what can quakers eat?

[Chloe'smom]

i am not sure what all chloe can eat. can she eat the same things as we eat, like cooked foods? i babysat a african gray for a few weeks, and the vet told me that i could basically feed it anything as long as it was within moderation. so he would set down and eat with us at meal time.
i know she can eat fruits, and veggies, but what about bread, meat, nuts, cheese, corn flakes, oatmeal? :shrug:

[CocosMomma]

Hi, Keri! Well, everyone is a little different on this, and certainly in moderation. Just like with kids, we don't want them to fill up and not eat their regular diet! A couple things I look out for is salt and sugar... and certainly the things we know are dangerous such as chocolate, caffeine, avocado, etc.

I give Coco a tiny amount of cheese occasionally (she likes it a lot), even yogurt. Once or twice a year she might get some chicken. She gets well scrambled eggs occasionally, she loves oatmeal, and she likes a variety of dry cereals. I wouldn't give her lucky charms, but I do give her little pieces of corn flakes occasionally, a flake from raisin brand... the biggest thing is that she wants to taste what I am eating! In almost anything (unless it is high in salt, sugar, caffeine or has one of the no-no's...) if she wants to taste something it is hard to say no. But it is a taste, not something she gets to fill up on. Everyone is different this way! Well cooked eggs and the shell as well (like scrambling the egg with some shell) are very, very good for birds - a good source of protein and all. Nuts the same way... I just get the kind that don't have salt, and give them in moderation because they are high in fat. For my birds, moderation as you have mentioned is a big piece of the puzzle! Rice, pastas... all that stuff off my plate I give to my birds once it has cooled.

[Chloe'smom]

so it would be the same for my quaker? I figured it would.

[CocosMomma]

so it would be the same for my quaker? I figured it would.

I think so, of course any other quaker owners out there that want to chime in and maybe say what their quaker's favorite foods are? :D

Has Chloe developed any favorites yet, Keri, or does she like everything?:)

[Stephanie]

Yes, basically everything you eat except chocolate, caffeine, and avocados.

Kirby, likes mini wheat cereal. It is also fun for them to shred. Plain small ice cream cone. Cheerios cereal (not the honey nut kind). I have a trail mix that I bought from my breeder but basically you can do it yourself (dried bananas, peas, almonds, cashews, apples, orange, um...I'm trying to think what else it has..). Hard boiled egg (with shell, I just crush it all up), cheese (very little, but he also loves it). Bananas (I just slice them up, and he goes to work, lol). Kirby is not a big chicken, mash potatoes kind of bird. I offer things to him but he turns it down. :shrug2:

Hope that helps some. You'll figure out her favorites in no time.

[kaisaj]

Like everyone else said, if it's good for you it's good for them. If it's NOT good for you--and chocolate isn't, LOL! then they can't have it either. My quaker loves bananas, cereal, bread,nuts, and she esp. loves macaroni! Like the kraft cheese stuff before butter/cheese. She rattles her dish loudly if she runs out and wants more!:D Always in moderation. Quakers have a tendency to become overweight.

I very rarely give my birds dairy products as they aren't processed well because they wouldn't eat it in the wild. But tastes are good, like everyone has said. My birds love, love, love yogurt!

I would just let him keep trying good foods and he'll let you know what he doesn't like--he'll probably throw it at you! :D

[CocosMomma]

Like everyone else said, if it's good for you it's good for them. If it's NOT good for you--and chocolate isn't, LOL!

What? What? What???????:shrug2:

[kaisaj]

How did you get in so quickly? :doh:

No, it's not good for you no matter what the doctor tells you. I think it's even worse since I can't eat it anymore. :omy:

[Chloe'smom]

chloe hasn't shown any interest so far, she has tried raw carrots, but she doesn't care for it, and she doesn't like green beans....she likes granola bar, but will only nibble a time or two, she seems to be settled with her zupreem pellets, and seeds, more the seeds than anything, which has dried fruits, and veggies in it. she doesn't seem to be able to hold her food and balance long enough to eat it up...i guess she is still so young. she is 11 wks.

[Stephanie]

Wanted to say Kirby loves pasta!! Just plain twist noodles with nothing on them. One of her favs!

[Junkzoo]

chloe hasn't shown any interest so far, she has tried raw carrots, but she doesn't care for it, and she doesn't like green beans....she likes granola bar, but will only nibble a time or two, she seems to be settled with her zupreem pellets, and seeds, more the seeds than anything, which has dried fruits, and veggies in it. she doesn't seem to be able to hold her food and balance long enough to eat it up...i guess she is still so young. she is 11 wks.


Well based on her age, most everything is going to be "new" to her. Continue offering things to her and give her time to get used to them. Sure, some things you will find she will NOT eat,but some things you'll see she will in time take a liking to. With my 3 parrots here, all 3 of them have different likes /dislikes. My BFA goes straight for the dried papaya/apricots in the "special"(= VERY expensive :doh: :nuts: ) mix i include with their Lafebers pellets,and seed/nut type mix along with extra nuts,fruits/veggies.He'll eat the other stuff but grabs the "orange" stuff first. Sinbad my Cockatoo,will pretty much drop anything from the just filled food dish when i add raw spaghetti to it.Sure he eats most everything else, but like Gumby(BFA=Blue Fronted Amazon)they all have their favs they go for first, then pick n choose on the rest.

