I just found your channel last night and now I'm binge watching with a cup of coffee. I'm awaiting the arrival of my first budgie and absorbing all the bird care info I can find, lol. Love your videos! Also, congratulations on your engagement!
Wow, your first premiere! Though I can't watch it because I can't stay up later and it is at 12:00 a.m. for me so I'll just watch it when I wake up in the next 2 days 😉
This was a complete lifesaver!! Exactly what I need I went and bought literally everything!! I’m trying to get my cocktail Thor to eat a healthier diet and he only eats seeds with carrot in it and sometimes spinach🙄 I soaked all of these seeds and give them to Thor with grated carrot in it like usual but He wouldn’t touch it, I think he doesn’t like the wet texture of the seeds as I’ve had this problem before with chop if I soak these seeds and the let them completely dry is it defeating the purpose or will he still get all the same nutrients because they have already been soaked? Keep up the good work love the videos!!
Hey Sasha, glad you liked the video! If he is being super fussy, you could rinse the seeds after they have soaked, put them on some kitchen towel and pat them try so they aren't as wet, then feed straight away! You could also grind some healthy pellets like Harrison's or TOP's into a fine powder in a blender and combine with the seeds as that will soak up some of the moisture too!
Hi Sophie, I absolutely adore you and your feathery babies! Thank you so much for doing these videos for us, I've found them all very entertaining and very funny. You've done a cracking job 😊 I'm trying out sprouting things so I have the Chickpeas and Buckwheat soaking today and I've signed up to order the seeds in this video from that wholesale food place. Keep up doing these videos, they're excellent and I'd binge watch them all day if I didn't have uni work to get on with! 😁😁
@@BirdNerdSophie I got there in the end 😁 I another I've another one due next week so the fun continues hahaa! I'm going to order some stuff from that place today, I signed up for an account but the code on the registration page didnt allow me to register an account but I'll use it for orders,, maybe I'd gotten that wrong?
Thank you for this recipe and the great video. Popcorn and Emil are eating the seed mix for a week now. The transition was very easy and they love it the amaranth seems to be the favourite in the mix. Since the change in diet we can actually train them. So thank you very much you made two birds happy and healthier
I tried Nutriberries with figs and dates from another Ladie's recipe. My bird didn't like them much. Sophie if you have a different one I would love to have it.
Hi Sophie! I love all of your videos, they've been the most helpful and detail oriented that I've found so far! I do want to know, do you feed both soaked/unsoaked seeds? If so, how do you ration them out throughout the day? Do you mix soaked seeds into unsoaked? Or mix the soaked seeds into the chop and give the unsoaked seeds with a dry mix separate? I've been incorporating all of these aspects into my GCC's diet, but am still a little lost on the best way to get him to eat all of it daily (soaked/unsoaked seeds, dry mix, chop, sprouted seeds, etc).
In the morning we feed chop, a small piece of fruit and soaked/sprouted items! In the evening we offer our dry mix which contains seeds, herbs, nuts, freeze dried veg, spices, flowers etc 😊 I have a parrot diet playlist you might find useful 😊
Hi sophie. Thank you for your videos you have really helped me be able to get my new conure onto a healthy diet. He 2 and 1/2 and always been on tidy mix seed till i got him and he loves everything you have suggested so far. That much so that he squalks the house down till i wake up to give him his chop haha. I was just wondering do all these seeds need to be soaked for 8-12 hours and how long can they be left in the cage (weekends work late). Or is there a seed mix u recommend creating that could be fed dry. Just i have a budgie as well who has always been on seed and never likes new things, before watching your videos tried treat sticks and all sorts and just doesn't touch them.and was wondering if some of these could be mixed and left dry just to try and get him on something more healthy before transitioning him on to soaked foods or veg
Hey Tanya, That's awesome that he's enjoying all of his snacks! You can leave the soaked mix in the cage for 6 or so hours. For a dry mix, you can blend oat groats, barley flakes, quinoa, caraway seeds, puffed millet, hemp seeds, pieces of dried organic veg, dried flowers, star anise, cloves - just depends how diverse you want it!
I just found your channel! I've been loving it. We're an 8 bird flock. You have great info. I have to ask, where did you get your art on the wall with the fancy portrait of the birdy? It's adorable.
