More so than any other one thing, proper nutrition is the key to keeping your pet bird healthy and happy. A good, balanced diet promotes bright colors, aides in the molting process, wards off infections and boosts your bird's immune system; thereby, making your pet a warrior against illness and disease. Again, most of the information on this page is geared primarily toward hookbills; however, much of it is applicable to other families of pet birds.

Your hookbill's regular diet should be a well-balanced, pelleted food, supplemented with a wide variety of lean proteins, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, whole grains, pastas and legumes. Clean, fresh water is a must at all times, and a cuttlebone and beak conditioner should also be made available. If a powdered form of Spirulina is available in your local health food store, consider purchasing some and mixing it, sparingly, into your bird's fresh foods. Spirulina is chock full of all kinds of trace elements that are wonderful for your pet!

Seed should be used very sparingly in your bird's diet and only as a treat, as it is high in fat and relatively low in the essentials that your bird needs. Seed is to hookbills as chocolate is to humans: they love it, but it is not very nutritious, and a total seed diet will definitely shorten the life span of your pet. Think about it: in the wild, your hookbill would be living in the treetops. When was the last time you saw a seed tree?

If eating a pelleted diet, your bird should require no additional vitamin or mineral supplements; however, if your bird is basically a seed eater, supplementation is essential. Check out the Nekton products: they offer some good vitamin and mineral powders that are mixed into your bird's food. Avoid vitamin/mineral supplements that are added to your bird's water.

During its molt, your bird may require additonal fat, protein and vitamin "A" in its diet: flax seed oil is a preferred source of fat; white turkey, white chicken and low-fat yogurt are excellent sources of protein and dark green, orange and yellow vegetables are full of vitamin "A".

As a rule of thumb, anything bad for you is probably bad for your bird, and anything healthy and nutritious for you is probably good for your bird, too. The following fresh foods are usually healthy favorites among birds:

Melons	Papayas
Apples	Grapes
Bananas	Plums
Mangos	Broccoli
Spinach	Yams
Squash	Cooked Rice
Beans	Pastas
Spaghetti	Potatoes
Yogurt	Kale
Breads	Fresh Juices
Chicken Bones	Lean Turkey

Once a hookbill is addicted to a seed diet, it can be very difficult to convert it to a healthier diet of pellets and fresh foods. Patience and perseverence are the only weapons you can use to win this battle for your bird's health. Be diligent; it will pay off!

Fortunately, there are finally some very good commercial pelleted diets on the market today, but keep in mind that even these should be supplemented with fresh foods. If you're an ambitious, passionate bird owner like we are, experiment at creating your own gourmet, fresh food concoctions for your birds. I have included a few of our original favorite recipes on this page...only a click away!

Again, diligence is the key in introducing new foods to your pet. If your bird has seen only seed in its past, it will most likely reject any "foreign" foods introduced to it, fresh or pelleted, but be creative! Outsmart your bird (I know this can be more difficult than most would think...hehehe)! Try removing all other food sources from its cage, and mix just a little bit of its favorite seed among the top of the new food. Press the seed in a bit so that your bird will have to work to get it out. During this process, your bird is bound to receive a taste or two of the new foods, and eventually, the "foreign" foods will become "native" to it. This can be a long process, but the rewards are well worth it, and your feathered friend will be a better bird for it!

For good, nutritious commercial diets, I recommend the following:

Lafeber Products, especially their Premium Daily Diet Pellets and their Avi-Cakes: In my opinion, Lafeber's products are the best products available for your bird on the market today: fat content and protein content are exceptional; there are no artificial colors or flavors used, and I have found Lafeber's products to be more readily consumed by our more finicky eaters.

Roudybush Pellets and Crumbles: Although a bit more difficult to obtain and not as readily consumed by our birds as the Lafeber products, Roudybush pelleted diets rate high in nutrition and are a premium commercial food source for your birds.

Kay-Tee Exact Pelleted Diets: Decent, readily available daily bird diets; however, I recommend staying away from the Rainbow Exact products, as they contain artificial colors and flavors.

Although the following recipes are lot of work, there is nothing better that you can do for your birds' health. If you have trouble finding some of the ingredients, try your local health food store.

