Favorite easy and cheap Bird bread recipe?

[Saemma]

I'm not familiar with jiffy mix or any type of cornmeal so I looked it up. Based on the ingredient list it doesn't seem to healthy for humans or birds. There's healthier alternatives for our feathered loves one and will save on future health care vet bills. I like the flours offered by Bob Red Mill. Lots of variety.

 

[Ribbit21]

I make a lot of "kitchen sink" breads. I don't follow any recipe really. I just start mixing everything up in a big bowl and cook it till it looks done enough.

Dry flour (this varies a lot--wheat flours, corn flour, spelt flour, etc.)
Wet stuff: egg, water, fresh massed up fruits, banana, sometimes regular fruit juice if I'm in a pinch, oatmeal left over from breakfast, baby food
Extra stuff: seed mix, pellets, nuts, frozen veggies, crushed nutriberries
Bonus stuff: flax, ground eggshell, palm oil

My last batch was made up of spelt flour, wheat flour, 1 egg, 1/2 banana, sweet potato, fresh squeezed orange juice, sprinkle of raspberries from the garden, chopped frozen peas, corn, and carrots, and enough water to make it into a soft dough.

Then when it was out of the oven I crushed up some roudybush and added some flax to sprinkle over the top of it. I brushed the top of the bread with some red palm oil so the crushed mix would stick a little.

 

[ImaBirdMom]

Crystal what about Mommas birdie bread? Or Harrison's? All u have to do with the Mommas is add oil and i think Water. You could also add stuff you want but it's easy and cheap.

 

[sthiele]

I buy 5 lb. bags of whole wheat flour. Costs less than $4 and I get a bunch of loaves out of it. My normal recipe is something like...

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon aluminum free baking powder
1 egg
Handful of old fashioned rolled oats
Sprinkle of cinnamon, ginger, cayenne, whatever I have on hand
Chopped up veggies and fruits, whatever I have on hand
Pellets
Seeds
1 jar baby food
Water as needed to moisten

Mix it all up, put it in a 9x13 pan, and bake for 35 minutes. I put parchment paper down so nothing sticks. I make 2 loaves and that lasts my entire flock a full month.

I would never use a corn bread mix. Very unhealthy and full of sodium. A local vet who sees birds, but isn't board certified, gave me a care packet when I went in for nail trims a few years ago. Her bird bread recipe used Betty Crocker cake mix. Never went to that vet again.

 

[Meatball]

thank you for all the ideas guys!! This is very helpful. I will be going to the store to get some ingredients and try to make a bread. Wish me luck

 

[Meatball]

Crystal what about Mommas birdie bread? Or Harrison's? All u have to do with the Mommas is add oil and i think Water. You could also add stuff you want but it's easy and cheap.

I would but they are like $10 a bag and then I would have to pay for shipping from wherever I ordered it. I just don't have it right now. Never thought I would be unemployed and for so long

 

[Birdiemarie]

thank you for all the ideas guys!! This is very helpful. I will be going to the store to get some ingredients and try to make a bread. Wish me luck

I expect pictures of your birdies chowing down!

 

[ImaBirdMom]

I would but they are like $10 a bag and then I would have to pay for shipping from wherever I ordered it. I just don't have it right now. Never thought I would be unemployed and for so long

Oh man I'm sorry. Darn shipping!!

 

[waterfaller1]

I would but they are like $10 a bag and then I would have to pay for shipping from wherever I ordered it. I just don't have it right now. Never thought I would be unemployed and for so long

Sending good energy that you will have a job soon!

 

[Tara81]

Just use flour, something to make it moist, and add things like veggies. When it looks like the consistency of AO bread, put it in the oven at 350 for 35 to 45 minutes. That how I do it

Example :


"2 large eggs
1 cup of brewed dandelion tea
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp red palm oil
1/4 c golden flax meal
1/4 c corn meal
1 1/2 c spelt flour
1 4oz jar corn + carrot baby food
2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp hatched
2 tbsp milk thistle powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 c of my seed mix
1 cup peas
1/2 c dried cranberries
1 tsp ginger

I greased a 9x9" glass baking dish with coconut oil, and baked at 350 for 35 minutes. Let cool, then cut!"

Trim it down. Find what you want or have similar of. Yours could be:

2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup Applesauce or 1 banana
1 egg
1 cup frozen mixed veggies

And that could really be it! You can make it as simple or complicated as needed.

For your simple birdie bread recipe, can you add cinnamon , buckwheat (raw or cooked first?) sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds? Are sesame and pumpkin seeds high in fat or bad for birdies? Is it okay to add crushed pellets and hagens seed mix? How much cinnamon should u add to your simple recipe?

