Author Archives: Machelle
Whisper Sweet Nothings in My Ear…Emotional Intelligence and Our Exotic Birds
I was laying in bed this morning, the wee early morning hours, you know, when you are trying to wake up, but you still are in those twilight minutes still not quite awake, in that dreamy state wondering if you are in the real world, or off in some other alien world? And I heard [...]
Gut Flora Building Smoothie!
A nationally known and recognized bird magazine shared a smoothie recipe for our companion birds recently. It was a good recipe I have to admit. But I came up with one that would do what, well smoothies are supposed to do, rehabilitate the natural digestive enzymes. So I thought I may as well share it [...]
Dietary Fiber and The Exotic Bird: The Right Kind of Fiber
We often hear that getting enough fiber into our human diet is vital to the prevention of colon cancer as well as just good overall health. Recent research indicates that the right kind of fiber in our human diet probably has an effect on lowering blood cholesterol levels as well, and may even prevent or [...]
Fatty Liver Disease: Starch and Glycogen
Foods such as potatoes, yams, rice, corn, wheat and other grains as well as legumes such as peas, lentils and beans contain multi-unit carbohydrate polysaccharides known as starch and glycogen. These are termed “storage polysaccharides” because they are stored in the liver and slowly metabolize into the blood as useable sugars as the body needs [...]
Spring is in the Air! And it’s Allergy Season!
Spring is definitely in the air and besides dealing with mating season many of us are also dealing with our own allergies. That brings something to my mind about how our companion birds may be feeling with all of the flowers, trees and weeds in bloom. In addition to their already frustrated nature surrounding their [...]
BirD-elicious! Food Poll: We need YOUR input please!
We have been talking about bringing our BirD-elicious! foods back to market. Our plan is to make this happen within a year. In order to do this we need to have a clear idea of our most popular foods because we will roll out our foods according to their popularity. Please take a moment to [...]
Carbohydrates: Choosing the Right Carbs for Our Companion Birds
Carbohydrates play an important role in the health and nutrition of our companion birds, but unfortunately they are grossly misunderstood. What is a “carbohydrate”? How are carbohydrates utilized by the body? What are the right kinds of carbohydrates? What is the difference between “simple” and “complex” carbohydrates? First of all we need to understand that [...]
“SHI”:Seasonal Hormonal Irregularity- Understanding and Comforting Your Bird
Yes, it’s that time of the year when our beloved companion birds begin to “sow their wild oats”! And while this behavior is perfectly normal, and it provides a good time to molt those old, worn out feathers to grow beautiful new feathers in, the behavior that comes along with this seasonal behavior can both [...]
GMO/GE Foods and How They May Affect BirD-elicious!
Monsanto is at it still, again, more…Please read this article and then sign the petition to keep GMO/GE (Genetically Modified Organisms/Genetically Engineered) foods out of our markets! Research has indicated that the DNA of the people/animals/pets consuming these foods may permanently be changed. These foods are already on grocery shelves across our Nation. If Monsanto [...]
Amino Acids: The Building Blocks of “Complete Protein” – Malnutrition
If I were forced to name only one of the main causes of “The Mutilation Syndrome”, even though I believe there are many causes, I would probably have to list malnutrition at the top of my list. The reason I would feel safe in listing malnutrition as the main cause of this insidious syndrome is [...]
Fatty Liver Disease and the Use of Dietary Fats for Companion Birds (Hepatic Lipidosis)
I recently wrote a fairly comprehensive overview regarding dietary fats for companion birds. In that review I mentioned “fatty liver” disease but I did not go into great detail. I think it might be a good idea to explain just what fatty liver disease is and how it develops as well as how it can [...]
When NOT to Use Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple Cider Vinegar has been touted as one of Nature’s most reliable bird room cleaners for many, many years because it’s “natural” and doesn’t contain harmful chemicals, dyes, or preservatives. However if you have a companion feathered friend in your bird room that exhibits signs of feather plucking, skin mutilation or generalized picking you may [...]
Dietary Oils: A Multi-Part Series – Flax Seed Oil
Flax seed oil is touted as one of the best, if not the best dietary oil to consume to fight cardiovascular disease by raising the healthy HDL cholesterol levels over the lousy LDL cholesterol levels. I totally agree with this fact and here is why, flax seed oil is extremely high in Omega 3 fatty [...]
Dietary Fat: An Overview for Companion Birds – Part 2
In part 1 of “Dietary Fat: An Overview for Companion Birds”, we discussed the two classifications of fats, the “saturation” and the way fats are “structured”, by molecular carbon chains. We discovered that polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats are basically healthy fats more so than saturated fats, except in the case of saturated plant fats that [...]
Dietary Fat: An Overview for Companion Birds – Part 1
Pre-Classification and Purpose of Fats Fats fall under a wider category known as “lipids”. Lipids Lipids are natural organic compounds and are not water soluble; they are fat, lipid and oil soluble. Lipids include fats, phospholipids and steroids. Fats are necessary for energy, to store energy, insulate the body, and cushion and protect the organs. [...]
Machelle
