From the editor
WHEN I BOUGHT MY first parrot over 20 years ago, I was sold a cage and a box of seed and told that was all my bird needed.
It was several years before I learned from a vet that an all-seed diet is a recipe for disaster.
That's when I started cutting up fruits and vegetables for my cockatiel.
WHEN WE GOT Louie, our macaw, I learned that parrots can eat all sorts of other people foods, too, including bread, noodles, even bits of fish and beef.
I learned that, in fact, some devoted owners cook for their parrots, using favorite people recipes they've modified for birds.
This issue's lead feature, "Bon Appe-tweet!", starting on this page, offers a sampling of some of these inventive dishes.
NOT BEING A VERY enthusiastic cook in general, I've never been one to slave over a hot stove for my birds.
But I decided to try Mike's Manna Mash, included in our story, because it helps prevent feather plucking, according to Mike Burton, owner of the Web site www.BirdSense.com.
For some reason, I had always pictured bird mashes as unappetizing oatmeal-like gruels.
Manna Mash, an all-but-the-kitchen-sink concoction, is more like a chunky, colorful fruit-and-vegetable soup.
It has a sweet taste, so I often found myself licking it off my fingers during preparation.
But I don't think I'll ever sit down to a bowl of Manna, partly because of the powdered kelp.
That's okay. Louie the macaw loved it from the get-go.
When I first served him Manna Mash, I held my breath like the kids in the Life Cereal commercial waiting for Mikey's verdict.
AFTER ROOTING around to make sure no pistachios, his favorite food, were hidden in the mash, Louie began to eat with relish.
Every few minutes he raised his food-flecked beak to exclaim, "Mmmm!"
"He likes it!" I yelled to my husband.
Louie still gets food scraps off the table, pistachios and corn niblets, his favorite treat. But the mash is the main course.
He still feather picks, but after years of struggling over what to feed Louie, it's a relief to know he's probably eating the most complete diet possible.
MONSTER MASH. When frozen in daily portions, Mike's Manna Mash and other multi-gallon recipes will feed one or two birds for months.
So it's a good idea to halve or quarter ingredients the first time you try a dish.
Even when I quartered Manna Mash, I still had to mix it in the sink. We're talking a whole lot of bird food.
If you have a bird recipe you'd like to share, please send it to us. We'll include it in a future issue of ParrotChronicles.com.
MANY OF YOU wrote to comment on "A backyard aviary," the lead feature in our Winter 2001-2002 issue. (See this issue's Mailbag.)
Some of you raised the important issue of possible exposure to the mosquito-borne West Nile virus, now reported throughout the eastern United States. For an update, see "West Nile virus and your parrot" in this issue.
AN ESCAPED BIRD is a heartache I've never experienced and hope I never have to.
What a horrible thought, knowing your parrot is somewhere out there alone, braving the elements and trying to fend off other animals.
But believe it or not, escape is not an automatic death sentence for a bird.
I was surprised to learn just how common recoveries are in this issue's series of articles on the topic.
To read all about it, head over to the top right of this page.
There, you'll also find links to our other features in this issue on grief and how to clean the house without compromising bird or human health.
Carla Thornton, Editor
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Bon appe-tweet!
Is your bird bored with pellets? Sick of seed? Punch up his diet with these home-cooked treats.
 | | Mike's Manna Mash, one of many parrot meals you can make yourself, looks almost good enough for the dinner table. |
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Text and photos by Carla Thornton
IF HE WERE LIVING WILD in Australia, your cockatiel might be dining on casuaina nuts. Your pionus, a South American native, might have pico pico berries for lunch or a few seed pods from
an Inga tree. And your macaw would be munching on the leaves and bark of the Costa Rican gallinazo tree.
In the wild, parrots feast on a banquet of plants, seeds, fruits and small insects. In captivity, our birds depend on us to keep them well fed, and that's not always easy. We can't exactly reach out the window and grab a handful of Inga pods. On the other hand, there's no avian equivalent of Alpo we can dump in a bowl every morning before rushing off to work. What to do?
The all-natural diet
Many experts believe that the best way to feed a parrot is to simply let him nosh on a wide variety of healthy human foods. By tempting them with a range of vegetables, fruits and grains, we can provide our birds with close to the same nutrients they would consume in the wild, without relying on processed pellets or supplementary vitamins.
Exceptions to this rule include lories and lorikeets, nectar-eating parrots that require a special liquid diet. And there are some seemingly ordinary people foods you should never feed your bird, such as avocado. (For further details, see ParrotChronicles.com's FAQs).
So how do you go about upgrading your parrot's diet? You can toss a broccoli spear or noodle into his food dish off your own plate whenever you think about it.
However, meals made just for him will result in a more consistent diet and, ultimately, less hassle for you.
