Conference 7.286::pet_birds

    Mad Max loves cider too.  My husband has fits, but I let Max drink
    from my glass all the time.  He also likes most fruit drink/punch
    type things and ice tea.  I let him have whatever he wants from
    my glass, unless it is alcohol, carbonated, or milk.  We buy the
    Crystal Light drinks a lot, and he likes most of those.  Koolaid
    too.
    
    I never thought about olives before, but I don't know of any reason
    why not.  I'll have to try this as something new for Max.
    
    Have you tried grapes?  Max will always eat a grape.
    
    A new one I discovered recently is Milk Bone Dog Buscuits.  I was
    giving one to my dog once, and Max started screeching like he was
    jealous.  So I handed him one.  He seemed to think it was some kind
    of a funky cracker.  But he ate most of it. 

	Hi Laura!

		I understand the alcohol or carbonated drinks but is
milk bad for birds? We were told that he shouldn't have cheese either.
Is it dairy foods in general? I wonder if Doc likes iced tea we usually
drink that all summer...!

		We have given him grapes, he does eat those up fast! We
tried him on corn for the first time last night. He is so-so about that.
I have been patiently giving him carrots too, but he doesn't seem real
keen on them. With all the talk about getting enough Vitamin A and calcium,
I'd like to keep offering him those veggies.

		Milk bone dog biscuits!!!! That's funny!

			Val

    Hi!
    
    Cider is ok!  It's fruit!  but I'd limit it though...I would not
    want to be the one to clean up after him, if he gets a lot...8^}
    
    And olives are fine, and the pimento is alright...pimentos are only
    roasted red peppers....  I sure hope  'ol Doc makes out alright
    a the vets tomorrow!  Please let us know, OK?
    
    Jean

    My vet told me that Cheese is a must for birds, especially the harder
    stuff because of the lactobacillus (sp?) the birds need to help
    digest food.  That is basically what ORLAC is.  My birds get a little
    square of cheese to eat for 15 minutes or so in the morning.  There
    was also a BIRD TALK issue on CHEESE for birds and how their diets
    need it.  It was about two months ago I think.  My birds also get
    egg with the shell on ever 3 days.  Too much causes liver problems.
    I understood that most dairy products are okay!

    I would not give my birds any thing with nutra sweet in it eather.
    this stuff metobolizes into formalhyde in the human body.  not good
    for the liver so you can see what it may do to a bird.
    
    I feed my parrot just about any fruit, veggie and seed he won'ts.
    he get only one nut a day though.  the sunflower seeds are limited
    but he does not eat that much.  his favorite foods are warm scrambled
    eggs and tofu warm of course.  he also eats my forified Bourke seed
    that consists of cannary seed, thisle & hemp.  it has all my oils
    and vitimins along with the minerils.  he also eats some pellets
    I got at the feed store for parrots.  

    I don't offer him milk mostly because I know he doesn't like it.
    I do have a friend with a parrot who told me that she was told not
    to feed chocolate or dairy products.  But I do give Max cheese some
    times, and it didn't seem to harm him.  Now that I hear you all
    say it's good, I'll make a point to give it to him.

    My bird also LOVES, thats a big LOVE too, Yogurt!

    re .-1
    DITTO...DITTO...LOVES!!!!! yogart
    
    Zackery also loves cheese so much, that I use it for trick training.
    That is the only time he gets cheese now.  I tried lots of things such
    as sunflower seeds, peanuts, etc, but cheese is by far the best
    
    Dom

    Hi All!  
    
    
    Cheese is good!  Like mentioned before, it has lactosbacillis, which
    is necessasry bacteria.  Yogurt contains Acidophillus...an intestinal
    bacteria.  My vet recommended a LONG time ago that until we knew
    what was wrong with my Halley, that he wanted her in plain yogurt,
    not homogonized, till we knew what meds to put her on.  The
    acidophillus helps to replace the bacteria that is needed to fight
    off bad germs, that become consumed when weakened.
    
