AMARANTH a/k/a PIGWEED

[finchandlovebird]

Is this ok to feed finches? I checked it on the internet & found the American Indians used to eat it; plus my granddaughter hulled quite a bit & cooked it (it's like cuoscuous); she ate it too. She's always experimenting with how things were done a hundred years or so ago. The seeds are very tiny & black.
I checked all my "don't feed the birds" notes, and did see on one of them that Pigweed should not be fed.
Anyone familiar with Amaranthus??????????????

[debbie276]

Doing a general google search I am finding nothing but good things about feeding the birds Pigweed and/or Amaranthus. Very nutritional and high in protein, birds love it.

[finchandlovebird]

Thanks Debbie, I'll give it a try.

[Chirpington]

Never heard of pigweed. Very interesting.

[jonvill]

I buy amaranth at the health food stores and feed it to my birds. It is a golden colored grain that is high in protien. I cook it in water at a 2:1 ratio for 15 minutes then I remove it from the heat and add grated carrot and kale. My birds like it!

[608duj]

On the farm we kill it in the fields because nothing will eat it - not even the goats.

[finchandlovebird]

Best you start harvesting it for your birds, Manya.

[Betty Blair]

The older folks used to boil the leaves like dandelion or spinach and eat it.

[lou]

It is mixed in with my horses alfalfa, he doesn't touch the stuff
lou