mash recipe...what else should I throw in there?

[aropple]

My new ekkie (Cairo) is weaning off pellets and starting to find the Joy of Food. I made a mash last night that had:banana, grapes, cranberries, kiwi, carrots, tomato, green beans, corn, peas, broccoli, long grain rice. He wolfed down a lot of it right away while on his playstand, which was great, and both my birds (I also have a quaker) were eating it like piggies this morning. What a great feeling! As I always give veggies to my dogs with their kibble, I threw a little of the mash in for them, too, and they loved it also. I also give the ekkie zupreem pellets, a small amount of seeds, and fresh greens (kale and dandilion.) Is there anything else I need to put in the mash to make it better? I thought about beans and have a can of red kidney beans I could add. Stupid question -- do I need to cook the beans first? They are already soft in the can...

Thanks for any suggestions and advice! I am new to Big Birds and just love him to bits already. He is 11 weeeks old and so precious!

Thanks,
Amy

[Shirley]

Hi Amy! Welcome to the forums!

I saw your gorgeous Eclectus in your profile - what a beauty!

I'm not sure tomatoes are ok... they aren't "bad", but might be a bit acidic, and then I might be incorrect... they might be just fine.

Do keep him on a good natural pellet such as Harrison's or Roudybush or Zupreem Natural, along with the foods you listed. We cannot recreate the omega fatty acids and other nutrients in the proper proportions that years of science and research has created... and our natural foods don't create what they find in the wild -- but a wide variety is very good, and you're doing a splended job! :goodjob: Foraging for food is also very beneficial - give him many opportunities to search around for his dinner in his cage, on his play stand, and so on. :wub:

[Sue]

Hi Amy, glad you found us:emot-danc

Toto M2 loves tomatoes but they are acid so I only give them as a treat.
Other favourites of my 2 are.

Sweet potato, normal potato (cooked) I sometimes melt a little cheese into them but give this sparingley as it's not supposed to be that good for them. I haven't met a bird yet that didn't LOVE cheese. (only cheddar type, not soft or unpasturised).
Noodles they go crazy for them.
Pasta

[CocosMomma]

...I made a mash last night that had:banana, grapes, cranberries, kiwi, carrots, tomato, green beans, corn, peas, broccoli, long grain rice. He wolfed down a lot of it right away while on his playstand, which was great, and both my birds (I also have a quaker) were eating it like piggies this morning. What a great feeling! As I always give veggies to my dogs with their kibble, I threw a little of the mash in for them, too, and they loved it also. I also give the ekkie zupreem pellets, a small amount of seeds, and fresh greens (kale and dandilion.) Is there anything else I need to put in the mash to make it better? I thought about beans and have a can of red kidney beans I could add. Stupid question -- do I need to cook the beans first? They are already soft in the can...

Welcome, Amy! It sounds like a wonderful mash!:goodjob: You can add just about any vegetable you want.... sounds like you have so many already! Variety is the spice of life!:thumbup:

Others that came to mind are yellow squash, zucchini and cauliflower. Pea pods (snow peas) are fun to peel open and eat as is about any "pod" vegetable such as whole green beans. Getting the treat out of it is half the fun! Other fruits that came to mind were apple and peeled mango. Some plain yogurt is good. As to your question about the canned beans: I believe the ones you are referring to are already cooked and just needed to be heated up for us humans, but not the birds. But the ones we buy are canned in a preservative type "sauce" of sorts that amongst other things, contains salt. Those, I rinse well first. You can also get bags of dry beans and prepare them as per the package instructions, cool, and serve your own variety of beans! Here they sell a bag of soup beans that has 15 different beans in it, and I just make it minus the soup spice packet. Then you know they are just... beans...!!! Congratulations on your new baby! We'd love to see pictures!:drool2:

[gary&chloe]

Soup beans have a LOT of sodium where as the bag beans don't.

[CocosMomma]

Soup beans have a LOT of sodium where as the bag beans don't.

I agree - I was talking about the bags of beans that you buy for making the soup where they have 15 or so different kinds of beans in the same bag. Cheaper than buying the separate bags of only one kind of beans.

[Eriisu-chan]

Add raisins! My Tango LOVES raisins in his mash... he goes for them first, then the corn... his beak gets all dirty.... he's such a baby! :heart:

Also, I usually throw in a few Shreddies for his breakfast mash (the diamond ones, haha) and I'm gonna buy him some organic cereal next grocery (oh, the joys of living until next pay day....)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v80/Hyacinth/IMG_0475.jpg

[CocosMomma]

Mmmmm yes - raisins are good!:thumbup:

[aropple]

Thanks, everyone! Great advice!! This is so much fun...!

[scotty]

Add raisins! My Tango LOVES raisins in his mash... he goes for them first, then the corn... his beak gets all dirty.... he's such a baby! :heart:

Also, I usually throw in a few Shreddies for his breakfast mash (the diamond ones, haha) and I'm gonna buy him some organic cereal next grocery (oh, the joys of living until next pay day....)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v80/Hyacinth/IMG_0475.jpg



make sure you don't give the raisins to your dog, if you have a dog, TOXIC! so are grapes for dogs!!!:) :)

[Eriisu-chan]

Nope... We don't have a dog... I'll keep that in mind if ever I see a friend feed their pup grapes, though! ;)