    I put acidophillus in the baby formula too!  In fact, we have 3
    baby parakeets living like hamsters in an aquarium on the counter
    in my kitchen.  Two of the birds crops were not emptying fast enough,
    and I was REAL afraid of sour crop...next feeding, 12 hours later,
    I added the acidophillus to the formula and they digested right
    on schedule!  So now, they eat every 4 hours, they digest all their
    food and we don't worry about sour crop!
    
    Jean H.
    

    I read somewhere in either this conference or in one of the numerous
    bird books that I have read lately that sprouts are good for birds.
    Can someone elaborate a little about what type of sprouts are best??
    Also, how about a how to discussion - what type of seed, where does
    one find it, how and where to grow ...  I have wanted to grow sprouts
    for myself for awhile but never got around to it - seems like now
    is a good time to start!!
    	Thanks!
    			Jane
    

    As far as I have heard, if you purchase a fresh supply of seed,
    you can place some in a dish, add a small amount of H2O and keep
    it moist.  In a few days, you can give your buddies the sprouts.
    Is that correct?
    
    Vern

    Having two Congo Greys emanating from vastly different backgrounds,
    I wryly smile at the various diets and additives mentione in these
    notes.

    Basil (the male) comes from the Congo. He was about 1� years old when
    got him. His diet consists of Sunflower seeds, then more Sunflower
    seeds, etc. For tha past 4 years, we have tried just about everything
    we could think of. Nope - only Sunflower seeds. The exceptions are:
    the odd Monkey nut, and (in the past 3 months) Hazelnuts. Have you
    any idea of the problem of attempting to train a bird who does not
    have a 'treat'. He'll take food from hand no problem. However, you
    can gauge the degree of disgust by the angle of trajectory the offered
    titbit takes when it leaves his area. If it's a Monkey nut, then
    he just drops it ("I'll get it later"). If it's another experiment
    (eg. buttered toast), then it leaves the cage horizontally and ends
    up some metres away. To summarise; in 4 years we have got him
    interested in only one supplemental food (Hazelnuts) - we have tried.
    
    Lucy the female was hand-fed in the UK. She eats anything *except*
    Sunflower seeds ! Amongst her favourites are: Steak pie (crust & meat),
    chicken legs, Spare Ribs, buttered toast, cooked carrots, sprouts,
    uncooked spaghetti, apple cores, etc., etc. She will eat just about
    anything, so long as it comes off my plate. My wife can offer her the
    same titbit, and Lucy refuses it. Lucy does this only when I am also in
    the room - she'll accept from my wife if I'm away ! Strange !
    
    I heard the term 'omniverous' (can digest about anything). It's
    absolutely true. Considering that they have totally different digestive
    systems to humans, it's amazing how they manage.
    
    Jim Burke

    There was a good article in the last couple of months about what
    a woman did to get her cockatoo off a seed-only diet.  You might
    want to check it out.  It was not an easy task, but for the health
    of your bird probably worthwhile.
    

    Is it possible for a bird to get too may vitamins? 
    Is it harmful?
    
    I'm presently feeding Piedy L/M Vita-Vittles (seed mix) which I think 
    has vitamins in them, and I sprinkle Super Preen powder on his veggies.
    He's not real crazy about the seed mix though.  From what I can tell,
    he loves the safflower that's in the mix, and he eats the corn 
    kernals, peanuts, pumpkin seed that's in the mix (mostly the stuff
    that's not that great for him).  
    
    There's also some pellets in the mix (looks similar to rabbit food
    pellets) that he won't go near...those ALWAYS get tossed out.  I tried
    putting a tiny bit of milk with the pellets.  He licked up the little
    bit of milk and tossed the pellets, as usual.
    
    I take out the sunflower seed and use  them for training treats.  He
    doesn't eat the small seeds that's in the mix either.  Basically, most
    of the food gets dumped.
    