Really helpful video Sophie. What dried flower and herbs do you give your birds and where do you get them from? Also what nuts do you give your birds, my Conure doesn’t seem keen on nuts at all
Thanks for watching! For flowers I either by some individually like chamomile:amzn.to/3aOAvgQ Or I buy avian tea blends of herbs and flowers: www.northernparrots.com/pollys-natural-deptpollys_natural/ My lot aren't that bothered about nuts either but almonds seem to be a winner for many birds!
Thank you so much! This video too made my research a little bit easier once more. All my animals are on 100% natural diets and I gotta say parrot is the trickiest one yet! Kinda helps me filter out options that are not as good and it is not easy with raging ADHD 😅
Great video, I can't wait to do this at some point for my cockatiel! I'm trying to wean him off his cheap seed mix and onto pellets/veg but he's a little junkie 😞 I feel like i've tried everything but he still manages to pick them out and leave the rest!
@@BirdNerdSophie no but i will wach this i need to taco and greenie will not eat thar chop they hate it i put seeds in it so they can eat it nope they hate it
Love this video! Been watching you and your other half’s videos and it’s been truly informative. We have recently took in a 5 month old cockatiel who is slowly but surely warming up to us. However before us it seems like he was on a seed diet to the most part. I will try getting this mix and sprouting it! Is it worth keeping him on healthy seeds mix until he warms up to the house and starts trying new foods? Many thanks keep it up!
Thank you so much for watching! You can try offering new foods now - if you check out my video on how to get birds to eat veggies, there's lots of tips of how to present them to make then enticing - pretending to eat the veggies yourself could be a fun bonding activity too!
@@BirdNerdSophie I had a hard time finding the seeds I wanted grouped enough in one site to not have to pay shipping for a bunch of different orders from different places. I live in the US. Whole foods online only had about 4 items from the list here, they have more available if it was ground and I didn't want to make it all powdery. It was easy to get safflower, oat groats, and hemp seed when I ordered toy parts. Something that kept coming up in my searches was organic seed for planting. Some companies say their seed is sterilized. Is there a certain type of sterilization that is safe or certain types that are harmful? I am willing to email companies and ask specifics. I went to a store with a bulk bin section and found some seed locally and cheap by weight! Plus, no shipping, and in oregon we don't even have sales tax! I used a retail seed mix and then added the ingredients I found.
@@chrish564 hi Chris, without knowing more about the sterilisation, I couldn’t say but planting seeds and ones fit for consumption are likely different! Try anuts. com (without spaces) as a lot of people use that site!
Hi Sophie, loving your videos! Do you feed the healthy seed mix every day? I'm also wanting to try the sprouting, how often do you feed your babies this? I've just adopted a 1 year old cockatiel who I have called Frankie. He's super cute & I want to make sure he's getting the best. x 🦜
Glad you’re enjoying my content! We offer sprouts and or soaked daily - I try and change up the ingredients regularly to get a good blend of nutrients! Frankie sounds adorable! 😍
Thank you for doing this but i was wondering can you give whole sprigs of Amaranth to parrots like a Millett treat for traning I'm thinking about growing Amaranth plant for myself as I have low iron and need it anyway. I tryed to find out online but I couldn't find out anout the whole sprigs if safe for Parrots
But great to know abut it dried I couldn't find anything about dried Amaranth thank you so much for your help I'll just keep to Millett sprigs for training I was hoping for a better healthier choice than Millett but I'll onlt be using it for training so not to bad
Hi, I love trying to fix stuff by DIY...this way, I know what is going into our mouths and now our soon to be birdie. The only Spelt grain I can find is Organic Rolled Spelt. Would that work?
Hi Sophie! Is there much nutritional difference between whole/hulled hemp seeds? Whole ones are proving to be a bit tricky to get compared to the hulled! I assume you wouldn’t need to soak them as long (if at all) since they don’t have that shell either?
Hi, love your videos. I have a pineapple conure and would like to ask, when you soak your grain etc do you leave the lid off? The grain mentioned in this video, are they the sprouting type? xx
Hi Tracey, thanks for watching! You can leave the lid off - I have soaked in a normal drinking glass with no lid! You can sprout everything but the hemp seed, so I’d leave that out and offer separately if you wanted to sprout it 😊
Just bought a bunch of stuff from buywholefoodsonline. Super exited to make this mix for my conure! Gonna sprout some for his evening meal but I also like using seeds and pellets for foraging. Is it possible to use this mix dry aswell? Great video as usual!
