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macawdreams
Forum Admin
610 Posts |
 Posted - 09/22/2005 : 13:18:50
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I can't tell you how many times I buy bananas every month. I love them as much as my birdies do but still, I end up with a few of them getting too ripe before I eat them.
Instead of tossing them out I use the extra ripe ones to toss into my bird's Sweet Potato mash. One sweet potato, one banana (or two) and apple sauce all warmed up and served.
When I have too many left over I peel the bananas and freeze in a zip lock bag! They freeze very nicely. I can pop them in the microwave and mix with virtually any birdie dinner! The birdies love them.
Angie R.
Macaw Dreams Site Owner
"The future of Macaws starts here"
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Rhonda
Top Gold Member
USA
117 Posts |
 Posted - 10/18/2005 : 17:09:41
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Boy am I going to start doing this! I'm always throwing bananas away and I feel so wasteful. I just can't get them eaten fast enough around here. I'd like to ask another question too.
Do all of you basically feed all of your other birds that aren't macaws the same diet your macaw eats excluding so many nuts? I'm trying to find a mutual diet for all the birds except supplementing Picasso's when he gets older and do any of you know at what age he/she will start to be able to crack nuts? In the meantime do I crack the nuts for Picasso? Would he be able to crack the plumped nuts? I've never had a baby macaw so I don't know at what age they start eating hard foods like their nuts but I read somewhere that it was after a year old. Is this correct? I better find a website on foods for a baby macaw and when to feed them. In the meantime I'll just make up lots of pasta beans and rice mixes to eat like I do for the rest of the crew and add all my cooked veggies to it. All my birds love the food I cook for them. They get a mix everyday and don't know they are getting kale, spinach and just about every veggie on the market in there. I even put jars of vegetable baby food in there for them so they get the smooth stuff but he does need to know how to eat crunchy foods with texture. Help! does anyone know when the baby macaws start eating nuts?
New mommie to baby macaw,
Rhonda |
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Gpsyps
Top Gold Member
USA
308 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2005 : 13:47:45
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Rhonda I'm no expert here but Bella started cracking them at about a year. On her whole Walnuts (nut in shell), I still put a slight crack in it just to get her going.
Natalie & Girls |
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Rhonda
Top Gold Member
USA
117 Posts |
Posted - 10/25/2005 : 10:11:18
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Natalie,
Thank you for giving me some insight into a time frame for Picasso to start eating his nuts. I thought I might try plumping his nuts to begin with also and like you said put a crack in them for him to get a start on them but he has some time to go before he starts doing this but I just like to know in advance when I should be starting to be on the lookout for giving him these things. It will be a while yet for him but I just like to know these things. So thank you so much.
Fondly,
Rhonda |
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macawdreams
Forum Admin
610 Posts |
Posted - 11/20/2005 : 03:18:09
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Hi Rhonda,
Natalie is right on target. Macaws should be one year old before they are given whole nuts because their beaks are still developing.
As Natalie mentioned, you can give the nuts a crack for her and let her do the rest.
Pstachios are good because they are already cracked. My flock LOVES plumped pstachios. That's a favorite here. lol
As far as diet goes, it sounds like you are already off to a great start. Just remember that Macaws do require more fat in their diet than other species. When my boys were younger I would grind up Macadamia nuts and mix those in their food. You can also mash up a sweet potato, bananas and apple sauce.
Don't worry about her eating hard foods. You can give her all sorts of fresh fruits and vegetables cut in various sizes that will encourage her to start using her foot to pick food up and eat. You will be surprised at how quickly she gets the coordination down. :)
Don't forget about sprouting http://macawdreams.com/sprouting.html for her which will provide a wealth of nutrition as well as a lot of texture. Check out my latest post on "Massive Cooking" for more info.:)
Angie R.
Macaw Dreams Site Owner
"The future of Macaws starts here" |
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Rhonda
Top Gold Member
USA
117 Posts |
Posted - 11/29/2005 : 19:34:56
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Hi Angie,
I do fresh sprouts for the birds throughout the week and they love them. I'm trying to get the baby on them but so far she just plays with them but in time she'll learn to like them also. Her favorite food right now is sweet potatoes with the mashed banana and applesauce in it and blackeyed peas and mixed vegetables with a little brown rice. She's learning to eat and it's funny watching her miss her mouth. She looks so puzzled when the food goes right on by but she's eagerly trying new things. Thanks for the tips.
Beak smacks,
Rhonda |
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macawdreams
Forum Admin
610 Posts |
Posted - 11/29/2005 : 23:32:50
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The sweet potato mash is a favorite with my Blue and Gold too! :)
Angie R.
Macaw Dreams Site Owner
"The future of Macaws starts here" |
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Topic |
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Over Ripe Bananas
