Veggie Mix!
I was just asked about what I give Kappa for a veggie mix, so I thought I would update this old PL post of mine with what I'm now doing and repost it here.
First off the background. Kappa is a 4 year-old dusky conure. She was weaned onto pellets and veggies, and her diet right now is approximately half each (by volume). She is very open to new foods and enjoys variety. She gets a reasonable amount of exercise - she is fully flighted and when she is out of the cage she occasionally flies to different rooms when her people move rooms, or just when she gets bored where she was.
Kappa's pellet mix is many different brands, including Roudybush, Zupreem, Higgins, TOP, and Harrison's. She also gets a small amount of treats, which rotates between almonds in the shell, millet spray, Nutriberries, and dried fruit. I often put some or all of this dry mix into foraging toys, which she enjoys greatly.
I prepare Kappa's veggie mix ahead of time, sometimes as frequently as once a month, sometimes as far apart as every three months, depending on quantities that I buy and how much space I have in the freezer. It takes a whole afternoon to prepare, but I don't have to sit and watch it the entire time. I pack it in multiple plastic containers and defrost a few days worth at a time in the fridge. I serve it to Kappa cold each morning, and I give her a small enough quantity that she can usually eat it in one sitting so I can leave the dish in her cage when I go to work.
Below the cut is more details on the veggie mix, both recipe and photos. Quantities are not exact in my recipe, since I usually eyeball things anyway, and I vary it each time. Everything is organic. My current mix is the result of recommendations from Kappa's breeder/boarder/local parrot store, from her avian certified vet, and from a friend of mine who has worked with educational birds.
Part 1: Grains and Beans
This part I prepare separately since each thing should be cooked. Ingredients include chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans), kidney beans, lima beans, maybe another type of beans, brown rice, whole oats or whole wheat, whole grain pasta. I eyeball 0.5-1 cups (dry) of each. Cook everything in just enough water (so that you don't lose a lot of nutrients to the water that you dump). Freeze most of it, using some in each batch of veggies for the next few months.
Photo of frozen grains/beans mix:
Part 2: The Veggies
Ingredients:
* Broccoli (3-4 stems, include stem and florets)
* Two varieties of leafy greens (such as kale, dandelion greens, bok choi, carrot tops, I try to avoid spinach, I try to have at least one be a "dark leafy green")
* 1 yellow zucchini/squash
* 1 green zucchini/squash
* 1-2 peppers (at least one not green for color variety, can substitute a batch of hot peppers)
* 1-2 apples or pears (remove stem/core/seeds)
* Carrots, corn, and/or peas (sometimes frozen, sometimes fresh, depending on what's available)
* At least one other veggie for variety (ex: sprouts, alfalfa, dried fruit, string beans)
* Alternate times I include 1-5 hard boiled eggs, yolks removed, shells kept
Chop everything into 1" cubes or smaller (some people use a food processor for this part). Keep around 1/3-1/2 (by volume) raw (except the egg). The remaining 1/2-2/3 cook in just enough water (again, so that you don't lose a lot of nutrients to the water that you dump).
Mix cooked and raw veggies. Mix veggies with thawed grains/beans, approximately 1/5 grains/beans and 4/5 veggies. I add a few supplements, most frequently spirulina (for protein), red palm fruit oil (brand: Sunshine factor), other supplement (brand: Pretty Bird/Natural Gold supplement for birds), all roughly as directed. Mix. Pack into small tupperwares. Freeze. Thaw as needed.
Photo of final veggie mix:
Pellet Mix
Kappa also gets a pellet mix, I mix a number of brands together, add a bit of dried fruit, and some treats. Most treats get hidden in foraging toys rather than left out for her. She gets roughly equal volume of pellets and veggies, and actually eats about twice the volume of veggies as pellets (since pellets can stay out a bit longer than veggies due to being dry, I haven't reduced the volume of pellets).
Photo of pellet mix:
Photo spam!
And just to reward you for sticking with me for all this, a few photos of Kappa helping me repack some of her veggie mix.
Ooh, this looks like it could be good...
A delicate bouquet of corn, with an aftertaste of corn.
