upatsix.com - Your Source For Pet Bird Information

I was wondering what everyone fed thier greys. I feed mine a bowl with his food, bowl with the dehydrated fruit, bowl with chopped spinich broccoli, beets all fresh. He doesnt seem to eating much of the vegatables. what veggies does everyone seem to see them prefer?

kingcoops wrote:... I feed mine a bowl with his food, bowl with the dehydrated fruit...

Great topic! Dehydrated fruit is too full of sugar for captive birds. Shame so much of it is sold. Tell us what's in the "bowl with his food" before we go further.

Thx in advance!

a custom blend I get from the pet store, has seeds large nuts dried fruit, etc...

Large nuts and dried fruit sound more like a large macaw diet than one suited for greys IMHO. No pellets and not eating the veggies? Where's the nutrition? I'm sure that's why you're asking. I would start with a vet exam, comprehensive blood work, and see what the results reveal about his condition. I feel that our captive birds need to be eating seed, pellets, and fresh food too, but it does take time with some birds, especially those who've become used to an all-seed diet. If your bird would eat enough variety of vegetables and greens to get all the necessary nutrients, the fresh food would be even better for him than the pellets, but there's a steep learning curve for some stubborn birdies, and pellets can keep them safely fed while they get familiar with what they need. I feed Roudybush pellets.

The way I serve fresh food is finely chopped in brown rice and quinoa. The best vegetables are the ones with red or orange color all through: carrots, red peppers, sweet potato, and beets. Best to feed beets sparingly due to the high sugar content. Squash and cauliflower are good too. And greens that are high in calcium and vitamins A and C: broccoli, collards, kale, bok choy, mustard, kohlrabi, carrot tops, spinach (only if organic and sparingly even then), arugula, and chard. Lettuce, celery, corn and peas are very low in nutrition and take up space in the crop instead of the healthier foods they need.

Because the chopped veggies and greens are so tiny and the cooked grains are sticky, while the birds are eating the grains they love, the veggies are getting eaten too. I cook a 3-day supply of grains and refrigerate for days 2 and 3, then nuke each serving (just the grains, never the fresh greens and veggies) just about 10 seconds before stirring in the fresh goodies. Sprouting seed is the ideal way to feed birds seed, but let that wait until your boy is eating his pellets, veggies, and greens enthusiastically. Also, millet is one of the healthier seed, so don't be afraid to offer it in the seed mix.

The only fruit I serve are pomegranates, tiny pieces of banana, and organic berries -- blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, strawberry. But never berries, grapes, spinach, or peppers that are not grown pesticide free.

Good luck!

I feed my Grey Zupreem Fruit Blend with Palm Oil mixed in for his regular diet.
Then every morning he gets a couple of banana slices &/or other fruit or veggies, always fresh. I also give him a couple of almonds raw in the shell with that & he usually gets a peanut in the shell (raw not roasted or salted) as a reward every morning!
Maybe once a month or two he gets a little seed mixture, sunflower & such, but not often at all. In fact it's probably been 3 months as it's winter here & he is spending all his time indoors. I tend to give him the seeds once in a while when he is outdoors in the aviary.

The OP is asking for a Grey specific diet

Not a diet for all birds!

Unless you feel that a Grey can be maintained on a normal parrot diet?

Do any of you own a GREY?

I do & answered.

Yes I know you do!!!

How is Cocco these days?

Cocoa is great!!!!!! Talking up a storm & flying around the house when we let him.

How are yours?

Got two eggs in one of the pairs nest box today. Not sure which pair is laying them right now because it is a five pair colony but pretty soon the hen will sit them and the cock will guard the door... ha ha ha. Right now I think its just a cooling off period as most of them do not sit the same day as lay. But otherwise everything is great over here, made the move and now in the new house!

I wasn't going to put up nest boxes again this spring (with the economy and all) but with moving the colony from my old house to the new I figured I'd provide them some sort of stability and not create chaos. Gosh sakes they are so neurotic as it is.... ha ha ha.

Sounds like you have been busy!!!!!!!

One thing that is great about a "mash" diet is that one can vary the ingredients to suit the needs of each individual species, should there be a need to. Not only this, but one can even change the ingredients to suit an individual bird. A mash diet (and sprouts) is to be included with whatever dry foods that person feeds as well. Be it seeds, pellets, nuts, or a combination of any of those.

It works great for a "general diet" for all species because of it's versatility.

Monica prescribes above a good healthy diet for Amazons but it needs to be adjusted for the African Grey. Too high in natural sugars when you use too much fruit, Grey are not that big of a fruit eating bird. Their requirements are higher in proteins and less natural sugar (fruit.)

Again she is correct with the amounts of African Grey "specific" pellets, but not so with general avian pellets. If you are giving a non-AG specific pellet you can offset the difference with cooked meat cut in strips. Keep the seasoning to a low and give accordingly to their appetite. In other words they will not over eat meat in their diet, find the right amount to give them and then stick with it. Some of my breeders eat more meat during breeding but then taper off between the seasons. Start off with small amounts and find the happy medium.

Try to make as much food for them fresh, cooking it kills the natural enzymes they need to receive out of it for benefit. Warming it is fine but the longer it sits after preparation the less benefit they get out of it.

A light spray of a fresh lemon slice and toss the mix, allows the food to remain fresher longer. But again be careful not to over use lemon because it is an acid and any use of acid in a bird reduces the bone composition and can lead to death. A good trick to use when feeding new food to your bird is buy a little jar of pool or spa test strips. Make up your food and place one of the strips into the food, if it is too high in acid do not feed it to them. Sometimes mixing all kinds of different foods causes a reaction that will unbalance the PH level in the food you are giving. Find the right balance that works for you depending on the food sources available in your area. Again, please only use organic foods and vegetables.