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Machelle’s Feeding Practices
…and the kitchen sink!
I often tout the advantage of feeding a raw, whole food diet to our birds, using proper food combining methods. That is, learning and educating...
Machelle’s Tip O’ the Day! – Seasonal Changes
Just like us and other animals, some birds react strongly to seasonal changes. Machelle Pacion Avian Nutrition Specialist Often you may experience your bird(s) become a little more a little less active. Your bird may...
Papaya~
A gentle reminder: Hawaiian papaya is mostly GMO. You want to purchase papaya from Mexico or Brazil to ensure you are not feeding GMO papaya to your birds. Also, you will probably not find organic papaya...
Meal Worms as a Protein Source...
Yes, I have been using meal worms (Tenebrio molitor) as a reliable protein source in 2001 and I am still touting their wonderful benefits. I’m happy so many fellow bird lovers are catching on! :-)...
In addition to supplying reliable protein, meal worms are also a great source of B vitamins, magnesium and zinc.
Persimmons: Varieties
Someone was asking in a Facebook group if persimmons are a safe food to feed our birds. This requires a two-fold answer, yes and no. The "Fuyu" variety is the best kind of persimmon to feed our birds because this...
Parrot Vittles™ Salad: Tangy Summer Fruit Salad!
Recipe: 3/4 cup organic fresh Cucumber, washed, peeled and diced. 1/2 cup organic fresh Pineapple, washed, peeled and diced. 1 Tblsp. organic Pine Nuts. 1 Tblsp washed, fresh organic Cilantro leaves, finely diced...
Eclectus-Specific: Dehydrated Eclectus Trail Mix Supreme
Even though this is Eclectus specific, you can feed this to just about any Psittacine. We call this “Eclectus-specific” because this recipe is chock full of the kinds of foods that the Eclectus loves and thrives on...
Foods Feather Destroyers Should Not Be Fed
This list is NOT inclusive of all foods feather destroyers should not be fed, but does include some of the top foods that will most likely trigger feather destruction. Almost all herbs and spices. These foods are extremely high...
May Flowers: (Or Anytime of the Year for That Matter!)
May is a great time to seek out organic edible flowers to mix in with our Really RAW™ mixes we may be doing for our birds! Flowers are not only a good source of nutrients they are fun and colorful...
Really RAW™ Summer Trail Mix
Summer calls for a special trail mix for our exotic birds; a mix that uses the goodies Nature is providing naturally. In this mix I’ve taken some really good and nutritious items...
Savory Blueberry Fig Compote
Savory Blueberry Fig Compote is a wonderfully filling treat to energize, yet satisfy your feathered friend before a nice afternoon siesta!
Cardiovascular Disease in Parrots: Prevention
Balancing nutrients is absolutely key in maintaining your feathered friend’s overall health and wellness! Many of you have read my blogs suggesting a higher magnesium dosage to balance out your bird’s consumption of calcium...
Basic Fruit Salad
You can dehydrate this for future use. If you do, poke several holes in the blueberries to ensure they thoroughly dehydrate. Dehydrate at 115 degrees, no higher...
Weekend Veggie-like Salad
You can make all of this ahead of time and dehydrate it for future use. You will need to poke several holes in the blueberries to thoroughly dehydrate them. Dehydrate at 115 degrees...
Origins Wild Diet Formulation Improvements
Many of you already know that we continuously reformulate and 3rd-party laboratory-test our OWD diets according to any and all reliable research information we run across. We also study how our foods are affecting our own Providence Exotic Bird Sanctuary flock members. If we see a change needs to be made, we don’t hesitate, we do it. If the changes are positive we keep the new formulation; if the changes we see are not positive we throw our theories out and back to the drawing board we go!
Savory Sweet & Sour Mash Mix!
Savory Sweet & Sour Mash Mix:
Lots of Health Benefits!
Beta Carotene (synthesizes into Vitamin A)
High in most vitamins.
High in most minerals, the foundation of nutrient absorption.
Antioxidizing to system.
Potential blood sugar balancing.
Systemic inflammation control.