Offer whatever you can, and you'll find there will be things she might learn to like and stuff she will not even touch,,that's parrots for ya :shrug2: .

My sister has a Quaker, i'll email her and ask what she offers here, maybe there will be something different you can try

[kaisaj]

raw spaghetti? I never thought of that before. I wonder if my birds will eat that. They like cooked spaghetti. I will have to try that!

[Chloe'smom]

thanks, I just wasn't sure if their diet consisted of the same things. also what kind of seed mixes do you use? brand name? what do you think is the best out there?

[Junkzoo]

raw spaghetti? I never thought of that before. I wonder if my birds will eat that. They like cooked spaghetti. I will have to try that!

My other parrots eat it also, but Sinbad will (like i said) drop whatever he has already gotten from the now filled food dish, and hi tail it (bird pun intended LOL) down to his dish and grab a "footful"(handful does not work here :rotflmao: )of uncooked spaghetti,broken in half-lengths by me and go back to a perch and with it in "foot" hold it up and eat away at it.Eats it from the end, breaking off very little at a time, and actually eats it, and not just breaking it up and letting it fall (i watched LOL)

I gotta take a pic of him holding /eating 'getti , it's pretty comical to see it IMO.

25+ yrs, and i STILL thinks it's cool to see him do this! :doh: :shrug2:

Can't say i tried other forms of uncooked pasta, tho i doubt it would get the same attention from Sinbad, but who knows:shrug2:

[Junkzoo]

also what kind of seed mixes do you use? brand name? what do you think is the best out there?

Not actually having a Quaker,i can't first hand comment here. But i would say for a seed mix, i'd prob watch/stay away from those that have a high content of sunflower seed in it, only because of it's hi fat content,along with it's been known to cause birds to eat most only that, and leave the rest of the mix alone.(like kids with cookies type thinking)

It might take a lil bit of searching wherever seed mixes are sold near you, but there are some good mixes available with either a small amount of sunflower, or actually NO sunflower in it at all (Think then safflower seed is used instead somewhat)

Not saying sunflower seed is bad, more like a excess can be.

I'm sure others will chime in with suggestions for a good /proper seed mix for you to find :wavey:

[Chloe'smom]

Mine has very few sunflower seeds in it, and it has dehydrated fruits, and veggies. so i guess what i have is good.

[Chloe'smom]

I Offered Chloe Some Green English Peas, And Corn Today, And She Loved Both Of Them. I Was Excited To See How Much She Liked Them. Yyyyyeeeeaaahhh!!!

[kaisaj]

Oh, yeah. My flock loves corn, too. I forgot about that! I'm so glad that she is learning to like new things. You're such a good mommy.:wub:

[Eriisu-chan]

Peas and corn are a favorite with Tango (my Meyer) as well... any type, you name it! Fresh (still in the shell... food AND a toy! :) ), cooked from frozen (warm or the day after, from the fridge), dehydrated, etc...

I'm surprised no one's link to this thread (http://thebirdforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=607) before now... It's on what's safe and what isn't, food or not, for our baby birdies.

I also found this website (http://www.quakerparrots.com/diet/food-nutrition-table-for-parrots/) for you off QuakerParrots.com (http://quakerparrots.com)... I'm sure it'll be a big help on what is bad for them and to avoid...

[Chloe'smom]

thanks, you are such a big help, like I said I have had the privelege to baby sit an african grey and so knew what he could eat and not eat, but didn't know if most birds eat the same thing or not. so this really helps me out.

[Eriisu-chan]

Anything for a fellow "birdbrain"! :D

(and I say "birdbrain" with love! :heart: )

[Chloe'smom]

what can i say? birds of a feather flock together!!!:D

[kaisaj]

That's a good link. It's nice to know what they can/cannot have. :D

[SadennaAndFlock]

everyone pretty much covered the basic no no's..chocolate, avacado, salt, sugar etc. I have read rhubarb is not good for them either and yep if it's not good for you, it's not good for them.

What they can have is variety of fresh veggies, fruits (no apple seeds, or pits *plums, apricots peaches etc. the meat is fine but not the pit) cooked grains are also good to like wild or brown rice, cous cous, quinoa..my birds also love air popped popcorn with no butter or salt but with a bit of cayenne pepper sprinkled on it..

[Chloe'smom]

thanks for all your ideas, it has really been a huge help. I have several options to give her and I am so glad that I asked the question.

[birdlady10]

I make home made breads for my birds.They also love pasta,sweet potaoes, broccoli, strawberries, corn,fresh peas, pumpkin seeds, and pistatios seem to be their favorite things

[quakermama61]

My arnold loves smashed sweet potatoe , cooked spaghetti noodles no salt though and no sauce , he also loves slices of green apple but does not so much like red, he also loves corn bread too and birdie bread which i make myself and bake it . he does not like cereal though any kind though .