I thought i would share how i feed my budgies- complete with pictures as a guide. I know that this is not the only way to feed, but it is one option and a "whole food" way to feed.
I think that something like this would have been very helpful to me when i started out. I took LOTS of photos so you can see what i'm talking about as i go along.
Before i found Puppy (my first budgie... and first bird ever), i didn't know a thing about feeding a budgie.
So i started from scratch, doing a lot of research and reading both in books and various sources online. I learned quite a bit from the people at the Gabriel Foundation/The Birdbrain, and they were nice enough to let me see how they feed all of the rescue birds there, and share their wealth of knowledge. They also pointed me in the direction of a great Yahoo group called Feeding Feathers (if anyone is interested). This diet is based on Shauna's Mash, which you can find in the files there. They have a TON of files you can read- and it's not just for budgies! You can also search past posts for any question you might have, and post your own questions for more information. They have a lot of people there who are experts on the topic.
From all of the information i've gathered, currently this is what i've come up with for feeding my boys (and now girls too!).... it's what works for us.
Basically the main portion of all 6 of my budgie's diets is the "mash". Ideally, you would be preparing this fresh... but realistically (especially with small birds) i prepare ahead of time in parts, and freeze small portions which i then prepare on a daily or every-other-day type basis. I take out what i am going to feed the next day (or 3 or 4) and thaw in the refridgerator. This way i am able to feed the widest variety of foods. You'll see what i mean when you see the photos!
The initial preparation takes some work and time... but it's really easy on a day to day basis because almost everything is pretty much ready to go.
I'll break down what goes into the mash by the 3 basic parts.
Part One Legumes
These are prepared either by cooking or by sprouting. They HAVE TO be cooked or sprouted to a tail length of 1/4-1/2" before feeding for digestability. I usually soak and cook, because it's easier, but i have sprouted as well. Once cooked and cooled I will pulse them in the food processor so that the boys cannot eat around the things they don't want to eat- Puppy especially is stubborn about eating anything that is much bigger than seed. I put the pulsed legumes into ice trays and freeze, then store the cubes in freezer bags.
These can include, but is not limited to- adzuki beans, mung beans, red lentils, green lentils, wheatberries, triticale berries fenugreek, split peas, garbonzo beans
Mix of Legumes
Cooking Legume Mix
Beans & Lentils
Cooking Legumes
Sprouting Legumes
Ready
You can feed sprouted legumes raw. Sometimes I blanch the sprouted legumes in hot water... other times i lightly steam them.
Steaming Sprouted Legumes
Then I Lightly Pulse in the Food Processor Before I Freeze Portions
Part Two Grains/Seeds
These I usually feed soaked and sprouted, but can also be soaked and cooked. This part of the mash i do not freeze (unless cooking instead of sprouting), but i always have my sprouter going and mix in the sprouted grain/seed fresh daily.
These include, but not limited to- quinoa, amaranth (don't feed amaranth dry, MUST be soaked/sprouted/cooked), barley, oats, millet, spelt, kamut, buckwheat, sesame, sunflower, radish seed
I will also soak/sprout some of my dry seed mix from time to time- either on its own or mixed into my sprouting mix. I try to vary the grains i sprout, but i try to always include at least the quinoa and amaranth because it has the most to offer nutritionally speaking.
**It's important when you serve, to feed 2:1 grain/seed:legumes to make a complete protein...
In other words, 2 parts grain to 1 part legume**
You can make a mixed blend of grains and legumes with the correct ratio of 2:1, and then soak and cook, or sprout them all together. Then add this to your veggies 50/50.
Winnie's Brunch (a premix of 2:1 grains/legumes)
Part Three Veggies (and a little fruit)- This makes up about half (45-50%) of the total Mash.
In order to get my birds to eat the widest variety of veggies i run everything through the food processor. This way they cannot easily pick through and choose what they want to eat.
The veggie mix is made up of 3 basic groups.
1. The most important part is the *GREENS*. About 50% of the veggie mix is made up of green leafy veggies.
This includes items such as- kale, collard greens, mustard leaves, dandelion greens, carrot or beet tops, spinach, chard, parsley, cilantro
2. Next is orange/red veggies. These make up about 30% of the veggie mix.
examples- carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, acorn squash, butternut squash, red bell pepper
3. "Other" vegetables make up about 10-15% of the mix....
- zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, jalapeno, broccoli, peas, green beans, corn, beets, celery, brussel sprouts, cauliflouwer.... whatever is in season.
Variety of Veggies (colorful is GooD)
~(Some veggies i like to lightly steam)~
The last 5% or so can be fruits. Budgies are not big fruit eaters... so i just throw a little in for good measure, but fruits don't make up much of my bird's diets.
YuM!
~Wide Variety of Foods~
~All Ready to Chop~
Each time i run the food processor i put a slightly different combination of items in but i try to stick to the basic percentages. This way my budgies get some variety on a day to day basis. One icecube tray may be the same... but each tray varies slightly from eachother.
