Questions about my seasonal feeding system - submit yours!
Added 2020-11-02 22:57:55 +0000 UTCHey guys! I am going to be filming a video with my friend Patty, whom you guys know mostly as Morgan's mom! She and I have been friends for a long time, and actually created my seasonal feeding system cookbook set together. Patty it my go-to on everything regarding parrot nutrition (and much more) and I want you guys to get to know her. I thought a great way to do that would be to take your questions about the seasonal feeding system (or cookbooks in general) and answer them in a video with her!
So, if there's anything you want to know, please leave it in a comment!! I am hoping to film the video this week! Thanks, guys!
PS - If you are not familiar with my seasonal feeding system, find it here.
Comments
Hi Guy, you can always sub another grain in place of the grains we suggest. I often do brown rice because it's easiest to come by and offers the same nutritional value. So yes feel free to sub out for grains you prefer to use.
BirdTricks
2022-10-26 16:19:39 +0000 UTCThis post is from long ago, still have a question. As I was planning my grocery list for making the Fall to Winter SFS this week, I noticed that the Winter to Spring recipe calls for couscous as a grain - are you aware that couscous is made out of Semolina (coarse, purified wheat flour)? Is it okay to use the same amount of organic wheat berries instead?
Guy Goldstein K
2022-10-26 15:08:38 +0000 UTCSharing more than asking. I have only one CAG, so I pack my SFS in snack baggies, with all the air pressed out. (So they look like burritos). Then 4-5 of those fit into a qt freezer bag. Then 2-3 of the qts fit in a gal freezer bag. This seriously reduces air exchange and prolongs freshness (air is the enemy). Then I keep most of it in the basement freezer and bring a qt baggie to the kitchen freezer. From there, I can take out one snack bag (I call it a birdie burrito) every 3rd day. I make double batches (which is almost 5 gallons!) but I only keep 4- months worth, (because I want to change seasons too). My BT SFS lasts beautifully through all 4 months (just a little ground WG pasta, oat, or quinoa for the freezer moisture). 2 burritos a week is about 8/month, even if she throws some. Since I can fit 6 in a qt bag, that rounds up (more than generously) to only 5 qt pouches in 4 months! Where does that massive pile of extra special bagged BT SFS go? To my nearest avian rescue, of course (LARRS)! Since I don’t have a ton of money, I support them with the very best chop I know. That’s BT’s SFS. Thanks Patti, for sharing your Morgan’s journey & the first birdie bread we ever tried. We are paying it all forward. Hugs, from Wisconsin, ~ShelB & Morgan.
ShelB
2020-11-13 07:34:01 +0000 UTCWhat proportions should be in a batch if made by the serving? I.e if you are making a bowl fresh for breakfast, how much of each type of veggie compared to the others (like one part orange, 2 parts dark green, legume, pasta, etc)?
Jennifer Percopo
2020-11-08 00:54:50 +0000 UTCSince there is so many food questions, may I ask what is Morgan’s relationship like with Patty currently as well as what Morgan is like with her cockatoo flock members, Linus & Theo? To Patty, My birds (a cockatiel and parrotlet) love your DIY Birdie Bread recipe and give their thanks!
Rosanna Lam
2020-11-07 07:52:58 +0000 UTCWe love it and make extra for LARRS. Also, please pass love and gratitude to Patty. Her courage sharing hard stuff with Morgan helped me feel brave enough to try again with my Morgan too. This time, we’re really getting somewhere. We’ve named her flattened BT birdiebread cookies with seed sprinkles after Patty, and so we call them PattiCakes. Hugs, from Wisconsin. Suggestions: add more greens to the recipes, and also put the order of operations on each of the seasons. Why? Because folks don’t know they gotta grow sprouts for days and soak beans overnight and cook them. They also keep asking if they need to peel things. Add also the link for what FDA/USDA say about cleaning your fruits & veggies at home. Consumers in the US need to use those, and not the sea of opinions on FB. I know you wrote about all that. I’m saying the order of how it flows needs to be there, or else the digital video of your chop day, with pep talk, should be included (so non-patreons who bought the books can see it). What you have done is amazing, and it needs to be digestible by more kinds of audience, to extend the reach of the difference you make. Helping birds, one person at a tome. 💞🐦
ShelB
2020-11-06 08:04:24 +0000 UTCBest ways to switch little guys over (such as cockatiels) ?
