I am the owner of a 1 year old African Grey. I have had “Sera” since she was first weaned.My time is very limited as I work many hours. After having difficulty finding the time to prepare an adequate breakfast/dinner for Sera, I came up with a method of feeding her which she loves and which is also healthy. In addition, it is a great time saver, taking only seconds in the morning before I leave for work (at 5:00am).
I prepare, what I call “Seracubes”. These are ice cubes made with pellets, veggies, fruit, grain and pasta. These frozen cubes are easy to defrost and serve to your bird and are nutritious as well.
In addition, I have accidently found that these cubes are an excellent way to convert a parrot over from seed to pellets. I gave some to a friend with a Scarlett that had been on a seed and nut diet for all of his 3 years and in a matter of 4 weeks he was completely converted to a pellet and fresh food diet. Also, I did the same with a friend who has Cockatiels and they are now eating pellets and fresh foods in addition to their seeds.
RECIPE FOR SERACUBES
Soak 1 cup of Parrot Pellets in 100% natural fruit juice or warm water, until soft and all liquid is absorbed.
In a Food Processor or Blender, Mix and/or Grate:
Note: I combine a little of each of these ingredients to make about 1 cup (total) of this mixture.
- Raw Veggies (broccoli, carrots, corn, spinach, etc.)
- Raw Fresh Fruit (Apples, Pears, Berries, etc.)
- Uncooked Whole Oats, Oatmeal or other Grain
- Cooked Pasta (Whole Wheat Preferred)
Add Soaked Pellets and mix thoroughly.
I vary the ingredients using different types of whole grain cereals, different juices and a variety of fruit and veggies. In all cases pellets always make up at least 50% of each cube.
Spoon the mixture into ice cube trays, cover with plastic wrap or foil and freeze until frozen solid. Once frozen, transfer the cubes into a heavy duty freezer bag and store in the freezer. Then it is simply a matter of popping a cube into the microwave for about 45 seconds, stirring thoroughly to avoid hot spots and putting “breakfast” and/or “dinner” into the cage.
The average ice cube yields the appropriate single serving size for my African Grey. I have found that a Cockatiel will eat about 1/3 of a cube at one-time, and the larger birds, such as a Scarlett or Amazon will eat 2 cubes at one-time.
I have given some of these cubes to my friends who have Parrots and in all cases was told that the Parrot loved the cubes and ate them the first time offered. The one exception was a Cockatiel who had to look at it for a couple of days before he dug in! By gradually reducing the amount of cereal/fruit/veggies in the cubes, several of these parrots were converted to cubes made entirely of soaked pellets. Then, by gradually reducing the amount of moisture, they were converted to dry pellets.
I hope this helps some of you working Parrot mom’s and those of us with fussy eaters.