Feeding Greens

[Olympic_Aiairies]

So I thought I'd start a thread where we could talk about what greens our birds like, love or hate along with what greens should be avoided or fed only in moderation.

My zebras love pea shouts, romaine lettuce and alfalfa sprouts. They like spinach and kale.

On the subject of kale. I few of them loved it. Others not so much. I just gave it to them raw has anyone tried cooking it? If so did they like it better?

It's worth noting that spinach and alfalfa should only be fed in moderation. Too much isn't good as it can leach other vitamins and minerals from our feathered friends. I usually don't feed either anymore than once a week.

[MiaCarter]

My guys love Kale.
I did try giving them cooked Kale and it went untouched.
In fact, the only cooked foods they've ever really been enthusiastic about are egg and pasta.

That's really the primary green for my guys. Others haven't gained enough popularity to warrant the preparation effort.

Can you tell me more about these pea shoots?
Do you grow them?

I don't know if this counts, but I just started giving dried herb salad and oh my goodness....they LOVE it! (Which is rare for my picky bunch!)
I know they're supposed to pick out the herbs that they need, enabling them to self-medicate. But my guys go nuts and eat it all! Mostly Sylvia, who is my pickiest eater by far! So maybe she eats it all because she needs the nutrients! She only eats a few things reliably: a couple seed varieties from her seed mix, millet, peas, bugs and the occasional bite of eggs and cucumbers. Awful eater!

I use a baby food jar cap and fill with the herb salad and the five in my main cage will pick it over to nothingness within the better part of a day.

[Lacybug]

I've heard that giving them herbs is good for them, but I'm not sure which kinds. What do you give your guys MiaCarter ?

[MiaCarter]

Lacybug -- I give Twin Beaks Aviary's herb salad, which is a blend of 22 different herbs.

I found a list of them here: http://www.justbirdstuff.com/Herb-Salad ... 16306.html

Some are really common, like dandelion, garlic, lavender, licorice, and thyme.
Most of the others I've only ever heard of and would have no idea where to get them!

[Corkysgirl]

Mine love broccoli. I grow broccoli sprouts also. Mine love peas sprouts too. This is an important link to read because it speaks about moderation for foods "we" me included, have been feeding our birds daily. The main word is moderation, and alternate the foods we give because too much of even good things can sometimes cause problems. I learned a lot from it...not feeding the same foods over and over. I'm very allergic to tannins. I didn't realize it can also hurt my birds. Very interesting! http://www.finchinfo.com/diet/safe_toxi ... _foods.php

[Sally]

My birds love Herb Salad. They also love broccoli, kale, romaine lettuce, cucumbers, corn on the cob, cabbage, collard greens, dandelions, chickweed, green grass seed, carrots (a little)--the list goes on. Mostly it just happens to be whatever I have in the fridge.

[Corkysgirl]

I never tried cucumbers...probably because I'm allergic. Gotta see how they like them.
Another thing I feeds my birds is organic Chia seeds (I'm careful they're not from China). They have a lot of Omega 3 & 6 and Calcium and other vitamins, potassium, phosphorus, etc. They love them!

[Olympic_Aiairies]

My guys also love the herb salad. They have access to it at all times so they tend to pick through it and take what they need.

Mia when you say you feed peas are the cooked?

[lovezebs]

Where do you all get this dry herb salad? Is it bird food or people food?
My guys get romaine (love it), grated carrot, kale (not very popular), broccolini, parsley, beet greens, carrot greens, baby spring mix, cucumber (very popular, they eat all the middle out, leaving little green peel rings), apples, bananas, grapes, some melon and occasionally some Orange. They all love red swiss chard but it gives them red poop once in a while Also, they enjoy cooked mixed veggies, the carrot/peas/corn/bean frozen variety. I bring it to a boil and then just simmer to soften up a bit, cool and serve. They love it.

[dutch]

One of these everday....they love it

[Sheather]

I offer, in order of bird preference, romaine lettuce, broccoli, dandelions, and kale regularly. They enjoy it all,n] but especially lettuce and broccoli. The java sparrows eat an entire portion of the latter, tough stalks and all!

[Sally]

lovezebs It is Twin Beaks Aviary Herb Salad. Many vendors sell it. One of them is our own member nixity.

[MiaCarter]

Olympic_Aiairies -- That's a good question. I don't think so.
I get canned peas for my dogs.
I have a veggie-crazy dog, so I do a corn, peas and carrots mix for his snacks. And it's a good fiber-rich, low-fat snack for my diabetic dog, who wants to eat everything that's not nailed down! LOL
Anyways, I always scoop out a few spoonfuls for the birds for the next couple days and pop 'em in the fridge.
So no, I don't think they're cooked. I just made up a veggie mix batch this morning; I wish I'd read the can! It's now at the very bottom of my trash.

Someone else mentioned beans. My guys loooove beans. Cooked, I believe, since they're mushy, not hard.

[lovezebs]

dutch
That looks like what we call romaine lettice. Is that what you call it as well? My guys love it. Do you grow your own?

[lovezebs]

Sally
Thanks Sally. I'll have to see if it's available here.