Thanks Ellis! Hope you and Kip are well! That's awesome! You can feed the hemp seed ad buckwheat dry, but the rest of the ingredients are better when soaked as it makes them more digestible! 😊
@@BirdNerdSophie Hi there Sophie, he’s going very well thanks! The tips you gave us have come in real handy and he’s improving quite quickly. I’ve been giving him this seed mix for about two weeks now and am surprised to find he doesn’t particularly like it/ wont eat them. Have you got any ideas on how to make them more appealing and tasty for him? Thanks : )
@@EllisWaynforth some birds can be so fussy! Pretend to eat it yourself, offer it up on its own before any food, mix in some things he likes so he has to try everything! 😊
Hi Sophie, I’m so glad to have stumbled across your channel. This video is worth its weight in gold! I wonder if such a seed mix would be suitable for a Pink & Grey galah? I’m trying to wean him off a poor quality seed diet but trying to find information on what seed mix I should be giving him (in addition to his vegetables) is incredibly difficult!
I’m glad you found the video useful 😊 yes galahs can absolutely have this mix too! I also have a video on making a diy dry mix which is a healthy and varied substitute for dry seed mixes too!
Hi Sophie, I've been watching rewatching you and your partners videos for a while now, I feel I've done loads and loads of research and am just so excited to finally get a Weiro this Christmas. I really wanted to ask you how I should bring the bird home? Should it be covered to keep it calm or should it be able to see where it's going in the travel cage? Thanks so much :)
Hey! Thanks for watching! :) It totally depends on how they react and how long the drive is! You could cover the top and sides but leave the front uncovered!
@@artemis980 It took me a while to make sure all of these were safe to go together but you could also soak and sprout mung beans, chickpeas, aduki beans and lentils! You can also soak coriander seeds for 8 hours then serve! I have a sprouting guide for the others on my channel!
Hello good video , very helpful. I have a green cheek conure. I have a sprouting jar like the one you use. I bought a kit originally for myself. It is all organic, there are broccoli seeds, mixed pulses, alfalfa seeds and sunflower seeds. Are these all safe to give to my bird? I make my own ACV, it is so cheap and easy. Thanks.
@@BirdNerdSophie The pulses are mung bean, greenlentil, brown lentil, chick pea, and aduki bean. There is also a bag of china rose radish, which I have never heard of before.
It's best to offer fresh food every day! Also make sure you check out my pellets video to know what to look out for! The cockatiels weigh about 100g, the conures are about 65g!
Hi there would I be able to give all these seeds to my little one dry?? Or do they have to be sprouted just asking incase he doesn't like them sprouted/soaked and then im left with a fair amount of seed mix.. Could I still offer it to him without soaking them.
Great video Sophie! 😀 As these seeds are moist, does this mean that, like fresh chop, they should only be left with your birds for a couple of hours because of bacteria build up? Also with giving chop in the morning for 2hrs and then soaked seeds in the evening , do you give them anything in between that time?
Hi Barbara! I wouldn’t only be concerned about bacteria forming if it was a hot day, otherwise they can have fresh food in the morning and dried food late afternoon! Ours get chop and soaked seeds in the morning and dried seeds and bits and pieces in the evening! Sometime s they’ll have extras at lunch like plain scrambled egg or fresh herbs!
@@BirdNerdSophie Thanks for your reply. I’ve got the birds in my bedroom along with terrariums and vivariums of snakes, geckos and a blue tongue skink, which means the room is always pretty warm. But I’m there all the time, so there’s no problem removing food after a certain period. Will definitely be trying this seed mix with my tiel and 2 budgies. I already give them sprouted seeds using The World’s Best Sprouting Mix and various other seeds which they absolutely love. I’ve heard of but haven’t tried just soaking seeds overnight like this before, but seeing your birds attack their food bowls, there’s no better recommendation. Great to have something else to help vary their diet and keep them healthy. 😀
@@barbaraanderson2449 ah that makes sense! In which case I would switch it out after a couple of hours! You could feed smaller fresh meals if you are home to switch it up every so often! Hope your little ones like the seed mix 😊
Loved this - I am trying to transition my birds to a seed mix that is a lot more healthier I am going to attempt making this, Although I don't have most of the ingredients I'm going to order from Wholefood online! Can't wait for my 1st order (They still are going to have grains, Veggies, legumes and Sprout's every day) But this seed mix will just be something in there cage all the time so that they have something to eat if they wake up before me E.C.T I would give them pellets but at the moment I am not able too, Is it fine if they have no pellets and instead have grains, Veggies, legumes, Sprout's and seeds as there diet?