A handful of companies sell prepackaged dishes for parrots. These heat-and-serve meals are convenient for owners but can be a little pricey. For instance, Beak Appetit sells six pounds of mash for $41, including shipping.
If you're on a budget or want more control over the ingredients, it's easy to make your own wholesome bird meals.
Recipe roundup
With the latter in mind, we asked some experienced parrot-food chefs to share their favorite recipes with us. Following are almost two dozen breads, mashes and salads geared for the feathered set.
You don't have to be an executive sous chef to make these dishes. Many require little more than dicing and mixing and bagging the results for the freezer. Some are baked items you won't mind nibbling on yourself. Others are flock-size mashes that will keep your bird in healthful nummies for weeks.
All are valuable time savers that will spare you the trouble of hand-cutting or cooking food for your bird every day.
A few caveats: If you intend to continue feeding your bird pellets, omit any vitamins called for in these recipes to avoid overdosing. You may also want to use non- or low-lactose products for any dairy that's called for, as lactose may bother some birds.
Scrub all fresh vegetables to remove pesticides. And if you heat portions of a dish before serving, be careful not to make the food too hot for your bird to eat.
So roll up your sleeves, head for the kitchen, and prepare to whip up some beak-smacking fare your bird will love. Before you know it, you'll be the Julia Child of psittacine cuisine. Most important, your parrot will be eating a well-rounded diet - one he may enjoy almost as much as tree bark.
3 eggs
2/3 cup of milk
2 boxes of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
1 jar sweet potatoes or carrots baby food
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup pellets
Optional: 1/2 cup seed
Mix all ingredients in large bowl; bake in muffin tins or cake pans at 450 degrees for about 25 minutes. Can be frozen.
Courtesy of Clyde Keeney and the American Cockatiel Society.
2/3 cups oatmeal (not instant)
1 banana, sliced or mashed
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/3 cups water
Bring water to a boil, add all ingredients, and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat, cover and let stand until cool.
Courtesy of the American Cockatiel Society
1 1/2 cups mixed beans
1/2 cup split peas
1/2 cup brown rice
1/2 cup cracked corn
1/2 cup dried peppers
Soak beans overnight in water, drain and rinse. Cover with water again, turn on heat and boil for 2 minutes. Let stand and cool for 1 hour. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently, until water is absorbed, or about 1 hour. Cool and keep refrigerated or freeze in baggies.
Courtesy of the American Cockatiel Society
2 eggs
1 jar sweet potato baby food
1/4 milk
bread slices
Mix all ingredients except bread. Dip bread in mixture and pan fry until golden brown. They love it!
Frank Dillin, fdillin@aol.com
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Birdwise Baked Macaroni with Tofu
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1 cup small macaroni shells or elbows, preferably whole wheat
1/4 cup cracked corn
1 egg
1 jar Gerber vegetable chicken dinner #3 large
1/4 cup steamed and crushed broccoli
1 large carrot (grated large if your bird likes carrots, small if he doesn't)
1/8 cup toasted wheat germ
1/4 cup mashed tofu (Mari Nu Firm Silken)
Optional:
1/8 cup grated low-fat, low- (or non-) lactose cheese
Shell from the egg, crushed, or 1 tablespoon grated cuttlebone if bird is larger than a cockatiel)
Toasted sesame seeds
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cover macaroni and corn with water in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil and cook until al dente (semi firm). Drain and pour in a greased 9" x 4" loaf pan (or similar size). Add remaining ingredients, mixing well. Bake approximately 40 minutes or until consistency is no longer "wet". Sprinkle top with optional sesame seeds.
Cher. Angelo, Byrdwise@aol.com
Next page
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More recipes
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Also in this issue...
An open door and Boom!, your bird is gone. Here's how to maximize your chances of recovery. Microchipping can help someone identify your bird, but is it worth the trouble? In "Okra's big adventure", meet a nanday conure who made it back home against all odds.
Harsh cleansers can kill your bird--and harm your own health. Here are some great alternatives.
It's never easy losing a pet. Veterinarian and grief counselor Dr. James Harris shares tips for healing. In "Love story," ParrotChronicles.com editor Carla Thornton remembers her feisty cockatiel.
If you live in the eastern United States, this deadly disease may already lurk nearby. Here's how to protect your parrot.
In the news
From The Washington Post
From Ananova
From The Charlotte Observer
From Ananova
From Ananova
From The Gazette
From Ananova
From Ananova
Your turn
What's the biggest challenge you've faced as a parrot owner? How did you overcome it? Send us a 750- to 1,000-word essay on the topic by May 25, 2002 and you may win a $50
gift certificate to DrsFosterSmith.com!
Would you hire a bird behaviorist? If not, why not? If you have, did it help? Let us know and we'll report our findings in an upcoming issue.
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