I'm ready for my close-up!
I hope this helps!
First off the background. Kappa is a 4 year-old dusky conure. She was weaned onto pellets and veggies, and her diet right now is approximately half each (by volume). She is very open to new foods and enjoys variety. She gets a reasonable amount of exercise - she is fully flighted and when she is out of the cage she occasionally flies to different rooms when her people move rooms, or just when she gets bored where she was.
Kappa's pellet mix is many different brands, including Roudybush, Zupreem, Higgins, TOP, and Harrison's. She also gets a small amount of treats, which rotates between almonds in the shell, millet spray, Nutriberries, and dried fruit. I often put some or all of this dry mix into foraging toys, which she enjoys greatly.
I prepare Kappa's veggie mix ahead of time, sometimes as frequently as once a month, sometimes as far apart as every three months, depending on quantities that I buy and how much space I have in the freezer. It takes a whole afternoon to prepare, but I don't have to sit and watch it the entire time. I pack it in multiple plastic containers and defrost a few days worth at a time in the fridge. I serve it to Kappa cold each morning, and I give her a small enough quantity that she can usually eat it in one sitting so I can leave the dish in her cage when I go to work.
Below the cut is more details on the veggie mix, both recipe and photos. Quantities are not exact in my recipe, since I usually eyeball things anyway, and I vary it each time. Everything is organic. My current mix is the result of recommendations from Kappa's breeder/boarder/local parrot store, from her avian certified vet, and from a friend of mine who has worked with educational birds.
Part 1: Grains and Beans
This part I prepare separately since each thing should be cooked. Ingredients include chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans), kidney beans, lima beans, maybe another type of beans, brown rice, whole oats or whole wheat, whole grain pasta. I eyeball 0.5-1 cups (dry) of each. Cook everything in just enough water (so that you don't lose a lot of nutrients to the water that you dump). Freeze most of it, using some in each batch of veggies for the next few months.
Photo of frozen grains/beans mix:
Part 2: The Veggies
Ingredients:
* Broccoli (3-4 stems, include stem and florets)
* Two varieties of leafy greens (such as kale, dandelion greens, bok choi, carrot tops, I try to avoid spinach, I try to have at least one be a "dark leafy green")
* 1 yellow zucchini/squash
* 1 green zucchini/squash
* 1-2 peppers (at least one not green for color variety, can substitute a batch of hot peppers)
* 1-2 apples or pears (remove stem/core/seeds)
* Carrots, corn, and/or peas (sometimes frozen, sometimes fresh, depending on what's available)
* At least one other veggie for variety (ex: sprouts, alfalfa, dried fruit, string beans)
* Alternate times I include 1-5 hard boiled eggs, yolks removed, shells kept
Chop everything into 1" cubes or smaller (some people use a food processor for this part). Keep around 1/3-1/2 (by volume) raw (except the egg). The remaining 1/2-2/3 cook in just enough water (again, so that you don't lose a lot of nutrients to the water that you dump).
Mix cooked and raw veggies. Mix veggies with thawed grains/beans, approximately 1/5 grains/beans and 4/5 veggies. I add a few supplements, most frequently spirulina (for protein), red palm fruit oil (brand: Sunshine factor), other supplement (brand: Pretty Bird/Natural Gold supplement for birds), all roughly as directed. Mix. Pack into small tupperwares. Freeze. Thaw as needed.
Photo of final veggie mix:
Pellet Mix
Kappa also gets a pellet mix, I mix a number of brands together, add a bit of dried fruit, and some treats. Most treats get hidden in foraging toys rather than left out for her. She gets roughly equal volume of pellets and veggies, and actually eats about twice the volume of veggies as pellets (since pellets can stay out a bit longer than veggies due to being dry, I haven't reduced the volume of pellets).
Photo of pellet mix:
Photo spam!
And just to reward you for sticking with me for all this, a few photos of Kappa helping me repack some of her veggie mix.
Ooh, this looks like it could be good...
A delicate bouquet of corn, with an aftertaste of corn.
I'm ready for my close-up!
I hope this helps!