Thank you for letting me know! I would love to feed them Pellet's but they are really expensive getting the pellets that are really good quality like Harrisons and Tops. I will see what I can do especially since I have 10 Canaries I do normally get 5kg of seeds so it lasts a good amount of time. Xxx@@BirdNerdSophie
Hi Sophie, is your hemp seed raw, I can get it raw, shelled and toasted I have been giving my bird toasted and he loves it. Ca I also add sunflower seed to this mix?
I've bought all those seeds for my ciaque (Sunny) and budgie (Sky) for there evening meal. I've noticed Sunny gobbles up all the hemp seeds😎 . I'm not even sure if he eats the other seeds I'm going to have to keep an eye.
Hi Sophie! I bought a pkg of dried mixed beans. Now I soak them overnight and them cook them in water for 1/2 hour? I know they our dangerous Dried. So I a bit nervous about preparing them properly. So do you recommend and how do you do it? Thank you 😘
Hi Maria! I don't actually buy the packs of beans to cook, I only really feed raw foods apart from birdie bread! But you could have to cook them for at least half an hour!
@@BirdNerdSophie Ok, I thought beans were part of the diet. I’m getting a delivery of some of the seeds you recommend to soak overnight! I’ll keep to those. And Theo loves his chop, especially green peas. Thank you for chop suggestions, I need to change it up. What leafy greens are best? He likes kale and cilantro.
@@mariasardos6860 cooked beans aren’t essential! There are some legumes that you can sprout though! Leafy greens that are good include kale, collard greens, Swiss chard, rocket and baby leaf lettuce!
@@BirdNerdSophie Hi Sophie, you mentioned leaving a list of other seeds that can be soaked, can you please. Also, is this given to them as an alternative to dry mix?
@@WeAreNotGoingBackEver hi Sharon, off the top of my head: Coriander seeds soak 8 hours Quinoa 2 hours Lentils 8-12 hours Pumpkin seeds 8-12 hours Sunflower seeds 8-12 hours There are some great parrot cookbooks that have more comprehensive lists - can link if you’d like! This is kind of a starting point for people who want to sprout - this mix won’t profit but it’s gets people in to the process of activating seeds 😊
In the morning per bird, we feed one heaped tablespoon of fresh food (veg and soaked & sprouted seeds, grains and legumes), in the evening we feed one heaped tablespoon of dry mix (seeds, herbs, flowers, freeze dried vegetables etc), so it's hard to compare the two but hopefully this helps!
Hi Sophie. I wonder why you serve the seeds only after soaking? As far as i know, the nutrient value increases dramatically when they sprout for 2 to 3 days.
This is an alternative for people who would normally just feed a low quality dry seed mix. I have videos on sprouting seeds in my channel too which are my preference but this is to get people started on feeding something healthier.
I was only able to find hemp hearts locally. They're already peeled and in tiny pieces for people to eat. Is this okay? or should I buy some whole hemp seed online?
Hi Sophia, what would you reccomend for bought seed. I cant buy all ingredients at the same time. Wondering what to use untill i buy them . Also what treats for training do you use for training your tiels please
Whoa! I tell you something now, and you may laugh: ALL the ingredients in your list are already in my larder because I eat them regularly!!! The only ones I do not have are brown linseed and kamut. I also have quinoa, barley, porridge oats, popped millets (they look like mini popcorns, tiny and cute!) and milled flaxseed (I was said that in their whole form it is difficult to get the nutrients of those), and I was thinking to add those too. I bought organic hibiscus, calendula and chamomile flowers and herbs, and I planned to add all those ingredients as well. Do you think it will be a good combination? If there's a problem with some of my ingredients please let me know! Regards and congrats from Barbara, Sam &FreddyKruger PS are you active in one of the avian forums? You can tell me to mind my business, I won't be offended of couse!
Hey! Yes ground flaxseed is easier to digest but there’s no harm in offering it whole either! As this is a soaking mix, I wouldn’t include the flowers, but I would add them separately! 😊 And no I’m not on any avian forums!
