Herbs and spices benefits for your parrots...

[Finchbreed]

Very late response, but someone might be interested.
Mothers budgies are fed on amaranth and dandelion, which are very good for them.
Ditto the dandelion for my finches and canaries.

 

[Vera]

I bought some fresh herbs in the supermarket: thyme, mint,celery.
The sprigs with leaves. I give them some chopped of that,but also like to hang a twig/leaves in the cage.
I would like to freeze the herbs, but can I only give them finely chopped after that?
I think the branches and leaves will otherwise become limp after thawing?
for how long will they stay fresh without freezing?

 

[Finchbreed]

Mint and celery leaves = yes.
No experience of thyme. Celery stalks are not the best - too much water and too little goodness.

 

[Vera]

Celery is just the leaves

 

[Mizzely]

I would dry them instead of freezing so that you can still hang them. Though not sure about the celery leaves.

I grow herbs on my balcony so I can just clip some off as I want.

 

[Vera]

I also want to grow some herbs for them, but wanted to try these first to see if they like them.

 

[fashionfobie]

I also want to grow some herbs for them, but wanted to try these first to see if they like them.

I grow all kinds of stuff for my birbs. I am lucky to live in a climate where passionfruit do well and many herbs and flowers. I used to buy human edible flowers from the market. But lately I grow lots and I enjoy feeding the birds from the garden. 1. I know exactly if it is safe, 2. Gardening is simply rewarding (I am starting to grow more for us humans this year too! So excited)

 

[Vera]

what do you think about this supplement? could this provide the needed nutrients that are missing in a seedmix?


This mix is specially tailored with herbs for the health of the bird, but also to give it the right condition and the right vitamins before and during breeding. This mix contains 40 herbs

Ingredients: bee pollen, chlorella, spirulina, broccoli, thyme, nettle, quina, dandelion, ginger, oregano, almonds, garlic, propolis, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, turmeric, brewer's yeast, aronia berries, mint, icelandic seaweed, Pau D'Arco, red maca , black maca, yellow maca, beard moss, alfalfa leaf, rosemary, marigold, mallow, burdock root, artichoke, basil, summer wormwood, black walnut husk, cloves, coneflower, milkthistel, Leuzea-Wurzel, Meerrettich, Sesampulver

Mix 1 (kweek) | Nature herb bird mix

voorbereiding en kweekDeze mix is speciaal afgestemt met kruiden voor de gezondheid van de vogel maar ook om hem in de juiste conditie en de juiste vitaminen,aminozuren etc te geven voor en tijdens de kweek. Deze mix bevat 40 kruiden Gebruik: gebruik 5 gram op 1 kg zaad / eivoer. 2 of 3x in de...

www.herbbirdmix.nl

 

[Mizzely]

what do you think about this supplement? could this provide the needed nutrients that are missing in a seedmix?


This mix is specially tailored with herbs for the health of the bird, but also to give it the right condition and the right vitamins before and during breeding. This mix contains 40 herbs

Ingredients: bee pollen, chlorella, spirulina, broccoli, thyme, nettle, quina, dandelion, ginger, oregano, almonds, garlic, propolis, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, turmeric, brewer's yeast, aronia berries, mint, icelandic seaweed, Pau D'Arco, red maca , black maca, yellow maca, beard moss, alfalfa leaf, rosemary, marigold, mallow, burdock root, artichoke, basil, summer wormwood, black walnut husk, cloves, coneflower, milkthistel, Leuzea-Wurzel, Meerrettich, Sesampulver

Mix 1 (kweek) | Nature herb bird mix

voorbereiding en kweekDeze mix is speciaal afgestemt met kruiden voor de gezondheid van de vogel maar ook om hem in de juiste conditie en de juiste vitaminen,aminozuren etc te geven voor en tijdens de kweek. Deze mix bevat 40 kruiden Gebruik: gebruik 5 gram op 1 kg zaad / eivoer. 2 of 3x in de...

www.herbbirdmix.nl

It looks like a great addition to the diet but it doesn't have a vitamin breakdown so it's hard to know what all they're actually getting in it

 

[Vera]

I think it is great as a supplement yes,but i don't think it can replace a vitamin and mineral supplement?

On the other hand, wild birds don't use vitamin supplements.

Wouldn't a good seedmix, sprouted seeds and a supplement like these be sufficient for them?

 

[fashionfobie]

I think it is great as a supplement yes,but i don't think it can replace a vitamin and mineral supplement?

On the other hand, wild birds don't use vitamin supplements.

Wouldn't a good seedmix, sprouted seeds and a supplement like these be sufficient for them?

I tend to agree with the sentiment. I feed whole foods (sprouts, veggies, some fruit and quality seed) to my birds and it works for my species. My birds are also brave eaters and eat their veggies !

I dont think we can quickly compare what we do to wild birds. Parrots eat a lot of stuff in the 'wild' that isn't the best for them. Some birds even eat plants in the wild that can be toxic to them, but they also have access to other plants/minerals that can counteract the effects. Toucans for example have been found to have a relationship with a particular plant that allows them to eat things they couldn't without this plant's by-products.

In the captive settings of our homes I think we need to be sensible about our own limitations. We can not recreate the natural biomes our birds are from in most cases. And some people may need supplements because of their location, their birds unique diet preferences, or some other reason.

And 'herbal mixes' can also come with problems, maybe less so in your country, but in some countries the food quality control of pet foods is poor. There could be contamination from things like farming pesticides.

No shoe fits all. These are just some things I consider and think on.