Potentially aids in the prevention of cancer cells.
Cardiovascular support.
Protects free radicals endogenously and exogenously. (Inside and outside of body – good for skin)
Can help improve digestion.
Excellent supply o...
Really RAW™ Sprouter's Saturday!™ 6.13.15 Parsley Seeds
In an attempt to provide the necessary digestive enzyme “amylase” for exotic birds to digest starch I am always on the hunt for foods that can supply this enzyme naturally...
Earthy Trail Mix
Try to purchase all organic ingredients and sprout all seeds and legumes ahead of time. Soak nuts ahead of time. Dehydrate after sprouting and soaking at 115 degrees...
Parrot Vittles™ Salad: Refreshing Spicy Summer Salad!
Recipe:
½ cup organic Cucumber, washed, peeled and diced. ¼ cup organic Zucchini, washed, peeled and diced. 1 Tblsp. organic Heirloom Tomatoes, washed, unpeeled and diced. 1Tblsp washed, organic Cilantro leaves,...
Nightshades: “Forget About it!”
Before we all go running off half-cocked into the night, screaming and yelling “Don’t feed nightshade foods to your birds because they are toxic!”, let’s all make sure we know what we are claiming, shall we??? The “toxin”,...
Really RAW™ Sprouter’s Saturday!™ 6.20.15 Basil Seeds
Last week we tackled parsley seeds for the digestive enzyme “amylase” they contain when they are barely sprouted. Well guess what? The same holds true for basil seeds...
411 On Melons!
It’s summertime and many of us want to add these great tasting foods to our parrots’ diets! Should we or shouldn’t we? Let’s first understand something VERY important about melons; they are mostly water. Yep, water...
Inca Berries aka Cape Gooseberries: Who Said You Shouldn’t Be Feeding These Little Treasures?
These berries are all the buzz and many of you have recently purchased them from TheBestBirdFood.com. With such an exotic, tart, tangy taste one wonders why parrots like them so much, but it seems they do. Some in the avian…
“Blood Loss” in Parrots Where There Are No Actual Signs of Loss of Blood
What does it mean when your vet says that your companion bird is suffering “blood loss”, but you have never seen your bird actually bleed? One explanation is that your bird could be bleeding internally. To learn if this...
411 On Omega 3s in Your Bird’s Diet!
Most bird food companies don’t state on their food labels the actual amount of Omega 3’s in ratio to the Omega 6s in the foods they produce. Why? Simply stated: 1) Testing for fatty acids is very, very expensive...
Sprouting Basics 2: Why I Use Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide – NOT ACV or GSE
My solution to ensuring sprouts are bacteria-free? Food grade 3% hydrogen peroxide. It is purchased as 35% hydrogen peroxide and then it MUST be diluted to 3% by adding...
Omega 3 Power Berry Balls™
Make your own "N-berry balls!"
Omega 3 Power Berry Balls™ are a healthy alternative to commercial high-Omega 6 berries, nuggets, etc.
Essential Oils, Spices & Herbs
So recently one of my Facebook “friends” posted that they have a “mild allergy to black pepper.” They were at an event and took a bite of the finger snacks that were served, and didn’t notice there was a hidden black peppercorn...
Chamomile: The Flowers in BirD-elicious! Origins Wild Diet!™
By now if you have purchased our foods for your flock you have come to know and expect pure quality. You know why our foods demand the prices they do; we begin with human-grade, organic ingredients...
Really RAW™ Sprouter’s Saturday 9.19.15 Sprouting Millet for More Nutrition!
Millet is actually a seed, not a grain. However it is known as one of the pseudograins along with quinoa and amaranth which I will be discussing at later dates. The seed of millet is produced from the grass of the plant after it matures and “goes to seed.”
Spices in the Lives of Birds Workshop Mission
Before we can realistically know and understand how to utilize spices in the lives of our birds we first need to know the difference between “herbs and spices.” Here is one definition given by Iowa State University, Department of...
Oleic Acid (Omega 9): Why Is It So Important To Our Birds’ Health?
