM

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Basically all of the dark leafy greens are good! One thing to note is that all of them are healthier when slightly cooked because they have oxalic acid which actually prevents the calcium in them from being absorbed by the body. Cooking breaks that bond and allows them to benefit from the calcium in it :)

I tend to offer beet greens and dandelion greens the most, but also will get swiss chard, collard greens, arugula, and even herbs like basil, cilantro, and parsley :)
I really like that selection! I'll have to give them some more dandelion leafs, today was their first day trying it. A quick question, how do you cook them slightly? :) they've never had beet greens, I'm going to have to give that a go.
 

.........

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I offer mine Romaine/cos lettuce often, and it's probably the favourite amongst my birds when it comes to their greens. I also offer Broccoli, and most lettuces (but no iceberg).
I also give mine garden weeds such as sow thistle, chickweed, dandelion and seeding grasses but unless you can be 110% sure there is not any chemicals on or near it I don't recommend it, it isn't a problem for me but it might be for others.
I give mine these greens raw every day, and haven't noticed any bad effects of feeding them raw rather than cooked. My birds also prefer raw. But nothing against feeding cooked. I recommend if you cook their greens, if at all possible steam them as it is the best at preserving the water soluble vitamins.
If I'm being honest I don't think there are any that are significantly better than others in nutritional profile. I could be wrong but from my research they are contain similar amounts of vitamins and minerals. So just vary the greens as much as possible and you should be fine.
 

Zara

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fashionfobie

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A few to add to the list: Silver beet is very popular in my house. Pea Shoots are also well loved.
 

BirdyBee

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Leafy greens are a favourite of most birdies. They should be majority of the veggies they eat.
Some birds like sweet veg like carrot, beet, corn, etc. You way have some luck trying out those with your budgies. Also broccoli, some birds confuse the florets with seed :)

If you can get your birds to eat at least 5-6 different veggies of different colours, it'll already be a big improvement! :)
 
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