Diet

What do we feed? 
 

Cat's Finch Diet
I feed a small amount of ZuPreem maintenance to my finches. But it is not readily consumed unless there are no other options. I add it to my egg food recipe. It is one of the dry ingredients that helps to soak up the moisture from the egg, shredded carrot, and broccoli. My main reason for feed-
ing pellets at all is in case a future owner decides to feed them converting will not be as difficult. But I do not recommend them as the whole diet.
Cat

Ruth's Dehydrated Patties  (Pellet Substitute)
 I have gotten frustrated trying to find a pellet with quality
and ingredients I felt I could trust 100%, that was also not (IMO) ridiculously overpriced.  So now, I make my own pellets.  I just sprout a whole bunch of different grains, red peas, etc then whirl them in a food processor until they are pasty.  I put that in a bowl, then run a bunch of fresh veggies and fruits in season through the processor until they are in smallish bits but not too fine (I know, real precise, aren't I?) I mix them with the sprouted grain mash, then form them into little patties and dry them in my dehydrator.  If needed to help the mix keep it's shape, I find banana works well.  I use only certified organic
ingredients.
        Sometimes I add different supplements as well, but since these are only a small part of my birds' mainly fresh, raw, whole foods diet I don't worry about trying to get everything into the "pellets".  The good thing about dehydrating is that it is at a lower temperature so I figure fewer of the nutrients are being destroyed (I set the dryer to 95 degrees), and also the lack of water in the finished product means I don't have to worry about adding preservatives of any kind.  Therefore I can make a big batch once, and it will last for a while.  Comes in handy for those occasional days when I'm really rushed; convenient for me and the birds love 'em!  Making my own also allows me to customize flavors for individual birds, if I'm so inclined that day.  :) 
Ruth
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Susan's Daily Potpourri
From: Susan Carter
 Here is what I feed my babies.....
I keep both seed and sprouts available all the time..... they are never
without either one barring some sort of emergency........
Every morning they get one of the following... just depends on which one
I have made the day before..
Birdie Bread with Chicken
Birdie Whole Wheat Cakes
Bean and Rice Cooked Mix
Pasta and Veggie Mix
Every afternoon I put out fresh veggies or home made Avicakes....
Then in the evening just before everyone starts to settle in I take them a treat of fruit just so I get a really good look at everyone that evening to know that they are al right....
When it is a holiday or some sort of special occasion where you would cook a cake for the family I cook a Birdie Birthday cake that I always fix so that the babies can take part in the celebration too...
I know that alot of people do not have the time to do all that I do but this is the diet that I use and it really works good for me... not to say that it is written in stone and someone else's might be better but all of my birds of all species from Parakeet to Cockatoo are thriving and doing great.......
I don't remember if I sent you any of the recipes for any of this but I will check the site and if not I will forward them on to you......
Susan
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Regina's Regimen
From Regina Jolley
This has been a hard one for me. Seems that everyday I am learning something new about the birds diet. I do hope their comes a day when I can tell people that I found a good diet and I have been feeding for X amount of years. But so far that is not happening. I tried the mash diet and the birds hated it, not a single bird would eat it not even my best eaters. This is what I am doing now... In the morning about 7:45 am
they get a bean mix that has everything in it but the kitchen sink. Some of the things that are in it are.... about every bean that I think exists, popcorn, sun flower seeds (out of shell), split peas, brown rice, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, corn, green beans, tomatoes, bananas, garlic and more. 

Then I take that out at Noon. At that time I give them a mix of 75% pellets and 25% seeds. Adding that 25% seeds about killed me. I had a really hard time putting seeds back into their diet since I had been ridiculed so bad for feeding them in the past. At this time I am using roudybush pellets until I run out. But I am considering switching to Lakes since they don't have Ethoxquin <sp> in it. I am using a seed mix called Rainforest exotics.

Then in the evening they all get a chunk of birdie bread. My birdie bread also has everything but the kitchen sink it it.
It has corn bread mix, the bean mix that I make for the morning, peanut butter, egg shell and all, more banana, apple, petamine (not sure if I am going to continue this, just wanted to use up what I had here), 2 small jars of Turkey and rice baby food, I was putting in veggie flakes but I ran out, I think there is more in it just can't remember off hand.
Oh and then after I get the birdie bread in the pan before I bake it I put a light coat of grated cheese on it. The birds go nuts for it. I am going to be adding raisins to the bread and the bean mix, but every time I go to the store I forget to pick them up. I also mix cinnamon in everything. So that is what I feed my birds (today).

I have noticed that most of the birds eat their fresh foods real well, barely pick at their dry foods in the afternoon and then snarf on their birdie bread at night. I have a mealy amazon that the only thing he would eat was pellets and seeds. I have had him since Janurary and he would not touch any fresh foods. Now that I have started giving the fresh foods in the AM he eats his fresh foods! (I use to give the fresh foods in the PM
around dinner time.) This was a huge break through for us. I couldn't believe it when I went out and his dish was almost empty. Even our little lovebird that has not eaten fresh foods in the 3 years that we have had him eats this bean mix as well as the birdie bread. So now everyone of my birds is eating fresh foods : ) Regina  
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Organic Foods
I've always felt that birds would prefer organic foods.....although I read  over 5 yrs. ago that birds, if given free choice would choose organic food over conventional foods and I have always believed it. My birds like Noah's Kingdom, although I remove the peanuts and I'm not sure about some of the fruits, if they're organic or not, human grade yes, but the fruits look like sulfured fruits to me. I make my own organic seed mix and cheat some by adding some Noah's to it.

Speaking of organic foods and birds acceptance of it.....I've been feeding Alicia's Mash for over 3 yrs. and my birds have always gobbled it up, even the new birds, rescues, fostered etc. I've talked to a friend several times that has tried the mash on various birds , also her friends have tried it without success and we're trying to get to the bottom of why their birds aren't eating it better. I"ve found out that they are not using the organic beans and grains like I do, and not all organic produce added as I do.... I suspect that might be the reason why my mash has been eaten so readily and they've had trouble with theirs...mine is all organic, theirs isn't.  

During the conversation a breeder came up who has LOTS of birds, different species, and he has noticed that his birds LOVE kiwi but they'll only eat kiwi fruits when its in season. When the kiwi's aren't in season, the birds ignore it, throw it out etc. Somehow they know. So maybe another benefit of feeding organic foods, besides the more obvious ones, are that birds might eat them better. I've taken in junk-food only birds that dive into the organic mash.
Shauna