 

[Lady Jane]

Recently I went through the same thing you are doing and avoided muffin mixes. I spent quite a bit of money on the ingredients and chopped fresh veggies too. The bread failed to turn out. It was like crumbled cake and I followed all directions. Birds would not even touch the cake like bread. I am not doing that again. Sticking with the bread mixes for birds and watch for sales. This is the basic mix I use and I add chopped veggies, pumpkin and sweet potato or other greens and pellets. It is economical too.


Harrison's Bird Bread - Original Recipe: Amazon.com: Grocery & Gourmet Food


ORIGINAL: *Hulled Gray Millet, *Corn, *Hull-less Barley, *Sweet Corn, *Toasted Soybeans, *Sunflower Kernel, *Peanut Kernel, *Lentils, *Peas, *Toasted Oat Groats, Calcium Carbonate, *Brown Rice, Baking Powder, *Alfalfa, *Psyllium, Bentonite, Mixed Tocopherols (Source of Vitamin E), *Sea Kelp, Salt, *Algae Meal, Vitamin/Mineral Supplement (Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, dl-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Niacin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Zinc Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Carbonate and *Sunflower Oil) *CERTIFIED ORGANIC INGREDIENT

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS: Crude protein (min.) 14%, crude fat (min.) 9%, crude fiber (max.) 5%,

 

[Distaff]

You guys are making me hungry! (On the Jiffy mix debate, I honestly don't see where the mix saves time - you are adding a bunch of other stuff anyway, and this isn't Thanks Giving dinner where you have to impress some finicky in-laws.)

Anyway, I have BRM polenta, and eggs, coconut oil, etc...and I'm going to make some. Three budgies and a canary may not make much of a dent in a loaf, even if they chow down, but I bet the pet ratties can get the rest of it consumed.

(I may have to taste it myself.)

Thanks for all the recipies and tips, everyone!

 

[Mizzely]

For your simple birdie bread recipe, can you add cinnamon , buckwheat (raw or cooked first?) sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds? Are sesame and pumpkin seeds high in fat or bad for birdies? Is it okay to add crushed pellets and hagens seed mix? How much cinnamon should u add to your simple recipe?

The whole point is you can add whatever you want You can add ceylon cinammon, I would probably add a tbsp or less. The buckwheat will probably change the consistency a bit, so experiment with raw and cooked both. All seeds contain fat, and some are good in moderation.

 

[Tara81]

I always wondered , if seeds are added to birdie bread, wouldn't the bird not eat the bread and just forage through it for the seed, since the seed have hulls on them and the birdie cannot eat it whole?

 

[Distaff]

Ok, it's out of the oven, and cooled. Dogs like it. It is a hit with the ratties. I find it delicious. Much more complex flavour than regular corn bread.

 

[Mizzely]

I always wondered , if seeds are added to birdie bread, wouldn't the bird not eat the bread and just forage through it for the seed, since the seed have hulls on them and the birdie cannot eat it whole?

Possibly. I don't usually add seeds to my bread. The exception would be for a bird that is a seed only eater and you are trying to convert them.

 

[Tara81]

I am bummed out.I wanted to make some homemade nutriberries and birdie bread for my flock. I tried to find dried fruits at the only 3 grocery stores in my area (colemans, dominion and Rossys) and they all had sulfuhites or sulfer dicarbonate =( (same thing I think) so I could make some home made nutriberries with them. I saw some nutriberry recipes with honey or molasses/peanut butter, but thought those would be too sugary.. .

I also wanted to make birdie bread, finally found some whole wheat flour, Couldnt find any other flours besides whole wheat, rye and white. I bought it, look at ingredients just before using and it contains Az0dicarbonamide. I did a quick google search and found this:

Ingredient: Azodicarbonamide
Found In: Breads, frozen dinners, boxed pasta mixes, and packaged baked goods

While most countries wait a week for flour to naturally whiten, the American food processors prefer to use this chemical to bleach the flour ASAP.
Health Hazards: It’s not enough to just ban this product in Singapore. You can get up to 15 years in prison and be penalized nearly half a million dollars in fines for using this chemical that’s been linked to asthma and is primarily used in foamed plastics, like yoga mats and sneaker soles.

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I was so pumped to cook the birdies a treat today. So much for that Idea.

 

[Tara81]

Does any canadians know the cheapest place to get nutriberries in canada online :/ sigh

 

[Mizzely]

Remember that homemade nutriberries will never be as nutritionally sound as the originals. So the ones we make in our home truly can only be used as a treat.

Nutriberries now are on a price freeze per the company. Meaning they don't go on sale and are not eligible for discounts anymore. I get mine at Drs. Foster & Smith, who also ship to Canada. Petsmart.ca also carries them in store and online.

I am surprised you couldn't find any alternative flours, maybe it's an American thing but even our crappy stores have at least one alternative these days!

 

[Tara81]

Well I live in Newfoundland, in a town with 40,000 population, only 3 grocery stores