Birds
Rules for Feeding Table Foods
1. Nothing greasy, salty or sugary
2. No caffeine or alcohol
3. Stick with “health food” type diet
4. Give a wide variety of foods
5. Introduce new foods gradually
6. Do not leave fresh food in the cage for more then 4 hours (especially high protein foods), then remove and clean the dishes for the next meal
7. Remove all food from the cage in the evening
8. Wash food and water dishes daily
Home-made Prepared Diets

Corn Bread Mix
This is a method of sneaking new food items into your pet’s diet. Start with a standard boxed corn bread mix and when adding the egg, also crush up and add the shell (for calcium). In addition, add a few tablespoons of grated or chopped vegetables, sprouts, dried fruits and so forth. Your imagination is the limit as to the variety and combination of food added. Bake the bread, cool, cut into small pieces that the bird can handle and refrigerate. This will keep in the fridge for 4-5 days. Leftovers in the dish will dry up and you don’t have to worry about rapid spoilage.

Bird Bread
Stir together 4 cups of one of the following: whole wheat flour, graham flour, muffin mix, etc. with 2/3 cup brown sugar, 4 eggs (and the crushed shells), 1 cup ripe banana, 1/2 cup chunky peanut butter, 1/2 cup total mix of raisins, currants, coconut, shredded carrots, apples or zucchini, 2 tablespoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 cup milk. Stir together, adding enough milk to make a thick batter, depending on whether you make a loaf or muffins. (Add less milk for muffins.) Place into greased pans (1 loaf pan or 1-9” cake pan) or paper lined muffin cups. Bake at 350&Mac176;F until bread springs back when touched lightly and browned on top.

Kray Diet (Corn, Rice, Bean and Dog Food)
Dr. Raymond Kray published a diet that is nutritionally balanced for most animals. This diet consisted of equal portions of corn, cooked pinto beans, brown rice and dry dog food. Dr. Kray also recommends a daily serving of fresh vegetables, fruits and a vitamin supplement. This diet is convenient, in that it may be prepared in large amounts, divided into daily servings and frozen. Prior to feeing, daily servings are thawed in a microwave or in a bowl of hot water. You may easily modify this diet without significantly changing its nutritional value. The corn can be replaced with a variety of vegetables (frozen work great); there are several varieties of beans that may be used; carbohydrate (bread, pasta, tortilla slices, etc.) can be substituted for the rice; and bird type pellets or even cooked meat can be substituted for dog food. Using this approach it is easy to develop hundreds of variations of the Kray diet, so your friend need never be bored.

Below are some variations on the Kray diet. Mix bite sized pieces together in proportions of 1lb per category by weight, then divide into daily servings and freeze in zip lock bags. Use 1lb of beans (dry weight) soak for two hours, then cook until just done, not mushy. The vegetables can be purchased and added to your mix frozen (don’t cook them). The items listed below are suggestions. You can use them all, or pick one from each category, and even add your own ideas.

Holiday Kray
Small white and red beans (soaked and cooked)
Stuffing flavored bread cubes
Dog food or cooked turkey
Yams or fresh cranberries or squash

Mexican Kray
Pinto beans and black beans (soaked and cooked)
Corn or flour tortillas cut into pieces
Dog food or cooked hamburger
Corn or green pepper or onion or mild corn or green peas or bell pepper or chilies (canned are fine)

Italian Kray
Kidney beans or lima beans (soaked and cooked or canned or frozen)
Cooked pasta (small variety such as tortellini, orzo or small shells)
Cut green beans or corn or tomatoes
Dog food or pepperoni or Italian sausage (sliced into small pieces)

Fourth of July Kray
1lb can pork and beans or baked beans
Dried bread cubes (plain) or cooked salad macaroni
Dog food or chopped hot dogs

We would like to thank Dr. Jeffrey Jenkins of the Avian and Exotic Animal Hospital of San Diego, California for allowing us to adapt portions of his handout on avian Nutrition to use in this writing.
© 2007 Midwest Bird and Exotic Animal Hospital