Hi there. I was wondering if you all could tell me a typical feeding schedule for your fids. I am wondering if I am doing Z properly. First in the am I give her like eggs, toast, fruit, then clean up that and I leave pleets and seeds in her croc on her playstand which is next to her hoop, so she can eat at her leisure. Then she eats whatever we are having for dinner. My question is, is it ok to always leave pellets out for her to eat? She also gets some snacks of whatever we are eating, grapes, triscuts, nuts etc. Can you guys tell me how your feedings work? That would be very helpful! Also, if I made birdie bread or had nutriberries, when do I feed her those? (I know, I know I am a paranoid new parront!) Thanks for the help!

I would say; Yes

I leave a dried veggie, fruit, nut & pellet mixture available at all times.

I offer fruits and veggies for breakfast. Birdie Bread and maybe a few pieces of popped corn for lunch. Dinner is one of my veggie mixes which is then followed up by their seed mix.

Regarding Nutriberries: Some people feed them as a treat and some feed them as part of a daily diet. I feed them as part of the daily diet so they're also available at all times.

Be careful with grapes. They are usually on a list of things not to feed. Also use whole grain bread for toast. Egg shouldn't be fed more than a few times a week- Ollie only gets it 2-3 times a month. Make sure it's cooked thoroughly.

Ollie gets fresh fruit or veggies for breakfast, along with a fresh bowl of pellets and Ultimate Blend (from Bird Paradise). In her other bowl she gets one Lafeber Avicake, 1 nutriberry, and 1 popcorn nutriberry. For either lunch or supper (varies depending on my schedule) she gets something warm, either Beak Appettit or a version of the Kitchen Sink (mixed veggies, beans, rice) or Gini's BIRDIEBREAD (which I highly recommend and STILL need to order more of). She also gets a little of whatever we're having as long as it's ok. Throughout the day she'll get anywhere from 4-8 almonds.

Always leave dry food available. Birds aren't going to overeat on pellets. Also, what would happen if you were delayed from getting home for some unfortunate reason. You always want to have food for her.

Try to offer Vit. A veggies and fruits;

The following are good sources of vitamin A.

Green Vegetables
Collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, kale, spinach, broccoli, dandelion greens, water cress, beet greens, chicory, chard, parsley, green peppers, alfalfa, hot peppers.

Yellow-orange Vegetables
Sweet potatoes, yams, carrots, butternut squash, hubbard squash, acorn squash, hot peppers, red peppers, pumpkin.

Fruits With Decent Vitamin A
Peaches, nectarines, apricots, Japanese persimmon, cantaloupe, raw plantain, papaya, mango, sour red cherry.

My birds feeding routein is this:

Mornings around 9:00 I serve up pellets (Echo gets 3 tbs, Harley gets 4 tbs) and then their first salad of the day, which usually has 2 kinds of fruits and 2 kinds of veggies. This was what they ate (or are eating) this morning:
Fresh Spinach leaves
Grapes (just a few)
Carrots
Orange/Apple
Broccolli

Tey got a little more this morning. Also, I don't always just plop in in a bowl. The fids have several foraging toys in their cage. Harley gets nuts, for instance. Instead of just giving them to her, I have this green rubber ball with holes. I stuff them in there and that's probably her most favortie thing in the world.

Mid day, usually around 3 they get a quarter of a hard boiled egg I made that morning (with the shell). I know Camille said to not give it to them everday, and that's true. But, I give it every three days. I will start giving it less often now they are on pellets instead of seed.

At 8:00-8:30, they get a 'meal'. It is a combintation of foods (cooked) that I made. So all in all, they are never hungry, lol! I try to give them food on their playstnds with us as well, and every one enjoys giving them a slice of apple

Sorry to interrupt but why are grapes a no-no?

Awhile back there was that big scare with the grapes from (Chile?). Apparently grapes are among the dirtier of the fruits. Something like that...I just remember hearing about a year ago to stay away from them. I'll try to search around for the correct answer, lol!

I did a search on the online bird forum I was frequenting about a year ago. I searched for "grapes Chile" and then "grapes Chili" (apparently people like to vary the spelling). There were a lot of parrot deaths related to grapes from Chile. That was awhile ago, and I think if you feed organic grapes, or grapes that you know are from the US you are probably safe. However, grapes have a high sugar content and very low nutritional value, so what is the point of feeding them anyways?

I don't have any chance of getting grapes from Chile, and my birds enjoy licking the juice out, so the point of giving grapes are for fun.

I think it is important for your CAG to have pellets accessible all the time (or whatever your staple dry food is) I feed Einstein his mash of what ever happens to be on the menue for the day in the morning when I gete him up. He has pellets available all day and occassionally he gets seeds (about every 3rd day.) I always give him a hand feeding (scenic hand weaning pellets) in the evening before bed. This is of course not necessary nutritionally for him because he is almost a year old but it is time that we enjoy! I plan on continuing with hand fed pellets as long as he and I both enjoy it! He also gets snacks throughout hte day of healthy things that we have and he shares dinner with us if it is something he can have!