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I have a silly question about nuts. If you buy them from the bird store from those bins......can you wash them? And do you need to dry them out or something?? Thanks, Ruby and Ozzy |
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We relate to your concerns regarding the open bins, Ruby! Even in the bulk foods section of a grocery store - I see dirty little hands scooping out the products! Eeesh. I purchase most of our bulk products from the company below. They are located not far from where I used to live in Oregon. A WONDERFUL company! Anyway.....now that I'm in Nevada - we are doing the mail-ordering too. Request a paper catalog! Hope this at least gives you an option :) Crystal |
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| I buy a No more allergies dried veggie/fruit/nut mix for Diana. It is so fresh tasting. Some parts are really hot so it's hard for me to eat it but I do taste for freshness. This link is for organic nuts. When Christmas rolls around again, buy lots of Brazils and freeze them. Lots of us do that with the seasonal nuts. I buy many pounds of shelled pecans in November to send as gifts and for us to use all year round. We have good pecan orchards here so ours came from people we know. Crack some of the Brazils before giving them to your birds. I find lots of them from the grocery stores are rotten inside even though they look good on the outside. There are other online shops that sell them by the pound. Holler if you need me to look them up for you. Annie |
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Thank you guys so much for the links.  I dont buy much online since I cant see it first. Its good to know a couple of good sites. Ruby |
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Add www.nutsonline.com to your list. Like Indy, I buy the human grade of sunflower seeds, and add a small amount to a safflower mix from the pet store. But they carry any and every kind of nut you'd want, and in small to large quantities. They are a family company, and delivery is always within 48 hours. |
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Another question..........Is dried fruit and veggies just as healthy as fresh?? Seems to work better for us since we work away from the home during the day. We can leave it in the cage and its good all day. Ruby |
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| | From:  Indy75 | Sent: 6/25/2007 2:57 PM |
You have to make sure there is no sulphur added to them. Especially the dried fruit. That is human grade also. Indy Annie always mentions I think a dried veggie mix she gives her birds. She'll be on probably later Indy |
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| I have used every one of these mixes on this page. No sulfites, no additives at all. It's expensive but there's no waste because it doesn't spoil. Tossed food is the only loss. Diana never tosses a single piece. Be sure there is always plenty of fresh water because they do need the moisture. Right now we are using the Sammy's mix and she loves that stuff. It tastes fresh and sweet even though there's no sweetener added. She even eats the little broken bits in the bottom. I took her off the mixes containing fruits hoping to reduce her plucking but had no luck. DON'T taste a wasabi pea. It's like FIRE. I did it because they look so good. Thought I'd die. Annie |
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Annie - do you cook this mix? I see that it has lots of dry beans in it (or maybe they are precooked and dried?) -Just asking cause lots of the ingredients seem like "no cook" and then all the beans which would definitely have to be cooked to make them safe. |
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I remember that comment coming up before about uncooked dried beans being bad for them. No I donmt' cook this. They do have some cookable mixes but I don't feed warm food. My thinking is that, in the wild, they never get hot cooked food so why should I do that. I did try it long ago but no one ate. I will contact Joan and ask her if these beans have been cooked and re-dried. Good question. OK, before writing to Joan I looked at the dried bean toxicity page by Gillian in the sidebar. Soy, kidney and limas are the ones that should not be fed uncooked. I see kidney beans in the list of Sammy's ingredients. I asked about it. Annie |
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black beans too! (hemaglutin is the toxin) |
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Here is Joan's reply. Fast, huh? Hi Annie, Questions come up all the time. The process I require for my beans when I order them is that they are minimaly processed before the freeze drying process to ensure the highest nutritional value. The freeze drying process is when frozen food products are placed in a refrigerated vacuum system and the ice in the product is sublimated into water vapor. The cell structure remains intact and the product retains the color, shape, flavor and nutritional value of the original ingredient better than other methods of drying. So yes, the product is cooked pryor to the actual processing but for nutritional value and not because I have any fear of bean toxicity. With any ingredient, we want balance in the amounts of foods our birds consume. You wouldn't give a dish of just beans, etc to a bird anymore than you would give a child a dish of ice cream and consider it supper. You offer balanced meals to your birds and watch what they consume each day. While I believe what your referring to from Gillians Desk is a common list of do's and don'ts on various items but regarding the bean issue on her site, no where does it mention beans are harmful for birds but specifically human individuals. She does seem to combine her knowledge for both on one page. In the wild, all birds would have access to raw beans of all kinds just for the picking and I'm sure they forage for everything in season. I do believe that some humans can have major reactions to certain beans as Gillian refers to. Human digestive systems are quite different from what our birds have. She does quote apple seeds are poison for birds, yet I've known a man for 30 years that feeds them with no problems although I've never tried it. I guess what I'm saying is that in 30 years, I've never seen a bean problem arise with any bird species. I partially process the beans for nutritional value because when I try to cook beans, I end up with mush and no nutrition left. I hope this helps and isn't just confusing. Regards, Joan Avian Naturals |
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that was fast! So yeah - I guess what she is saying is that her beans are cooked - that's good - BUT...I'd have to take issue with the fact that she doesn't seem to think there is a toxicity issue with birds and raw beans - there is, and that information is easily available. Also the issue is not with the digestion, but with blood clotting I believe. I'm not sure if wild parrots would eat these specific beans (just because its there doesn't mean they'll eat it) but the freeze dried beans probably have a more inviting texture anyway, just as cooked beans would, without the hemaglutin. Well - in any event - glad that it seems its a safe and healthy product! |
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I emailed her a thank you for the fast reply and she wrote again saying the some suppliers aren't happy with her because she is so very picky about the products she sells. She herself has had birds for 30 years. She's glad we question things. Shows we are concerned with learning about proper nutrition. Annie |
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My guys only get human grade organic food. They eat far better than I do! And I never buy bulk stuff for them or for me, unless it is something that is cooked, or that I can wash thoroughly. As mentioned by others, I've seen people pick stuff up, examine it, and then put it back in the bin. Too many women leave the public washroom without washing their hands for me to want to eat anything that someone I don't know has touched! Abby |
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| | | From: Indy75 | Sent: 6/26/2007 2:46 AM |
I question some bird food products on the internet because I have no idea if it is a real company or someone cooking or packaging food out of their home. Anyone can do this now a days with a real nice internet web page. I cringe when I think of how some people live. Just my opinion. You have no idea. I know someone will say well you can't trust companies either. With the pet food scare I would agree. But taking a chance ordering something you have no idea how or where they made it doesn't work for me. Most of those products can be made at home and frozen for convenience and you know exactly what went in them. Every so often I'll see one that looks appealing and then I just think about the what ifs and I don't order anything. Other than pellets everything is human grade here. If I could get him to eat something other than the pellets he eats I would change that too. By the way I did a search and came up with studies on other animals concerning raw beans like kidney beans. They were toxic in raw state. I even found that humans can get sick from not cooking kidney beans properly all the way. I have no idea if anyone did any studies on birds. Maybe poultry. Again in my opinion I wouldn't chance raw beans. As with any toxic ingredient it could accumalitvely hurt so you probably wouldn't know anyway. Indy |
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