FOODS & OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST

FOODS & OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST

Foods & Drinks

This is a list of some of the foods eaten by all, or at least most, of our parrots. There may be a few things which I have left off, but will add these as they come to mind. The list was at the start with Lucy and Shayne, but still applies today, although we now find obtaining the tropical fruits a lot more difficult, being in UK. They can also be very expensive, depending on the time of year. If some spellings are incorrect, please forgive me for this.

Fruits - Guava, paw-paw (including the pips) (also known as papaya), pomegranates, mango, peach, pear, apples (both red and green), granadilla (also known as passion fruit), cape gooseberries (also known as physalis), Chinese gooseberries (also known as Kiwi fruit), oranges (including most citrus fruits), various melons (including the pips), apricots, prickly pear, nectarines, plums, banana, figs, cherries, strawberries. DEFINITELY NO AVOCADO PEAR as this is POISONOUS. The Capes, especially, just love pomegranates, and always go for these first. The dried variety is also acceptable, provided it is free of preservatives, etc.

Vegetables - Raw or cooked, but preferred raw. Beans, peas (preferably in their shells) (try to avoid these cooked as they give them the runs), carrots, beetroot, celery, cabbage (especially the white hard centres), lettuce, tomatoes (when in the mood), potato (preferably the skins) (not cooked as it usually gets stuck in their crops and causes discomfort), broccoli, cauliflower, cress.

Nuts - Shelled or still in their shells, but mostly preferred in their shells. DEFINITELY NOT SALTED. Peanuts (also called ground nuts or monkey nuts) (always ensure that these are fresh as they could contain aflotoxins), pecans, brazils, almonds, cashew nuts (processed), pine nuts, hazel nuts, walnuts, pistachio nuts, cob nuts, macadamia nuts. Our birds just love taking the shells off, and then eating the contents.

Seeds - Sunflower (white, black and striped), safflower, rape seed, niger seed, millet (all types and colours), oats, groats, barley, paddy rice, hemp seed (only small amounts from time to time), buckwheat, linseed, pumpkin seeds, maize (also called sweet corn) (both dried and fresh on the cob), sorghum. We mix all of these together in balanced quantities in all the seed bowls, so that the birds will not have the option to gorge themselves on one type.

Other - Dandelions, especially when in flower, and including the root. Chillies (dried). Fresh peppers (green, orange and red). Fresh green grass seeds. Sprouting pulses. Cuttle fish. Mineral blocks. Iodine blocks. Dried banana. Dried fruits (including raisins, sultanas, apricots, figs, etc.) Coconut (both fresh and dried), parrot pellets in small quantities (as our birds are not all that keen on them).

Drinks - CLEAN FRESH WATER EVERY DAY. They loved to drink cold fresh water, first thing in the morning especially. NO COFFEE, NO ALCOHOL. (BOTH DANGEROUS)

Bathing - We have separate large dishes / bowls in each cage for bathing, as they all enjoy this daily. This includes both summer and winter, but more often in summer obviously. The water should be changed every day, as it becomes dirty very quickly.

Spritzing is also enjoyed by most of the birds, on a daily basis, and is done early in the morning. This obviously is not done when the day is cold. We do this in addition to their own bathing routines as it helps keep their feathers in good shape and helps keep the dander problem in check.

Housing & accommodation

Every evening after their quality and flying time, all the birds are put to bed in their cages and covered over for the night. They each have their own special covers and these are regularly washed and dried. Try to use a neutral powder and fabric softener as the perfume can be dangerous to the birds breathing systems.

Covering them every night always settles them down and they are usually very quiet for the rest of the night, despite goings on in nearby rooms. You get the odd comment, especially from the African Greys, and sometimes the Blue Headed Pionus, but the others are always silent once covered.

We also find that they understand that the cover means that it is time to go to sleep. This is especially important here in the UK in summer time, as the sun only starts to set after 10:00pm (22:00 GMT) and comes up very early in the morning.

