Bhodi is an Indian ringneck who we rescued along with his two brothers. 

Our parrots love to put their food in their water bowl. For that, they need something hard, healthy, and nutritious, which isn't easy to come by.

Most pet stores don't cater to parrots. There are no parrot cookies or biscuits unless you make them yourself or order them from Canada. 

Since I bake, I thought It shouldn't be hard to make healthy parrot cookies. Just omit all the bad and add healthy stuff.

Flour, I use organic whole wheat. I love adding carrots or sweet potatoes to their dishes so I know they are getting their vitamin A.

My recipe below is simple as possible. My parrots love dumping their cookies in the water and then eating the soup. I hope your parrots and or other pets love my recipe. 

Note: Parrots can handle spice. If your pet cannot, please leave them out. 

Angel like to dip his spicy apple, sweet potato cookie in his water.

Liver Issues [bird health]

Feather Plucking [bird health]

LOTUS BROKE HIS TAIL BONE AND STARTED PLUCKING AS A RESULT. (PAIN) HE IS GETTING TREATMENTS AND HAS STOPPED PLUCKING FOR NOW.

After that is all guessing and testing. My friend's cockatoo was mutilating and she later figured out all she wanted was a friend, in the shape of a conure. After that, she stopped. 
Sometimes it's as easy as taking away a nest box when there is no male present.
Most times, you won't know what the problem was and your parrot may never stop plucking.

PEPPER ADOPTED 5 YEARS AGO, I DON’T KNOW WHY HE PLUCKS, BUT HE IS HEALTHY ALL MEDICAL TESTS DONE.

Something as moving into a new home can trigger a stress response to pluck. Also, artificial color and preservatives in pellets can cause plucking. Hormonal pluckers usually pluck in spring or fall and let the feathers grow for the rest of the year.

ALEEN, HORMONAL PLUCKER. PLUCKS ONLY IN SPRING, AND THEN LETS HER BEAUTIFUL PURPLE FEATHERS OUT FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR.

No matter if your parrot plucks or not, they have an amazing personality that is much larger than their physical appearance.

Quinoa Salad Recipe

1. Cooked Quinoa

1. Cooked sweet potato

1. Your greens: In a food processor chop your greens: kale, dandelion greens, cilantro...etc

1. Seeds: chia, flax, bee pollen, etc

1. Tsp of Lemon or Orange Juice.

1. Red Chill Flakes

1. Mix everything together

1. Add salt.

1. Add more lemon juice

1. Don't add the chill flakes

Normally, daily activities like chewing, foraging, rubbing the beak are enough to keep a beak trimming. Natural wood perches, and cuttlebones, given your parrot tree branches to chew on, is a great way to keep them busy and their beaks trimmed.

Sometimes the beak does overgrow, because will it grows, just like our nails.

A dremel is what I use to trim the beaks, it's easy and I go slow, taking my time not to hurt him or myself. 1) remember to keep the dermal moving and avoid overheating. 2) take many breaks and check my progress, to make sure you are not overdoing it.

If you go to0 far, you can cause pain because the beak does have nerve endings. Uncontrollable bleed could also occur. So always follow the natural beak line. It's better to do less than to do too much.

Our suggestion:

Watch your vet first before doing it at home so you have a better understanding. 

If the beak grows too fast or abnormally, it can be a medical issue like liver disease. A CBC (blood test) is needed for any diagnose of medical issues. 

The number one question we get is about parrot food. We know there’s too much opposing information about everything online and sometimes it's too hard to know what is the truth. So hopefully our experience can help with simplifying bird food. 
First of all: avoid avocado, tomato, salty food, junk food, chocolate.
Next: All we can do is give you our opinion, reasons for why we do what we do. At the end of the day, it’s your decision.
We provide everything to our birds because we believe everything in moderation balances the diet. We provide:
Fruits, veggies, and greens
Grains
Seed mix
Nuts
Pellets (more on this below) 

What we have learned:

1) Just seed diet is bad ( this means people who ONLY give seeds, nothing else) I do use seeds. Not every day, and not only seed diet.
2) Colored pellet have artificial colors which are linked to behavior and health issue. 
3) non-color pellet in moderation 
**Read the ingredients carefully  (not all pellets are great)
**Read the instructions carefully 
4) Fresh fruits, veggies, and greens every day... make chop, steam veggies, make a fruit salad. There are many ways to include them. Add sprouts and nuts to them to make it into a complete nutrition meal.
5) Avoid dry fruit... it’s just sugar, it’s bad for humans and pets. Just eat fresh fruits.
This works most days for us.
Might not work for you, which is fine. Some birds are so picky they will not eat fresh food so few use birdie bread as a way to included veggies into their bird diet. 
Medical issues need to be considered before changing the diet. If your bird is on a specific diet because of medical needs, that must be followed. 

Simple Chop Recipe

Are you looking for a simple chop recipe where you can get the basics? Look no further, here is my basic chop recipe for all your parrots. 

Chop is simple. It’s grains, veggies and greens, and your seasoning,  chopped up to make chop. 
Grains: quinoa, buckwheat, rice, farro, barley, millet, cooked beans
Greens: kale, spinach, swiss chard, dandelion greens, mustard greens, cilantro 
Veggies: most vegetables in general. No avocado or tomatoes. 
Fruit: Fresh fruits and Berries. 
                
Seasonings: flax seeds, rapeseeds, hemp seeds, chia seeds, nuts, herbs, and spices.
Once chop is made, it can be stored in the freezer, in the fridge mine only last maximum of 3 days. 

1) Boil Water, 5 cups
2) Add brown rice, (any grain which takes 40 mins to cook, a good time to add your orange veggies)

3) Let it boil for 5 to 7 mins


4) Add other grains (any grain which takes 10 mins to cook: quinoa, faro, buckwheat, barley, pasta)


5) Bring to a boil then turn off the heat. Let it soak for 20 to 25 mins. Make sure the grains are covered the whole time.


6) Chop up all your greens, veggies and pulse in a food processor (vary your veggies to anything) Add any fresh veggies and fruit. Varying them will allow for different nutrients and different flavors.

7) Get the spices together. Chills, coriander powered, flax seeds, chia seeds ….. You can also add bee pollen, sesame seeds, hemp seeds, other herbs. Nuts.
8) Mix all together

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Author Monika Sangar
www.pdsparrotshop.com
www.pdsnonprofit.org 
PDS is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization (tax id #46-2470926)