Recipes

At Ruffled Feathers Aviary we feed our birds a wide variety of foods. We feed a good pelleted bird diet as the base, followed by 30% seed, or less depending on the species of parrot. For instance, Amazons and Conures can gain weight easily on seed so it is fed only as a treat. We also feed sprouted seeds and beans, bird bread and fresh fruits and vegetables. For Eclectus we feed a special seed mix designed specifically for them by the top breeders of Eclectus in the United States . Read here for details. The following are some of the favorites of all the birds that we have here at our aviary:

FRUITS	VEGETABLES	OTHER FOOD
apples	broccoli	cornbread
oranges, tangerines	corn and corn on the cob (feed the cob too to bigger birds, they love to chew it up	pasta, regular and colored/flavored
bananas	peas	popcorn, boil it until it is soft
grapes	carrots	sprouted seeds
pomegranates	zucchini	cooked beans
cherries (without the pit)	kale and other dark green leafy vegetables (not iceberg lettuce)	whole wheat toast with peanut butter spread thin
blueberries, cranberries	green beans	plain cheerios
strawberries	dandelion greens	sunflower seeds and other nuts, unsalted
peaches, apricots (without the pit)	sweet potatoes and yams	oatmeal (no sugar added)
mango	cauliflower	yogurt
papaya	chilies	chicken, turkey
kiwi	frozen mixed vegetables, thawed	brown rice

Experiment! The rule of thumb is pretty much that if it is considered 'health food' your bird can have it. Use your discretion though. Salt, sugar and fat should be kept strictly to a minimum. An obese bird does not usually have a very long life span so be good to your pet, keep them away from the potato chips and pizza!

Remember.... no avocado for your birds!
NEVER feed chocolate, caffeine, avocado, rhubarb leaves, alcohol and fruit pits. These foods are toxic to your bird.

We highly recommend visiting http://www.chinaprairie.com if you are buying a bird from us, as all of our baby birds are weaned onto (among other foods) their sprouting mixes. Birds love it, people love it, even the dog loves it!

Bird Bread
1 cup flour
1 cup corn meal or polenta
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt                                           You may substitute two boxes of Jiffy Corn
1/4 cup sugar                                             Muffin mix for these ingredients if you wish.
2 eggs with shell crushed                           Mix it as directed on box.
1/3 cup canola oil
2 cups milk

Mix all ingredients thoroughly then add one or more of the following:

2 mashed bananas
1 cup small bird pellets
1 cup thawed frozen mixed vegetables
1 tablespoon spirulina (blue-green algae, found at your health food store)
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/3 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1/4 cup shelled unsalted sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons poppy seeds and/or sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 450. Pour mixture into a greased 9 x 13 pan, two may be needed depending on how many extra goodies you add, and bake for 30 minutes. Cool until warm and serve with some fresh greens such as broccoli, kale etc. Our birds just love it warm from the oven. Refrigerate leftovers. Experiment with what you put in your bread. The combinations are endless.

Just Parrots Soft Food Mix

1 lb. frozen mixed vegetables (thawed, usually has corn, beans, peas and carrots in it)
3 1/2 cups uncooked whole corn that has cooked all night in crockpot and then drained
3/4 cup uncooked pinto beans (or other mixed beans) that has cooked with the above whole corn
4 cups cooked rice or macaroni
1/2 gallon jar of sprouts
Add any one or more of the following:
1-2 apples cored and diced
1-2 oranges sliced
4-6 stalks of bok choy and/or swiss chard chopped
1/2 sweet potato cooked for one minute in microwave
1-2 tomatoes
1 cucumber
1 zucchini or yellow summer squash

You can be creative and add just about anything you'd like that is safe for the birds. Use grapes, leafy green vegetables,
melons, squash, bananas, pears and so on. For birds that are feeding babies, we chop up a hard boiled egg (s)
and add that to give their babies.
From Joan of Just Parrots Aviary

Bean Mix

Cook 2 cups brown rice in 4 cups water
Cook 1 package (16 oz.) 16 bean soup mix minus the flavor packet, drain
Cook 1 package (16 oz.) multi-colored pasta, drain
Mix all this together with 3 to 5 pounds of thawed frozen mixed vegetables

Freeze in ice cube trays for individual servings or in small freezer bags for larger servings.
You may want to cut this recipe in half if you have less than 5 birds.

Boiled Corn

You can’t get much easier than this one, and the birds just love it! We use whole kernel feed corn, which can be bought at any feed store for under $10.00 for fifty pounds. If you have less birds you can also use regular unpopped popcorn with the same results. Simply simmer it in plenty of water for about 7 hours until it’s soft, or put in in a crock pot overnight. Our birds love it, we have not found one yet that won’t eat it. It freezes very well too, and can be mixed into an endless variety of bird goodies. This is a great way to introduce a reluctant eater into fresh foods.

Homemade Soak and Simmer

2 parts whole corn (same corn as above will do)
1 part whole green peas (use split peas if you can't find them)
1 part whole wheat berries (look in the health food section at Raley's or any health food store)
1 part pinto beans.

Mix all of above ingredients and let it soak in room temperature water for about 8 hours or overnight.
Soaking will let the mix begin to germinate. Then simmer it for 30 minutes to an hour until the beans
and corn are cooked through but not mushy.

Homemade Mineral Blocks

4 cups Plaster of Paris
1/4 teaspoon Powdered Kelp
1 teaspoon crushed eggshell
1 tablespoon crushed oyster shell
1 teaspoon salt
crushed cuttlebone to "taste"
enough water to make a thick consistency

Mix ingredients and pour into molds (ice cube tray or larger).
Use bread ties or wire in the molds so you can hang them onto the cage.