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macawdreams
Forum Admin
610 Posts |
 Posted - 11/26/2005 : 22:53:36
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Just a reminder. Whole nuts and cranberries will soon dissapear from grocery stores. I'm stocking up weekly. You can freeze both for one year! I'm packing mine in air tight containers so my birds can enjoy these year round.
Stock up now!
Angie R.
Macaw Dreams Site Owner
"The future of Macaws starts here"
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Gpsyps
Top Gold Member
USA
308 Posts |
Posted - 11/27/2005 : 18:46:08
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Your absolutely right Angie. Thanks for the tip. My Ekkie is nuts about cranberries. And they have some wonderful natural Nuts Mixes right now. We already started our collection.
Natalie & Girls |
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mmontel
Member
8 Posts |
Posted - 12/06/2005 : 19:45:44
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I have some questions in regards to nuts. I have only purchased them from bird supply stores but want to find fresher better quality nuts. How do I know when they are in season and what kind should I buy? I know unsalted but should they be raw? And should I be looking for them in grocery stores? If so I rarely find them unsalted. Any suggestions are welcomed.
Thanks,
Marian |
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MMOXIEE@aol.com
Top Gold Member
81 Posts |
Posted - 12/06/2005 : 20:10:31
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what kind of birds do you have?
Lindsey |
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mmontel
Member
8 Posts |
Posted - 12/07/2005 : 05:44:32
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I have a macaw. She currently gets pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts. She is 14 and has been with me since March of this year. For her 14 years she recieved only pine nuts, pistachios and peanuts. So far the only other nut she likes are walnuts (besides me of course). She is not a fan of almonds, brazil nuts, etc. but I still offer her a variety.
Marian |
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MMOXIEE@aol.com
Top Gold Member
81 Posts |
Posted - 12/07/2005 : 14:23:09
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Almonds and walnuts are best. I look for human grade (organic when possible)raw unsalted in shell nuts. When you can't get a good quality in shell nuts, you can buy them shelled. If you can't find these locally you can find them online.
Also, I would keep the pine nuts and pistachios as a treat/reward. What kind of macaw do you have, and what else is she eating?
Lindsey
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mmontel
Member
8 Posts |
Posted - 12/07/2005 : 19:51:27
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Hi Lindsey,
Murphy is a Catalina Macaw. She came to me eating only pine nuts, pistachios, grapes, grapefruit, apples, ice cream, french fries and ice cream along with a seed mix. In addition she got cookies, bagels, pizza, etc. I was told she did not like vegies. I did not change the nuts or eliminate the seed mix but start to convert her to pellets immediately. I would say she is 30% seed 70% pellet now. I tried many pellets but so far she will only eat Zupreem fruit and spicy natural. I keep adding Harrison's or Roudy Bush or some other organic pellet months at a time to see if one of those sparks her taste buds but no luck yet. I do switch between pistachios and walnuts. She will not eat an almond. She gets a variety of fruits and vegies every day. She will at least taste each but I have caught her actually eating broccoli and celery and a bite or two of carrots. I have not had any luck wth leafy greens yet or orange produce such as mangos. She does enjoy whole grains such as brown rice, barley, etc but won't touch a legume. Plus I make a birdy bread that she gets daily. A very low fat, low sugar banana or cranberry bread that I add harrison's mash to and she gobbles that up. I am open to any suggestions especially in trying to get her to embrace green vegies. Even if I am eating vegies and won't let her have any and make her chase me for it when I let her have some she just gives me a dirty look before she throws it back at me. LOL
Marian |
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Toy
Top Gold Member
USA
390 Posts |
Posted - 12/07/2005 : 22:23:08
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Marian:
Try frozen peas. Put some in a dish, cover with water & microwave just enough to thaw. Drain. Set them on the cage grate. All 3 of my parrots eat their veggies from a dish on the cage grate.
Try hanging the greens or putting them in a treat cage.
I have found that JaJaBinks will not touch any veggie that is yellow or orange! Her fav is peas, peas & more peas, LOL.
I'd also like to add that macaws generally will not do well on a pellet diet. They require veggies, seed mix & nuts daily. The nuts are an important part of their diet. In the wild they eat allot of green Brazil nuts & Palm nuts.
Living in central PA nuts are a limited supply & very expensive in the stores here. I feed JaJaBinks almonds/walnuts/pecans/brazil/pistachio/pine nuts. She gets 2 hand fulls of nuts every night, along with a seed/dried fruit/shelled nut mix.
I buy my nuts in bulk & we jar them up in gallon glass jars, add a double layer of wax paper & put the lid on tight. They're kept in my cellar, which is dark & cold. We do the same with the seed mix. I have a wall of parrot food, LOL.
Nuts will keep frozen, in your freezer for up to 2 years. It's best if you put the package in a cardboard box in the freezer. The cardboard helps to keep ice from forming.
The best prices I could find for raw in shell nuts are:
www.nutsite.com (location CA)
www.nutsonline.com (Location NJ, no salt free pistachio's)
I sat down & figured prices/shipping to get the best prices. If you want to buy from any site & they don't have a shipping calculator send them an e-mail & ask how much to ship what ever you want to purchase to your address.