Hi! thank you for all the information! I want my bird to have a good quality seed mix but sadly I live on an island where there's not much accesibility to organic healthy seeds, I've searched in natural fresh markets and there's very little to none seeds :( can pet stores like petsmart or petco have super premium mixes?
@@BirdNerdSophie I was able to order a seed mix from TOPs but i'm not sure if its enough, I'll have a look at the ingredients from the mixes I see :) is there some ingredients I should avoid? Thank you
They are much easier to digest and more nutrient dense when they are soaked! They can be fed dry but the brown linseeds will be much harder for your bird to digest!
I’ll leave some links below of Canadian shops that might have some seed blends: www.theparrotshop.ca/tangos-products.html www.thingsforwings.ca/ www.animalaholicshop.ca/
My budgies beans are very small. My Mili doesn’t know how to eat oat groats. She just slices them in half with her beak and drops them lol. Are there any smaller seeds you would use for the tinier beaks? I have a bit of a recipe I’m working on. My recipe so far is millet, canary grass seed, a little bit of oat groats (Mili probably won’t eat these), a little flax seed (none of my birds like this, but it’s very healthy so I’ll keep trying it), chia seed, canola seed (aka rapeseed), Niger seed, Aniseed (ground), Walnuts (finely chopped), Dried Coconut finely chopped, and Almonds (finely chopped).
The process of soaking will make the seeds softer and easier for small beaks to eat! You could sprout quinoa and soak caraway seeds too! Here's a great resource: parrotfunhouse.com/blogs/parronting-essentials-blog/list-of-safe-seeds-for-parrots
Hey Sophie, I have another question. When soaking the seed, does it need to be placed somewhere in particular like a dark area or on a seal with sunlight? Or can I just leave them on the countertop in the kitchen? Thanks!
If you are just soaking, then it doesn’t matter if it’s exposed to light or not, I just leave them on the counter! If I’m sprouting, I try and always soak overnight as the sprouts tend to grow quicker this way!
@@BirdNerdSophie Thank you! Sorry to have so many questions. I had a Cockatiel many years ago that died, and knowing what I know now, I am almost sure that I contributed somehow to his death. It took me years to get another bird. My family convinced me to get the two that I have now. When I first got them I was soooooo paranoid, so much so, I couldn't sleep. I've gotten a lot better, but I still worry about their diets, happiness, etc. I read everything, but as you know, there is so much conflicting information out there. My best friend thinks I'm nuts. She actually went online and did her own research to make sure I wasn't crazy. LOL. I'm so glad that I found you and Dave. You all make me feel safe and confident in my responsibility as a caretaker. Thank you!!!!
@@WeAreNotGoingBackEver I’m sure you didn’t 💙 we can only do what we can with the resources we have at the time! I get quite anxious too, it’s because we care so much! I’m glad you find our content useful 😊
Hi Sofie, I got my two cockatiels yesterday. I was looking at the ingredients at the supermarket, I able to find everything but Kamut seeds. Do you have an idea with what I could replace it? Greetings from Germany
Hey Sophie, for some reason I can’t figure out the whole food website it won’t let me select what I want (ordering from Canada) so I’m wondering if you may know anywhere good to order in North America? Thank you !
A question I have is can I soak these seeds in bulk and then, say, air dry them and store them in the fridge? And do they all have to be soaked everytime or can some be fed dry as treats?
Hey! I wouldn't recommend soaking in bulk and drying them as they'll likely develop mould. I just soak some overnight each time, drain as I'm preparing breakfast and serve! The only thing I would recommend feeding dry would be the hemp seeds as the others aren't as digestible dry!
This might be wrong depending on where you live. But, the best place to get birds is usually I a shelter or rescue. But if this is your first bird maybe look into good breeders in your area. Again I don't know how available cockatiels are where you live.
I have the brand..TOPS all seeds mix, not sure if you’re familiar with that brand but my bird won’t eat it.. now I came to find out it probably needs to soak in water 😅
Hi Sophie my conure bird has been dropping “dandruff-like” fluff on my shoulders when she sits. It’s winter where I live, so is it due to seasonal changes?
Thank you for always replying so promptly. ❤️. In your video you added hemp seed to the mix in equal parts so confused me a bit. I could only get so far amaranth,oat groats, spelt grain, kamut grain and quinoa. Well my cockatiel Theo luvs it!!! So when I saw hemp hearts not Seed I thought I could use it. But wasn’t sure, that’s why I needed your advice. I enjoy you and ur birds and videos so much. They been a lifesaver.