Alex Rose
2020-11-05 12:13:04 +0000 UTCCan you address how to downsize the volume of chop produced if we only have 1 CAG? 😍
Shelah Moore
2020-11-04 16:10:21 +0000 UTCAre there any fresh foods that are high in iodine? My avian vet was concerned that my budgies might not be getting enough.
Nyree Williams
2020-11-04 09:51:45 +0000 UTCAny tips and or tricks with fruit flies? They too lovvvee the chop 😂 I clean bars of the cage and bowls as much as I can and only give as much as they will eat, but they’re still hanging around. Any bird “safe” traps or just general tips would be super appreciated! ❤️❤️
MyHomeAquarium98
2020-11-03 22:32:40 +0000 UTCI may have posted this but I wasn't sure what was going on as I was using my phone. I've been feeding my 35 yr old amazon and 2 greys your diet for about a year now. Suddenly my YNA's poop went super wet (10 newspaper pages to absorb it). Is this something you ever see? Then my bird got lethargic so I took him to the vet. The x-ray shows he has a slightly extended liver. He also told me no surprises as a bird that old that has been over weight for so long often has liver issues. He recommended milk thistle and an antibiotic. I was really bummed, as I have tried to keep his weight down for sooooo long. So, exercise is obviously next.
Paulette Melick
2020-11-03 18:51:24 +0000 UTCSo, I have heard you talk about the mix getting less mushy after freezing by using oats. I'm having such a difficult time getting the birds to eat the frozen, and thawed chop. What I have been doing is making the grain and beans in bulk and adding the greens and veggies fresh. However, it is difficult to get small doses of what I want to use for fresh, do you have any kind of suggestions I could do. I have three medium birds and four small so my bulk mix lasts about six months when I make it. However, the mushiness is just not tolerated at all. Also, I've heard you mentions adding sprouts fresh, but can I add them to my frozen portions or does this affect them somehow? Thank you for your help, 😁
Jodi
2020-11-03 16:06:59 +0000 UTCYay! I love Patty & Morgan. x
Carrie Stewart
2020-11-03 14:10:20 +0000 UTCI’ve been told to give very little pelleted food to my parrotlet because the mutations are seemingly not able to digest it well - it binds in their crop and can kill them. So... should I adjust what I’m putting in her fresh food to compensate for lack of pellets?
Laura
2020-11-03 13:51:04 +0000 UTCHow to transition from one to the next season and what to do if the bird has a favourite?
Lucia Hellerhoff
2020-11-03 12:58:54 +0000 UTCI have 2 macaws to feed (severe and military), but they pick out green beans, spinach and broccoli and this cuts out a large portion of their leafy greens. My only option is to chop them smaller, right? They’ll eat the kale tho. If I serve the leaves raw, unchopped, they ignore it.
Sebesa Stohldrier
2020-11-03 09:42:29 +0000 UTCI have 2 mason jars full of pellet dust. I ran out of bird bread mixes, can pellet dust be substituted for the mix or do I add anything else besides what the mixes call for, and the seasonal chop? I’m using the bird bread for weight gain. If they pick through their food, they lose weight. So I’m hiding chop wherever I can. (And egg shells, for calcium)
Sebesa Stohldrier
2020-11-03 09:38:00 +0000 UTCDo you have any tips for weaning baby parrots into the seasonal feeding system. My macaw refuses to eat it unless is soaked on her baby formula. She eats fruits and nuts fine (when training), but I'm having trouble with birdie bread, the seasonal feeding system and also pellets. She's at one feeding atm.
Andrea
2020-11-03 07:58:30 +0000 UTCIn the videos your chop looks very thick and pasty. Mine always more granular or "choppy" looking, even if I cut the veggies very fine. I've even tried mashing the beans, but it still doesn't look as pasty as yours. Is there something you are adding or doing to get it that way?
