It’s a Parrot Mash-up!

Mash, parrot salad, chop: whatever you call it, it’s good for your birds!

Think of mash as a mix-up of veggies, pasta, grains and beans. It will be different every time you make it, because the recipe will depend on what you have on hand, what is fresh at the grocery store, and what you (and your birds!) feel like making. You can also make a batch and freeze small bird-sized portions which you can thaw as needed. What a time-saver!

When making mash, make sure to include foods that are high in Vitamin A, because birds need this in their diet:

Pampered Peeps says on her blog,

I ALWAYS add steamed yams. Steaming these, and carrots, enhances vitamin A absorption and we bird people are always trying to figure out how to get more vitamin A into our birdies. They require it and it actually helps them fend off many diseases (i.e. Aspergillosis).

Perhaps you’ve heard of the latest super-grain, quinoa? Not only is it good for you, it’s great for your birds. Elle shares her yummy looking “Quinoa Squash Mash” recipe on her blog, The Happy Cockatoo – Elle’s Avian Cuisine. Looks delicious, doesn’t it?

Elle’s Quinoa Squash Mash (on The Happy Cockatoo)

Elle also shares an awesome parrot salad recipe, which you can share with your birds. As you know, parrots are flock animals, and the flock always eats together. Since you are now part of your parrot’s flock, eating together is just part of the happy parrot experience. As Elle writes,

“[Parrots] would much rather have what you’re having instead of whatever is in their own food bowl. To a parrot, it tastes better if it’s yours.”

Check out Elle’s salad recipe here.

Elle’s Parrot Salad (on The Happy Cockatoo)

Chop is something that Patricia Sund is promoting on her blog, Parrot Nation. She suggests using a food processor to <ahem> chop up the fresh ingredients your birds need into one handy batch. Once this is done, you can store the portion-sized birdie meals into zip-loc bags in the freezer. Super-easy, super healthy for your birds. Make sure you check out Patricia’s blog for posts about chop (and also for Patricia’s sense of humour!).

Chop in zip-loc bags (on Parrot Nation)

Patricia also shares this great video of the chef from Parrot Garden showing off her fabulous looking baked mash. This mash is fed to all the birds at Parrot Garden:

From Virginia’s Mash for Parrots on Parrot Nation.

I hope this brief post about mash, parrot salad and chop gets you excited to try them for your birds! There are a number of sites that provide recipe ideas; check out the links at the bottom of this post to get started.

Parrot Nation’s Chopalooza!

One final note: What do you think 200 pounds of chop would look like? Crazy, huh?

Well, there’s a fundraiser happening for Florida Parrot Rescue (which I wrote about here), and Patricia Sund is going to be there making exactly that!

It’s called Chopalooza, and there’s also going to be a raffle, an online auction, t-shirts and more. Super fun!  It’s being held Saturday, July 14th at Bonnie’s Birds in Port Charlotte, Florida and it starts at 11 a.m.

Check out the post on Parrot Nation for information, photos, a video and more: Chopalooza!

Further links about parrot mash:

• Pampered Peeps Parrot Mash
• The Happy Cockatoo, Elle’s Avian Cuisine – great recipes and wonderful photos.
• Florida Parrot Rescue’s Quarterly Newsletter (with articles about Chop).
• The Parrot’s Pantry, a Facebook group “all about feeding our parrots”.
• Cooking for Parrots – more great ideas, and nice photos too.
• The Mash Diet
• Mike’s Mana Mash
• Mash 101
• The Ultimate Guide to Bird Diet
• Patricia Sund’s Chop
• Patricia Sund’s Chop Recipe on Phoenix Landing’s site

Note that this poster can be printed LARGE (11″ x 17″), though you can still print it on an 8.5″ x 11″ page.