************************************************** ********** To Feed
*It is best to not defrost in the microwave- it is easy to take out what you need and defrost in your refridgerator overnight.*
Take part of a Legume cube-
Defrosted Lemume
Veggie Mix Cube
All Defrosted
Add Fresh Sprouted Grain and Seed (Remember, 2 parts of this to 1 part legume- twice as much sprouted grain as you have legumes)
All Mixed Together
Voila~! Ready to serve~!
YuM-O~!
It should be about about 1/2 veggies and 1/2 grain/legume mix, with 2 parts grain to 1 part legume.... so approximately 50% veggie mix, 33% sprouted grain/seed and 17% legumes.
************************************************** *********
On days that i work, i feed the mash in the morning before i leave, and again when i get home on the evenings. During the day i will leave some seed (actually, it's more of a dry grain/seed mix) and pellets in their cages.
Days that i'm at home, they get more of the mash because i'm there to rotate new portions in more often.
Of course, they also get fresh greens clipped to their cages as well as birdie bread every so often.
Sometimes they will get a commercial cooked mix- but i will usually add in additional sprouted grains and some veggies if i feed those. I do the same freezing in icecube trays with those cooked mixes too... it's convenient~!
There you go~!
I hope some of you find this info helpful... if nothing else, it just gives you an idea of how i feed my birds and maybe opens the possiblities of how you can feed your birds.
I know this post was LONG~ So thanks for those who read it all the way through~!
-edit-
I forgot to add... that a couple times a week i add a teensy-tiny pinch of kelp for the iodine. This is not as important for other birds, but budgies need it.
I sometimes alternate a little bit of alfalfa powder or other "green" supplement (like spirulina) if i think about it as well.
And a few times a week I sprinkle in some hulled hemp seeds for the omegas and the protein.
**It would be great to see more pictures added to the thread of YOUR budgies eating mash too~!**
__________________
Some say the world will end in fire;
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
-Robert Frost
Last edited by acudogmama; 05-20-2009 at 09:29 AM.
Reason: Additional info/photos etc
There are so many good ideas in your post. I have to read it again...and then start cooking My birds love cooked food, so this mix sounds very good.
Thanks for doing all the work with writing and picture taking
Wow! I wish I was one of your budgies!!! You realy do all these stuff for only two budgies?? Wow!
1 question: Why does your budgie( the one on the right) has such a small body compared to her head?
Wow that looks great. Thanks for the great pointers and all the pictures. I know I need to do more of this for mine.
__________________
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I'm glad this is helpful~! I tried to put all the important information in there... without being too overwhelming~!
I have to admit it was a bit intimidating to me when i was just reading about it.... but once you actually buckle down and do it, it's not so bad.
bijibijmak..... ummmm.... yeah, Mouse looks skinny in that photo because he is stretching his his head up being cute. Maybe he looks that way in the picture.... he's just a young budgie, and still growing. I'm going to assume the best and think you weren't trying to be mean with that comment.
__________________
Some say the world will end in fire;
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
-Robert Frost
how do you sprout you seeds. I sprout my seeds but it takes about 2-3 days and the sprouts aren't that big.
I use an Easy-Sprout Sprouter http://www.sproutamo.com/ to sprout my grains/seeds. It's nice because it has an insert for tiny grains like the quinoa and amaranth. Other sprouters have such large holes the little grains fall out.
I usually only sprout a few tablespoons of grain/seed at a time.
(edit- Now that i have more birds, i do sprout more at once)
I rinse them really well, then soak overnight or about 8-12 hrs. I used to add a few drops of GSE in the soak, but read some negative info on using GSE, so i add a little bit of apple cider vinegar.
After the soak, i rinse really really well under cold water until the water runs clear.
I think the next step is the most important-
I take a chopstick and "fluff" up the wet grains so that i drain as much water as possible and there is airflow around them. I find that swirling the chopstick through does the trick... but if you need to tap, spin, shake your sprouter to get the water out- do it~! Then i rinse the mix a couple times a day (usually when i'm feeding, so morning and night) and always run the chopstick around the wet grain/seed mix to finish draining.
It does take about 2-3 days to get to the point they are at in the photo, but i get small sprouting even after the soak and a little bit after that first day too. It depends on how cold/warm the weather is too. If it's really hot out i rinse them more often so they do not get stinky/moldy. Once they get to the point in the photo, i store them in the fridge, still rinsing a couple times a day.
I feed it before it is done sprouting as well. Even soaked grains/seeds are nutritious. Unlike legumes, you can feed before the tails are long. So i'm feeding it at whatever stage the sprouting happens to be in that day. *^_^*
When i first started sprouting, i wasn't separating the grains out after rinsing so there was too much moisture left, and i don't think i was getting proper airflow for sprouting. It was hit or miss... sometimes they would get stinky and i wasted a lot of grain.
But now that i've been using the chopstick (you can use anything) to make sure the excess water is drained and there is airflow i get nice sprouts every time.
The Easy-Sprout makes it really easy too... but i think it would be the same if you were using any other sprouting lid or collander etc. Just be sure you are draining enough~!
__________________
Some say the world will end in fire;
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
-Robert Frost
Last edited by acudogmama; 05-04-2009 at 10:22 AM.
State: 
I enjoyed reading your post! I don't think it was long at all 