Holden Kendrick
2020-11-03 06:06:39 +0000 UTCI'd like to know this about baby birds too. Also, if they do need a higher fat diet, at what point would it need to taper off? Would that be puberty, when hormones kick in, or sometime before then?
Holden Kendrick
2020-11-03 06:03:39 +0000 UTCHello, often in your video I see you have a batch out of the freezer then mix it with the sweet potato and I was wondering if you can freeze with the sweet potato in it or not? Also is there anything else you don't recommend freezing ? I have your cook books and they are great!
Krystal Satchell
2020-11-03 03:32:25 +0000 UTCDo smaller birds like budgies and cockatiels need seeds in their diets? I'm still working on converting my cockatiel to the seasonal feeding system and pellets. She eats some but will drop weight like crazy if I withhold seeds. (She only gets them late in the day after the good foods have been presented).
Carol Ewing
2020-11-03 01:59:34 +0000 UTCHi! Someone ask this already but is there a way to make smaller batches for the feeding system for one bird without wasting so much? How long do you wait after taking it out from the freezer? Do you warm them up? Also only have access to a microwave so I can’t bake any Birdy bread but my little buddy loves your organic pellets. Thank you for your videos lots of helpful information.
Jan. W
2020-11-03 01:33:49 +0000 UTCI've already begun the seasonal feeding system with my quaker (about 13 weeks old). She came on a mostly seed (minimal pellet) diet. The good news is she loves her bond building breakfast so the transition shouldn't been too difficult (she's iffy on birdie bread :-) ). The pet store said quaker babies should be on a high fat diet for 6 months. I've not read anything about that but to be fair, there isn't that much information available about nutrition needs in babies vs. adults. Seems to me that 6 months is just long enough to get hooked on seeds so I'll not be following their recommendation. LONG story SHORT - do baby birds need a higher fat diet than juveniles and adults or is the seasonal feeding system best regardless of age?
Carla Timmerman
2020-11-03 01:05:35 +0000 UTCYay! I haven’t begun implementing the system yet since I won’t be bringing my bird home until next month, but I’ll soak up all the info! Love Morgan’s mom...watching the whole series now! 😍🦜❤️
Jessica Almquist
2020-11-03 00:52:15 +0000 UTCI have a parakeet who would rather starve than eat anything but seeds. Is that common? I'm trying to transition her as well as my cockatiel
Mara
2020-11-03 00:51:19 +0000 UTCAny tips on making smaller batches for a one-bird household?
Crystal O'Kelly
2020-11-03 00:11:42 +0000 UTCOther species specific parrots also maybe? We know toucans and lorries. Maybe some less common breeds?
Ted Loebe
2020-11-03 00:00:18 +0000 UTCHi Jamieleigh! I have a two year old male eclectus. I know you answered this question when you were in Australia but I wonder if Patty might know anything specific to ekies that he should get or not get. I know he needs more fiber than other parrots and doesn't need added vitamins. Maybe there are other species specific dietary needs she knows about?
Ted Loebe
2020-11-02 23:55:24 +0000 UTCI make up enough of everything that needs to be cooked and then just mix in the fresh veggies daily. If I try to just make the entire recipe it seems like I have way to much for four months. I only have two cockatiels and three budgies. What would be your suggestion on how to make enough for four months without wasting so much food?
Sherry mathes
2020-11-02 23:25:51 +0000 UTCMy 2 biggest questions are How long is it safe to feed after you take it out of the freezer? Do you always add something to bind it such as egg or sweet potato? Or other ideas for this.
Wendy Cottingham
2020-11-02 23:06:53 +0000 UTCLOVE this!! Can I mess up my bird if I don't follow the recipes exactly? I know each Seasons' recipe is balanced to ensure full nutritional coverage for the bird. But, sometimes the recipe cannot be followed to the letter. Isbit possible to negatively affecting my bird if I divert, substiturte or omit? And if so, how?
Jen Perry
2020-11-02 23:05:56 +0000 UTC