So sorry I’m not getting all my questions in one text ☹️. I was researching the sites you recommend and I saw Flax seeds. Do you recommend I add them to mix in equal parts? You are so knowledgeable and sweet! I enjoy David also. You two make a lovely couple. Thanks again in advance 😘🕊
@@mariasardos6860 Yes as it's mixed with all of the others, it's not so abundant, if you were just feeding on it's own, you'd only do a few! Glad you are finding my videos useful! 😊💙🦜
how to do you get an African grey to eat veg I have tried every veg, every which way of cutting ,chopping, grating ,spiralising ,cooked ,uncooked and i cant get him to eat anything but peas. HELP
Hi Carol - here are my tips for getting your bird to eat veggies! Fresh herbs like mint, rosemary and thyme work well too! ua-cam.com/video/QbVzyFt8ZY4/v-deo.html
@@ornithologydude8649 Have you tried sprouted seeds yet? my newest cockatiel hates veggies, but man she goes hog wild on her sprouts. Which in turn i've seen her pick up a veggie here and there. Also have you tried veggies in various sizes? Some parrots are intimidated by whole veggies, some even by diced, I found mine love to eat more of them when they are chopped fine from my food processor. Originally for my budgies when they were younger I used organic baby food mixed in with chop. Then weened them off the purees.
@BirdNerdSophie Sophie, I am sorry but I forgot how long you let them soak. And then you just feed them? I am gonna try that. Usually I use the seeds to make bake. But just soaking, hmmm, he might like it. My little Mr. Fussy. I'll have him 1 year in 1.10. And he still doesn't like dark green leafy veggies. I think it's a long time. I am gonna try the scrambled eggs with broccoli crowns. My husband bought some this morning. Yes, I wouldn't buy any seed mixes. I noticed one time that there is a lot of "dust" in these bags.
@BirdNerdSophie I put hemp seed. Amaranth, buckwheat, quinoa, oat groats in my sprouting jar. I didn't have kamut and spelt. I made the beaten egg/broccoli omelets for Keeko. Of course he ate the egg but ignored the broccoli. Urgh! From the rest of my chop I'll make a bake probably so it doesn't go bad. Freezing becomes too mushy despite oats and raw quinoa. I make the weekly chop like you do. Brown linseed is flaxseed, right? Since I am from Germany originally I know linseed but here in the states it's flaxseed. I like eating linseed oil with cream cheese and cooked potatoes 🥔
Oh l was wondering l don't give my birds veggies because last time l gave my bird lettis but he got sick and he past so l am scared to give them veggies.
I have been going off what the parrot species eats in the wild as close as I can. Wild parrots live twice as along as pet ones (minus predators and disease wise, I mean avg life span of a healthy bird). Seems we aren't doing something right.... Cockatiels and Budgies eat seeds in the wild. They also eat them sprouted (as well as other things). These are pretty much the only 2 parrots I've researched so far that do. The main issue with this is people think oh, well they eat that in the wild, that is fine for mine. The problem with that is wild parrots forage, almost constantly. They are burning calories as much as they take in. Pet parrots on the other hand are couch potatoes comparatively. Even if you do training, and flight training you will never mimic a wild parrots caloric burn over intake. Basically, wild parrots don't sit in 1 spot and gorge themselves every day like pet ones do. TLDR, at least set up foraging areas and toys when you do give them seeds! Make those buggers work for it! With my budgies and cockatiels, I've been doing 50% veggies with sprouts. Then foraging areas for seeds during the day, they get about 30% from that. Then pellets for 20% of their diet. Still need to pick up dried flowers, and some herbs. In the next few months I can get both locally and for free here (in the yard and garden). I plan on dry freezing a bunch for this next winter. I wasn't prepared last season. They also get a tiny tiny amount of fruit every other day. I think people forget just how small a parrots stomach is when they give them fruit. I mean 1 grape to a cockatiel is like a human eating 256 grapes. I would think conures would be on a slightly different diet than cockatiels no? 1 is from south and central America, where the other is Australian. Not sure there. I can only assume regional wise is so vastly different their diets would also be different. I don't have a conure myself, so haven't researched diet on them. Keep thinking I will get a sun conure or two, but would rather go with quakers lol. Happy with all the budgies and cockatiels I have now though. Some of those seeds are crazy priced in America compared to the UK. I had to find alternatives to