Sweet Heart Aviary Handfed Companion Parrots

NO TEFLON. A good cast iron griddle can be purchased for $10.00 to $20.00 Stainless steel cookware only. If you are not sure if a pan has teflon DONT USE IT! Is that one pan worth your birds life? NO IT IS NOT! Birds can DIE from teflon poisioning with 5 minutes. It causes lesions in their lungs that bleed and fill their lungs with blood, they drown in their own blood. Sorry to be so graphic, but this is one of the most common ways I have heard of birds being killed

Three other very Important things that I am going to start out with.

1. When preparing fresh foods for your birds,

a) always use a plastic or stainless steel cutting board/surface.

b) always disinfect your cutting board! Before and after you cut up fruit.

c) dont forget to disinfect your knife.

2. For disinfecting use Raw Organic Apple Cider Vinegar and water. 1 part Apple Cider Vinegar to 10 parts water.

3. Always wash all fruits and vegetable in raw apple cider vinegar!

Do not feed your birds the rinds or peels of fruit picked off your tree in your back yard.

It is imperative that you feed fresh ORGANIC fruits and Vegetables. Pesticides are not good for humans, much less for parrots.

Fresh foods contain live enzymes that the birds need.

Broccoli and Cauliflower must be steamed. It contains a protein molecule that binds to the calcium in the bird’s body and saps it out of their blood stream

Apple Seed is toxic (VERY). However, when feeding organic apples, you may leave the peel on. Please do not feed any Apples unless they are Organic. Do not feed Spinach to your parrot, there are much better greens that do not contain oxalic acid, such as dandilion, kale, arugula., etc.

FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

ROLLED OATS They soak up the juice and the birds love them.

Organic:

Baby Arugula Leaves

Kale

Swiss Chard

Dandelion leaves

Mustard Greens

Collard Greens

Mache Blend

Carrots

Celery (Peeled)

Apple

Sugar Snap Peas

Cucumber

Bell Pepper

Hot Pepper

Sweet Potato

Walnuts

Hulled Millet

Hulled Sunflower Seeds

The following items are not organic, and if you can find them organic please let me know your source.

Acorn Squash

Butternut Squash

Spaghetti Squash

Other squash in season

Corn on the Cob (still in the husk)

Honeydew Melon

Cantaloupe

For squash and Melon Only: Feed the Seeds! Peel your squash with a potato peeler. Quartering it first makes it easier. (Do not feed the peel)

Mango (Peeled)

Papaya (Peeled) The seeds are relished by the birds! There are two types one is extremely large, both are good.

Organic:

Banana

Kiwi

Grapefruit

Navel oranges

Rasberries

Blueberries

Strawberries

Blackberries

Grapes (organic only) (again very hard to find but do not feed non organic grapes)

Lemon  (adding a squeeze of lemon or grapefruit keeps the food fresh longer)

SPROUTING

When you sprout wash your sprouts before you feed them with the raw apple cider vinegar. You must wash them every time you feed them. You can refridgerate them, however it is very important that you wash them.

DO NOT mix sprouts in your mix! They must be washed, so just add a spoonful on top of their bowl of fresh food.

Sprouting is not hard or time consuming and your birds will thank you for it. The trick to sprouting is the rinsing!. Soak your mix overnight in lots of water (they swell up). Put sprouts in the sprouting tray and cover with a paper towel. EVERY time you walk by it. RINSE.

I sprout: (All organic)

Garbanzo Beans

Chick Peas

Mung Beans

Wheat

Barley

Alfalfa

Sunflower

SOFT FOOD MIXES

Quinoa (cooked)

Barley (cooked)

Navy Beans

Brown Rice

Bulgar

Hulled Millet Cooked

Oatmeal

Rye Berries

Wheat Berries

Amaranth

Sweet Potato

Organic Pumpkin

Squash

Walnuts (Organic)

Almonds Slivers, Pine nuts (shelled)

Granola

I also use Cayenne Pepper and Real lightly ground dried hot peppers and/or fresh hot peppers.

To this I add the following supplements:

Dandelion

Alfalfa

Wheat or Barley Grass (alternate these)

Spirulina

Feather up, proboost supermax, supplements (when needed)  www.allbirdproducts.com

Mix dry supplements thoroughly then add your oil.

I use alternating:

Red Palm Oil

Hemp Oil

Coconut Oil

Flax Seed Oil

SEEDS AND NUTS

Higgins Fruit and Seed for the smaller guys.

Browns Tropical Carnival with extra nuts for the Macaws

Note* The macaws and large cockatoos always have a bowl of plain seeds and nuts in their cage. Hyacinths have a steady supply of Macadamia Nuts. They should always have them accessible.

RECIPIES

Pancakes.

Do not use palm oil as it smokes on your cast iron griddle pure vegetable or olive oil works fine.

Here are some examples of the soft food mixes we make.

I feed my birds a fresh food AND seed and nut diet. DO NOT FEED MY BABIES PELLETS. YOU MIGHT AS WELL FEED THEM DOG FOOD. That is my opinion and I am entitled to it. But logically, since when is dead food, fillers and synthetic viatmins (that are naturally found in fresh food) considered a complete diet?

If you feed pellets, did you ever notice that one day they eat the red ones, the next day the yellow etc? All things created have a natural ability to balance their diet. If you are lacking in Vitamin C you might crave oranges. Birds are the SAME! If you provide them with a wide variety of foods they will naturally balance their diet.