    My question  is....what is in the Topper mix?  I'm thinking about 
    trying some.
    
    Seems like this is a fav among the birds.  
    
    Juliette

    Topper is safflower based, but there's lot of other little "things"
    in there which I honestly don't know what they are called.  My Max
    eats all the safflower, and some of the other stuff, I believe.
    Topper is also treated with vitamins.
    
    Laura and Mad Max

    10.73 has the info on Topper

    I have a mollucan and a lesser (timor) sulfur crested cockatoo and i
    feed them only natural food and add avitron vitamins and minerals in
    their water, also they are feed well washed greens and fruit (collards,
    brocclii, cauliflower, apples and grapes. I doubt that they find
    brightly colored seeds and especially GREEN peanuts in the wild! It's
    my personal belief that all that FD&C food coloring over the long run
    can only be detremental to their health, along with any other
    chemicals-preservitives that are found in the most reputable of food
    brands. My birds are both healthy and extemely affectionate.
        Anybody else share these feelings?
    
    stan

    
    	I have a "food" question... I have check the notes on feeding and 
    	came up with about 177 notes!  I have read a good deal of them 
    	already and have not found my answer.
    
    	My question is this:  Is it ok to feed frozen veggies?  
    
    	I will be getting a 'Tiel baby in a few weeks that is being
    	weaned on Topper and Pretty Bird pellets.  I feel I will be 
    	able to offer some veggies and fruits fresh, but there is only
    	my hubby and myself - so we don't buy tons of food.  I do however,
    	use frozen veggies and thought I would be able to offer more 
    	variety if I could feed them to my new baby.
    
    	I did find in one "home-brew" mix someone did use frozen veggies
    	(So I thought this should be ok...)
    
    	I have looked in my two bird books (Bird Owner's Home Health and
    	Care Handbook and The New Cockatiel Handbook) and frozen didn't
    	seem to be mentioned.
    
    	Susan

    Hi Susan,
    
    Just like for yourself Fresh is Best, Frozen is second best. My Amazon
    get frozen corn almost everyday. I put it in the Fridge each night
    so it is thawed by morning.
    
    Doug

    re:19
    
    	Thanks for your note Doug!  I feel better about feeding the frozen
    	now...  The way I figgered it..  If I had to feed some frozen it
    	still be better then not offering the extra veggie selection.
    
    	I hope getting my bundle of feathers this early will help him in
    	NOT being TOO picky!
    
    	I can't wait.....  Taco should be ready to come home in another
    	week.  I got the cage all set up, the toys, feed dishes, comfort
    	perches, the playpen on the top of the cage etc.... etc...  I must
    	of re-arranged the cage a dozen times - my hubby thinks I am crazy!
    
    	Yes Jeanne... I am STILL wandering around the desert looking for
    	Mesquite trees!!!  heh-heh-heh....  I hope Taco likes Palo Verde
    	They seem to be the ONLY trees in my neck of the "woods"!!
    
    	Susan

    Are papaya seed okay?  I bought a papaya for Jade and the seeds look
    like something she would enjoy, but I cut them out this morning as I
    wasn't sure,
    
    diane
    

    .14  asked:
    >> Is it possible for a bird to get too may vitamins?    
    >>Is it harmful?
    
    I boarded my cockateil at the vet's over the holidays.  He eats a
    version of Jean's Magic Bird Glop (in note 10.** I think) and pellets.
    Every few days, I usually sprinkled a littel Nekton - S on his food.
    When I picked him up, the vet advised me to stop giving him the vitamins.
    It seems too much of a good thing is bad.  She said that because he had a
    very healthy diet, he was getting all of the vitamins he needed.  Too
    much would build up in his liver and cause vitamin toxicity.  It was
    not that I was sprinkling a lot on his food and just over-doing
    things; she definitely said that any at all was too much and not
    necessary (for a bird on an already balanced diet.  I'm sure birds on
    seed diets are another issue.)
    
    	Laura