While Omega 3 gets a lot of attention nowadays, and with good reason Omega 9 isn’t a fatty acid we talk much about, but we should...
Really RAW™ Sprouter’s Saturday!™ 5.16.15 Sprouted Peas
Organic sprouted whole peas are one of the healthiest foods we can offer to our exotic companion birds! First of all we can offer this food even to feather destroyers in limited amounts due to the fact...
Calcium Supplements for Your Parrot
It’s the age old question “Which kind of calcium is best absorbed by my bird?” Here at Origins Wild Diet, we have been using “Brazilian Coral Calcium” for years knowing that it delivers readily absorbed calcium...
Really RAW™ Sprouter’s Saturday!™ 8.15.15 “Popcorn Sprouts!”
You won’t find me feeding popcorn to my birds, no way. I believe popcorn is way too high in Omega 6s and insoluble cellulose. Popcorn shoots on the other hand, when fed as tender hemicellulose shoots..
Plant Nutrition: Why is it changing?
This is exactly why sprouting seeds, grains, and legumes should be done in the dark and only sprouted until you can barely see the tail. The smaller the plant, the more nutrition it contains! There are some ways to reduce...
2018 Health Strategies: Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent Fasting: The controlled voluntary abstinence of food. It is not starving oneself. It detoxes and cleanses our body, mind, and soul. This is recommended by many religions, including Christianity, Buddhism...
Do You Really Want to Deplete ALL of the B Vitamins from Your Bird’s System?
Folks I have touched on this topic many times; here I go again. Tea I have talked about how feeding tea, regardless if it is dried or brewed, regardless if is black, green or herbal depletes B vitamins from…
Really RAW™ Sprouter’s Saturday!™ 6.27.15 Microgreens
As many of you know I believe exotic birds consume mostly tropical fruits, the seed within those fruits, insects and larvae, tender bark on the growing branches on which they perch...
Enzymes Parrots Do Not Produce: Lactase & Cellulase
We hear it all the time “birds don’t produce lactase, the digestive enzyme necessary to digest lactose in dairy products. Therefore we should not be feeding dairy to our birds.” Then doesn’t it stand to reason...
Enzymes: Destroyed by Dehydration at High Temperatures?
I’ve been reading several posts about dehydrating foods in home dehydrators. I’ve come to the conclusion that maybe it’s time to clear up some misinformation. Since our company uses gentle dehydration to process...
411 On Mango!
I’ve written a lot about mango, but all of it is well-deserved for this all-important naturally indigenous tropical fruit!I believe mango to be one of the most important foods to feed out parrots, if not the most important fruit...
VOCs: Volatile Organic Compounds
I’m sitting here writing this blog post feeling as though I am recovering from a weekend drinking binge. The truth of the matter is, I don’t drink. We recently took in a new resident in our Providence Exotic Bird Sanctuary...
Really RAW™ Sprouter’s Saturday 9.12.15 Feeding Cruciferous Vegetables…the Healthy Way!
I promised I would be explaining how we can feed our birds those cancer-preventing, botanically classified vegetables known as “cruciferous” veggies without the fear of introducing laxative-inducing, nutrient-leaching “cellulose” into our birds’ diets!
Seizures & The Full Moon
If you or a friend of yours has a bird that experiences problems with toe-tapping, wing-flipping, head-shaking and/or seizure-like behaviors this blog may be of interest you and/or your friend. Read on!
Freeze Dried & Dehydrated Food is Still RAW!
The only nutrient missing from dehydrated food is the moisture as long as the food is dehydrated “correctly.” This is why I have been on the bandwagon since circa 2001-2003 educating the avian community to feed raw food...
Cinnamon: Ceylon or Cassia?
Everyone seems to be discussing the pros and cons of these two varieties of cinnamon these days; Ceylon and Cassia. Which is healthier for our companion birds? Can one actually be toxic to feed our birds...
The Forbidden Food: Mushrooms
I constantly see posts on avian groups and forums telling people “Don’t feed mushrooms to your bird, they are poisonous.”Folks, this absolutely false information. Are we so unknowledgeable...