Goings on

Isn't this baby gorgeous! This is one of our turquoise/pineapple green cheek conure babies. They are almost weaned and will be ready to go home soon! We also have sweet pineapple green cheek conures available. Green cheek conures make wonderful pets. They are cuddly, playful and not loud. They are also great family birds as they are very social and will interact with multiple people. One of our favorites!

We also have five parrotlet babies in the nest. We got a variety of colors from this pair in their last clutch so we are excited to see what hatches out this time!

Sprouting for birds: Well, I am back on my sprouting kick LOL! Birds love fresh sprouts and they are so easy to prepare. They are a powerhouse of nutrition and closely resemble the natural diet our birds would eat in the wild. There are many pre-mixed sprout mixes you can buy, but you can make your own mix very inexpensively. The mix I am using now is black oil sunflower, safflower, wheat berries (hard winter wheat berries are better to sprout than soft wheat berries), mung beans, whole (unhulled) millet and whole oats.

I use the sprouting jar method. It is easy to make your own sprout jars. I use a mason jar and a piece of needlepoint canvas cut it to fit the mouth of the jar. The holes are the perfect size to allow proper draining while keeping the contents of the jar contained.

I rinse my seeds well and then soak them overnight. The next morning, I drain and rinse them well. Then during the day I rinse them maybe twice. I allow them to sprout on the counter for one day and then put them in the fridge. I found this prevents spoiling in our humid Texas weather. Rinse the sprouts and allow them to drain thoroughly before feeding. I use up sprouts within two to three days.

I make one "universal" sprout mix for my birds. Everybody from the parrotlets to my amazon eats the same mix. I find it is easier that way. Weaning babies also receive the same mix and relish their sprouts! There are a lot of good articles on the net regarding sprouting. Carolyn Swicegood (a well respected eclectus breeder) in particular has lots of information on the subject of sprouting for birds.