For those new bird owners out there, you may have never heard of the term “bird chop”. No, its not chopping a bird and not as cruel as it sounds. Rather, a process of finely chopping fresh and/or cooked food to form a mix. Simply put, a bird salad.
Foods Suitable for Bird Chop
As a general rule of thumb, you should opt to add nutritious vegetables to over fatty foods such as nuts or seeds. The more colorful vegetables you add, the more vibrant and appealing the bird chop will appear to your bird. Similar to humans, birds also eat with their eyes. My birds love eat broccoli, carrots, bell peppers and spinach. Cooked alternatives include sweet potato, pumpkin or grains. Important thing to remember is to stay clear of foods that are harmful to birds. Take a look at this article to help guide your selection – toxic foods for birds.
Bird Chop Recipe
- Gather your colorful selection of vegetables – broccoli, carrots, red bell pepper, snap peas and corn.
- Rinse each food item thoroughly to remove any dirt and bacteria
- Using a sharp knife cut the vegetables into smaller pieces (3x3cm)
- Pour the cut vegetables into a food processor and pulse mix for 20 seconds. Alternatively, you may finely chop with a knife.
- Additionally, for a super healthy touch, cook a 1/4 handful of quinoa, wheat berries and wild rice. Once cooked, allow the grains to cool and add to the processed vegetables.
- Serve bird chop to your hungry birds! Serving size depends on the size of your, my Sun Conures usually have about a tablespoon each.
Fresh bird chop can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Alternatively if you are short on time, you can create batches and store them in ice cube trays/containers in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. Just be sure allow sufficient time for the mix to thaw before feeding frozen batches to your birds.
Benefits of Bird Chop:
- Variety of bird chops using different combinations of vegetables
- Easy way to introduce vegetables to fussy birds
- Convenient storage in refrigerator/freezer to minimize waste
- Loaded with nutrition
- Promote foraging behavior