These fresh food recipes were created by me and have been analyzed by my avian veterinarian (who happens to specialize in nutrition) for balance and content. They are packed with all of the major nutritional elements your feathered friends need. Our birds get them every day!!

4-6 Large Yams	2 Large Apples	1-2 Tablespoons Peanut Butter
1 Butternut or Acorn Squash	6 Large Carrots	2 Teaspoons Lemon Juice
2-1/2 Cups Pelleted Bird Diet	3/4 Cup Raisins or Chopped Dates	Sliced Turkey, Non-Fat Cottage Cheese or Non-Fat Yogurt
1-1/2 Cups Crushed, Baked, Unsalted Tortilla Chips	4-6 Slices Whole Wheat Bread

Clean, prepare and bake yams and squash in a 350 degree oven until slightly soft but still firm.

While baking, prepare other ingredients: process pelleted bird diet in food processor to a medium chunk consistency; transfer to large mixing bowl or pan. Process corn chips in food processor until you have approximately 1-1/2 cups of medium to small pieces; add to processed pelleted diet. Process apples and carrots in food processor to medium to small chunks; add to above mixture. Add raisins or dates. Tear or process whole wheat bread into medium to small pieces; add to above mixture.

When yams and squash are done baking, remove from oven and allow to cool until you can comfortably handle them. Peel yams and squash and place into medium-sized mixing bowl; add peanut butter and blend with hand mixer to the consistency of thick mashed potatoes; add to pellet/chip/apple/carrot mixture. Add lemon juice and mix well until thoroughly blended.

Divide Glopp into individual 3-5 day serving sizes. Place each division into a good-quality zip-lock freezer bag and freeze until needed. Serve with chunks of sliced turkey, low-fat cottage cheese, low-fat yogurt or some other form of lean protein. Glopp will easily last 3-5 months in the freezer.

(NOTE: Chunk sizes of processed ingredients may be altered to accommodate your particular bird's size.)

To avoid bacterial growth, all fresh foods should be removed from your bird's cage within two to four hours of being introduced, depending on weather and temperature conditions!!

2 Cups Bean Mixture (Great Northerns, Adzuki, Garbanzo, Black, Soy, Etc.)	1-1/2 Cups Brown Rice	1/2 Cup Oat Groats
1 Cup Pea and Lentil Mixture	3/4 Cup Quinoa	1-1/2 Cups Whole Wheat Cous-Cous
2 Teaspoons Granulated Garlic	1/3 Cup Amaranth	3/4 Cup Whole Wheat Shell or Elbow Macaroni
2 Teaspoons Ground Cayenne Pepper	1/2 Cup Wheat Berries	Whole Wheat Spaghetti Noodles
2 Teaspoons Ground Ginger	1/2 Cup Pearled Barley	3-4 Cups Frozen Mixed Vegetables

Combine bean mixture and pea/lentil mixture in large cooking pot. Add enough water to cover mixture by about 6-inches. Let soak for at least 8 hours. Drain. Add fresh water to cover mixture by 6-inches. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and gently boil for 20-40 minutes, until beans are slightly soft but still firm (if bean mixture overcooks, it can become quite mushy, so monitor the cooking process, carefully! The fresher the beans, the quicker they cook!). Drain in colander and rinse with cool water to stop the cooking process.

Next, bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Add garlic, cayenne, ginger, rice, quinoa, amaranth, wheat berries, pearled barley and oat groats. Gently cook on low heat until water is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Allow mixture to cool slightly and then add to bean mixture.

Bring another 2 cups of water to a boil. Add whole wheat cous-cous and remove from heat. Once water is absorbed, add to above mixture.

Finally, bring about 6 cups of water to a fast boil. Add whole wheat pasta and spaghetti noodles. Cook until pasta is slightly soft but still firm, about 6-8 minutes. Add frozen mixed vegetables and remove from heat. Drain in colander and rinse with cool water to stop the cooking process. Add to above mixture. Mix all together, well.

