So what do you feed your Ekkie

[Lobby]

So does sound like Jasmine the female Vos will be coming to live with us in a week or so. I know that they want her to be at our bird mart adoption table to let people be a bit of bling to get people to look.

So what is safe to feed an Ekkie? What recipes do you all have? I will do a search later but I always like to ask to get fresh answers. I believe that all intelligent birds should do some foraging so what can I put into foraging toys for Jasmine? Can she (I know each Ekkie is an individual so this is in general) have Nutra-Berries? Jas is just discovering toys so foraging my be a bit off. I use a lot of coffee filters with the birds but I don't know if that would work well with "wet" foods.

Any ideas would be welcomed.

 

[Saemma]

Don't have an ekkie here but from what I have gathered, they tend to be very good eaters!! Lots of raw and cooked dark green and orange vegetables, grain, rice and legume mash. I think I've read to stay away from any pellet with spirulina in it. Congrats on your new addition!!

 

[newf]

The first place that was suggested I go and read was the website Land of Vos. I read and learned so much from that site on what is good to feed ekkies. You probably already know about that site. It truly is a fantastic place to learn things about ekkies.

Skittles loves any type of mash I can make for him. Birdie bread is his next favorite. I take that back, pretty much anything is his favorite..lol He didn't get any fresh food or anything like mash at his previous home, so he is making up for lost time here I think. I have yet to give him anything he won't eat. Like Saemma said with the pellets, you have to watch the spirulina. I don't feed pellets to Skittles as I am afraid to give him anything right now that would compromise his health more than it already is. I do feed him some Higgins seed mix. They have a couple of varieties, and he does like that. He doesn't get alot of it though. I am fairly new to Ekkies as well, so I am learning as we go too. Fortunately for us, Skittles hasn't shown any signs of toe tapping or any allergic reactions to any food we have fed him yet. I know other ekkies can and do have food allergies, so you have to be aware of what you are feeding them to avoid those problems.

I can only go by what Skittles does here in regards to foraging. He doesn't forage well. He didn't have that opportunity at his previous home, so it is taking him quite some time to get that concept. I have tried foraging toys with him, but he gets frustrated trying to get into them and gives up. So I stopped with the foraging toys. Now I just place different fruits and veggies in places around his cage and cover them with a paper towel or something he can easily remove to find his treat. I didn't think of the coffee filters before. But now that you mentioned them, I will have to try those. Thanks for the idea!

I have been making more recipes from the Health Bird Cookbook. They have wonderful recipes in there which I can feed all the birds. He loves Nutriberries, but again, he only gets them every once in awhile. I try to feed him, and the other birds, the freshest foods I can and try to minimize anything that is processed.

Good luck with your new addition.

 

[CarmieJo]

Howard eats everything except fruit. He has oatmeal almost every morning, lots of vegies, pasta and loves mashes. He plays a little with his Foraging Wheel, likes his Big Drawers but doesn't play with any of the other foraging toys we have bought. He loves presents so we wrap all kinds of things, including bites of vegies, in coffee filters. We also cover his dishes with coffee filters and then put them back in the holders with the filter between the dish and holder so he has to forage to get what is inside.

 

[Birdiemarie]

Because of their long digestive tract ekkies absorb a high % of what is in the foods they eat so they need foods high in fiber to help move food through the digestive tract quickly. They also need calcium and Vit A healthy foods (Ruby likes sweet potato, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts). All additives (salt, sugars, vitamin fortification) should be avoided. Many ekkies are prone to and may develop food allergies from too much protein and/or other additives so be diligent in checking food labels. Spirulina is very high in protein so avoid it (read the sticky about Spirulina). Pay attention to the overall amount of protein your bird eats over the course of the day. Many parronts give their ekkies pellets but I feel it is a big risk (even the pellets made for ekkies may cause a food sensitivity to develop). So be very careful if you feed pellets by learning what the signs for developing sensitivity are (see the sticky on Food Allergy Symptoms). Food allergies can develop quickly or can take months or longer to show up. Once developed it can alter the health of your ekkie forever.

Ruby's diet consists of whatever and how many veggies I can get her to eat. She's a picky eater so I hide the veggies she wont eat (if she sees them) in birdy bread. She's sensitive to corn so I substitute different flours instead of using corn meal in birdy bread. She gets a lot of different kinds of rice (white rice being the least used), grains, edible flowers, herbs. She's sensitive to protein so she only gets beans and nuts sparingly. She gets no seed. She gets the Unpellet Mix daily which she loves. Phoenix Foraging Rolls, LLC

She's not a fan of fruit but will eat apple and sometimes banana.

Here is a link on foraging ideas for soft food that helped me:
http://forums.avianavenue.com/enrichment-foraging-park/19866-need-suggestions.html
I wrap her treats in paper cupcake liner, paper towel square, etc and hide them around her cage and in her hanging toys. She also has foraging toys and drawers.
Check the label on Nutriberries for additives and Vitamin fortification.

Ruby also get a health regiment of Milk Thistle seed, Bee Pollen granules and Flax seed every day.