The measurements, makes and details of our birds homes (cages) are as follows:

Cheeky & Sweety Kings Cage - USA Manufacture. White paint frame and bars. On wheels, with play-stand on top. Wheel height to base of cage - 26.5" (67.5cm) from floor to base of cage. 0.75" (20mm) bar spacing. Size - 23.75" x 23.75" x 32.25" (60cm x 60cm x 82cm)

Emerald & Ruby Ferplast - Italian Manufacture. Brown paint frame and Gold bars. On wheels, with fixed top. Wheel height to base of cage - 12" (30cm) from floor to base of cage. 1" (25mm) bar spacing. Size - 33.5" x 21.25" x 50" (85cm x 54cm x 127cm)

Mercury & Venus Unknown make - Zimbabwe Manufacture. Chromium on stainless steel frame and bars. Free standing cage. 1" (25mm) bar spacing. Size - 18" x 18" x 26" (46cm x 46cm x 66cm)

Tobias & Tabatha Kings Cage - USA Manufacture. Dark Grey powder-coat paint. On wheels, with opening top. Wheel height to base of cage - 13" (33cm) from floor to base of cage. 1" (25mm) bar spacing. Size - 27.25" x 23.5" x 55" (69cm x 60cm x 140cm)

Sun & Moon Ferplast - Italian Manufacture. Brown paint frame and Gold bars. On wheels, with opening top and perch. Wheel height to base of cage - 12" (30cm) from floor to base of cage. 1" (25mm) bar spacing. Size - 33.5" x 21.25" x 50" (85cm x 54cm x 127cm)

Flash & Thunder Premier Sydney - UK Manufacture. Light Grey powder-coat paint. On wheels, with opening top and perch. Wheel height to base of cage - 13" (33cm) from floor to base of cage. 0.75" (20mm) bar spacing. Size - 27" x 24" x 67" (69cm x 61cm x 170cm)

Jacque & Rogue Essegi - Italian Manufacture. Brown paint frame and Gold bars. On wheels, with opening top and perch. Wheel height to base of cage - 21.25" (54cm) from floor to base of cage. 1" (25mm) bar spacing. Size - 33.5" x 21.25" x 37" (85cm x 54cm x 94cm)

Bluey & Huey Essegi - Italian Manufacture. White paint frame and bars. On wheels, with opening top and perch. Wheel height to base of cage - 21" (53.5cm) from floor to base of cage. 1" (25mm) bar spacing. Size - 21.25" x 21.25" x 37" (54cm x 54cm x 94cm)

Sunny (Bunny) & Honey Unknown make - UK Manufacture. Chrome frame and bars. Free standing circular cage. 0.5" (12mm) bar spacing. Size - 15.75" diameter x 25" height (40cm x 63.5cm)

Magic & (Trix) Lady F O P - Italian Manufacture. White paint frame and bars. Free standing cage. 0.75" (20mm) bar spacing. Size - 17" x 23" x 25" (43cm x 58cm x 63.5cm)

Mystery & Genie F O P - Italian Manufacture. White paint frame and bars. Free standing cage. 0.75" (20mm) bar spacing. Size - 17" x 23" x 25" (43cm x 58cm x 63.5cm)

Rock, Storm & Sparky Unknown make - Zimbabwe Manufacture. Chromium on stainless steel frame and bars. Free standing cage. 1" (25mm) bar spacing. Size - 18" x 18" x 26" (46cm x 46cm x 66cm)

Pebbles Unknown make - UK Manufacture. Chromium on stainless steel frame and bars. Free standing cage. 0.5" (12mm) bar spacing.

We would love to house them all in an outside aviaries, but the small yards in UK, together with high theft rate from outside aviaries, and, finally the cold winters, have caused us to keep everyone indoors. They do of course get their cages taken out of doors on good days, taking precautions against overheating from lack of shade being paramount though. We feel that natural sunlight is a must, even if it is only for short durations.

Bird-safe woods for perches

When in Africa we always used Guava tree branches for perch material, but UK is too cold to grow Guava trees, so we have had to rely on being able to get untreated poles from wherever we could get them. We used to live in a lovely location on a 69 acre estate, so were always able to get wood, but the property was sold and we had to move, so have lost that source. We have now found a very reliable source from Select Garden & Pets, who we buy all our seed and other bits from. Their prices are always very reasonable and they get their stocks from RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) sites. You can also look at this site for a further list of woods. Please remember to hold down your shift key when attaching to the link and this will keep your main page on my site and open a new window to the link. http://www.upatsix.com/faq/safewood.htm I have included the link without first obtaining permission but am sure that Upatsix will welcome a pointer to their site.

Please always ensure that you thoroughly clean and disinfect all wood before letting your birds loose on it, even if it has come from your own trees. The reason for this is to remove any possibility of cross infection from wild birds and their droppings, fungi, or such like.

RETURN TO: HOME PAGE