Divide Pilaf into individual 3-5 day serving sizes. Place each division into a good-quality zip-lock freezer bag and freeze until needed. Serve with Glopp and some type of lean protein. Pilaf will easily last 3-5 months in the freezer.

To avoid bacterial growth, all fresh foods should be removed from your bird's cage within two to four hours of being introduced, depending on weather and temperature conditions!!

2-3 Carrots (Great Northerns, Adzuki, Garbonzo, Black, Soy, Etc.)	1 Cup Thawed Frozen Mixed Vegetables
1 Apple, Cored	Small Clumps of Spinach, Parsley, Dandelion Greens, Broccoli and/or Dark Leafy Greens of Your Choice

Combine all ingredients in a food processor, and process to appropriate sized chunks to accomodate your particular birds' needs. This should be used within 2-3 days.

To avoid bacterial growth, all fresh foods should be removed from your bird's cage within two to four hours of being introduced, depending on weather and temperature conditions!!

Time to migrate, again:

This has been a Top Bird Production!

Should you have any questions, comments, concerns or problems with any part of this site, or if you would like to include a picture of your bird in the Nestling Album, please email me:

CowboyF8@yahoo.com

For true color, proper formatting, accurate graphics and reliable animation, this site is best viewed with a full window, using Netscape Navigator. To download Netscape, click on the Netscape button. Enjoy your cyber flight!

Info

This page hosted by

Get your own Free Home Page

Melons

Papayas

Apples

Grapes

Bananas

Plums

Mangos

Broccoli

Spinach

Yams

Squash

Cooked Rice

Beans

Pastas

Spaghetti

Potatoes

Yogurt

Kale

Breads

Fresh Juices

Chicken Bones

Lean Turkey

For good, nutritious commercial diets, I recommend the following:

4-6 Large Yams

2 Large Apples

1-2 Tablespoons Peanut Butter

1 Butternut or Acorn Squash

6 Large Carrots

2 Teaspoons Lemon Juice

2-1/2 Cups Pelleted Bird Diet

3/4 Cup Raisins or Chopped Dates

Sliced Turkey, Non-Fat Cottage Cheese or Non-Fat Yogurt

1-1/2 Cups Crushed, Baked, Unsalted Tortilla Chips

4-6 Slices Whole Wheat Bread

(NOTE: Chunk sizes of processed ingredients may be altered to accommodate your particular bird's size.)

To avoid bacterial growth, all fresh foods should be removed from your bird's cage within two to four hours of being introduced, depending on weather and temperature conditions!!

2 Cups Bean Mixture (Great Northerns, Adzuki, Garbanzo, Black, Soy, Etc.)

1-1/2 Cups Brown Rice

1/2 Cup Oat Groats

1 Cup Pea and Lentil Mixture

3/4 Cup Quinoa

1-1/2 Cups Whole Wheat Cous-Cous

2 Teaspoons Granulated Garlic

1/3 Cup Amaranth

3/4 Cup Whole Wheat Shell or Elbow Macaroni

2 Teaspoons Ground Cayenne Pepper

1/2 Cup Wheat Berries

Whole Wheat Spaghetti Noodles

2 Teaspoons Ground Ginger

1/2 Cup Pearled Barley

3-4 Cups Frozen Mixed Vegetables

To avoid bacterial growth, all fresh foods should be removed from your bird's cage within two to four hours of being introduced, depending on weather and temperature conditions!!

2-3 Carrots (Great Northerns, Adzuki, Garbonzo, Black, Soy, Etc.)

1 Cup Thawed Frozen Mixed Vegetables

1 Apple, Cored

Small Clumps of Spinach, Parsley, Dandelion Greens, Broccoli and/or Dark Leafy Greens of Your Choice

To avoid bacterial growth, all fresh foods should be removed from your bird's cage within two to four hours of being introduced, depending on weather and temperature conditions!!

This has been a Top Bird Production!

Should you have any questions, comments, concerns or problems with any part of this site, or if you would like to include a picture of your bird in the Nestling Album, please email me: CowboyF8@yahoo.com

Should you have any questions, comments, concerns or problems with any part of this site, or if you would like to include a picture of your bird in the Nestling Album, please email me:

CowboyF8@yahoo.com