We all offer our birds too many food choices. In the wild they eat what they find. If the choices are limited they will eventually eat it. So if you want your bird to eat Brazil nuts then only give those for awhile. Once they start eating them you can add almonds, etc. Our CAG gets Pretty Bird African Special pellets. She HATES the green ones & digs thru to pick out the other colors, but if they are left in her dish she will eat them. I have found by offering less choices at times you can get them to eat their food & not waste as much. It's sort of like placing turnips & candy in front of a kid. Of course they choose the candy over the turnips (I would too, LOL). Parrots will go for their favs first & eat the others if their all that is offered.
Toy
Life is too short to sweat the small stuff. |
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mmontel
Member
8 Posts |
Posted - 12/08/2005 : 09:09:14
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Thanks for the info. and websites. I have tried many ways of presenting greens even some of your suggestions but no luck so far. I have not given up and continue to retry many of these ideas.
thanks!!
Marian |
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MMOXIEE@aol.com
Top Gold Member
81 Posts |
Posted - 12/09/2005 : 19:00:06
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Good for you, keep trying 
14 years of eating one way could take a while before she's eating ALL the goodies your giving her.
If she's eating the birdie bread your making that's a good way to sneak in some greens, just run them though the food processor and mix them in. I would also add some powdered alfalfa leaf,kelp,barley grass and/or wheat grass in rotation to the mix to help cover the nutritional gaps.
I love a good birdie bread recipe care to share yours?
take care
Lindsey |
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macawdreams
Forum Admin
610 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2005 : 00:29:39
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Hi Marian and welcome.
Scarlet (my Eclectus) would be mad at Aunt Toy for saying that we offer our birds too many choices. Granted my birds get MUCH more of a varied diet than say my husband does.ROTFL When I bring home new produce my hubby will ask, "Is that for us?" Silly man.
Actually, according to Noelle, the Rainforest is a "Big grocery store." Hopefully I'll be able to go to Peru with her next year so I can see it for myself.
I agree that if you want your birds to eat specific foods (such as Spinach) you sure don't want to add it to a bowl full of nuts because you KNOW what's going to happen.
Don't give up... I'd keep trying new foods and creating new ways to prepare them. Don't forget about juicing! I can juice all sorts of veggies and then add an apple and my guys will "lap" it up like a puppy!
As for nuts? Nuts do indeed have seasons, mostly fall and winter. Once they are picked from the trees the drying process starts and the moisture is lost. It's my belief that birds turn their beaks up at some nuts for this very reason. BUT we can "plump" them back up. Just wash a few whole nuts in cool water and then soak them in a bowl of water (in the 'frig)over night. I use bottled water.
The next morning... WATCH OUT... it's like GOLD! As soon my birds put them in their beaks they feel the moisture and get all excited. Brazil, Walnuts, Pecans... doesn't matter Give it a try, it makes a huge difference!!!
Angie R.
Macaw Dreams Site Owner
"The future of Macaws starts here" |
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mmontel
Member
8 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2005 : 11:47:50
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Lindsey
You know, I have tried sneaking greens and pumpkin in birdy bread (not the same batch) that little stinker picked up the bread, took a tiny taste, gave me "the look" and threw it down. LOL She is way too smart. I have found the best way to attract her is either to eat it myself and refuse to give her any and make her "fight" me for it or to just keep putting it in her bowl. Sooner or later, mostly later, she starts to eat it.
I have my cranberries frozen and some to make a huge batch of the birdy bread which I will freeze in a airtight container. I will share the recipe. I guess I can post it in a message???
Marian
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mmontel
Member
8 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2005 : 11:49:56
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Angie,
Thanks for the rehydrating suggestion. I would never have applied that to nuts.
And my husband gets rather miffed when he opens the fridge or freezer only to see if stocked with food for the bird. LOL He strongly suggested I get a freezer for the garage for her food. I have to admit that is a good idea.
Marian |
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Toy
Top Gold Member
USA
390 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2005 : 22:52:06
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Aunt Angie:
Our Momma didn't mean we get too many food choices period. Just too many at one time, LOL. Course we pick out our favs & let the stuff we should be eating get tossed to the cage floor. So Mamma, being the sneakey person she is, makes us eat the yucky stuff first, then we get the good stuff afterwards, hehe.
Jasmine, Jengo & JaJaBinks
Life is too short to sweat the small stuff. |
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mmontel
Member
8 Posts |
Posted - 12/11/2005 : 20:36:43
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BTW, how many nuts should a macaw get every day? I have a CM and heard conflicting advices on quantity. She likes walnuts, pecans, pistachios, pine nuts and macadamia nuts. Out of this selection, what would you recommend?
Marian |
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macawdreams
Forum Admin
610 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2005 : 12:42:40
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ROTFL Well JJB and flock I too am guilty of feeding my flock the "yukkie" stuff first. :) lol. Sometimes it works and sometimes Malibu will act like a little brat and decided to hold out on me. LOL
Angie R.
Macaw Dreams Site Owner
"The future of Macaws starts here" |
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Topic |
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Stock up:Nuts & Cranberries