a few of these you listed. Like the spelt, for example, not sure why its so crazy priced in the US. We don't grow it here I suppose. Seeds that float are dead seeds. You will get them here and there, but shouldn't get a lot like that. Was everything you got non GMO? Some processing plants dry out or spray seeds, that murders their ability to sprout correct. It leaves you with dried up husks of seeds. Which is when you get those floaters. Fun fact, a lot of bird seed mixes you buy for a pet bird will float lol .... If that doesn't tell you something about those cheaper seed mixes. I'd avoid sprouting all pet store seed mixes, unless they clearly state on the bag Sproutable to be honest. They chemically treat those seeds with so much crap. You don't want that on any sprouts if they do sprout. You can tell when the ingredient list on the side of the bag is more than 5 items.... I can speak from first hand experience on those before I started looking into making my own seed mix a few months ago. The canary seed I got wasn't non GMO of course, so a lot of little floaters there. Awesome video btw! Also, I knew I was going to miss the premiere lol Also new icon for my channel EEEEEEE! :D
Conures and cockatiels do have different diets, but they can both still enjoy the seed mix! I have heard that hemp is very expensive in some stores there! Nuts.com is a good US site that seems to have decent prices for different nuts and seeds! Everything is non-GMO and organic. The seeds that floated are amaranth and linseed which can float anyway - the coriander seeds I also soak naturally float so everything is great quality from my supplier! Thanks for watching!
Amaranth grain
Oat groats
Brown linseed
Raw buckwheat
Spelt grain
Kamut grain
Hemp seed
😊
Thank for listening the seeds again. I have not seen Kamut.
I just found your channel last night and now I'm binge watching with a cup of coffee. I'm awaiting the arrival of my first budgie and absorbing all the bird care info I can find, lol. Love your videos! Also, congratulations on your engagement!
Thank you so much for watching and for your kind words Lori! 💙😊 Let me know if you have any questions!
Isn't Sophie wonderful? I have learned so much.
Brilliant channel. You should be proud helping people like myself with the love for birds. 😍
Thank you so much for your kind words 😊💙🦜
Yes, we’re very grateful! 😊
Wow, your first premiere! Though I can't watch it because I can't stay up later and it is at 12:00 a.m. for me so I'll just watch it when I wake up in the next 2 days 😉
Sorry I couldn't do it at a different time! I hope you enjoy!
it feels so satisfying to see ur channel growing❤️❤️❤️❤️
Thank you 😊💙🦜
This was a complete lifesaver!! Exactly what I need I went and bought literally everything!! I’m trying to get my cocktail Thor to eat a healthier diet and he only eats seeds with carrot in it and sometimes spinach🙄 I soaked all of these seeds and give them to Thor with grated carrot in it like usual but He wouldn’t touch it, I think he doesn’t like the wet texture of the seeds as I’ve had this problem before with chop if I soak these seeds and the let them completely dry is it defeating the purpose or will he still get all the same nutrients because they have already been soaked? Keep up the good work love the videos!!
Hey Sasha, glad you liked the video! If he is being super fussy, you could rinse the seeds after they have soaked, put them on some kitchen towel and pat them try so they aren't as wet, then feed straight away! You could also grind some healthy pellets like Harrison's or TOP's into a fine powder in a blender and combine with the seeds as that will soak up some of the moisture too!
@@BirdNerdSophie I will give that a go thank you!!
Hi Sophie, I absolutely adore you and your feathery babies! Thank you so much for doing these videos for us, I've found them all very entertaining and very funny. You've done a cracking job 😊 I'm trying out sprouting things so I have the Chickpeas and Buckwheat soaking today and I've signed up to order the seeds in this video from that wholesale food place. Keep up doing these videos, they're excellent and I'd binge watch them all day if I didn't have uni work to get on with! 😁😁
I know we have spoken already but thank you so much for your kind words - I really appreciate it! Haha prioritise that uni work! 😀
@@BirdNerdSophie I got there in the end 😁 I another I've another one due next week so the fun continues hahaa! I'm going to order some stuff from that place today, I signed up for an account but the code on the registration page didnt allow me to register an account but I'll use it for orders,, maybe I'd gotten that wrong?
I couldn't agree more.
Thank you for this recipe and the great video. Popcorn and Emil are eating the seed mix for a week now. The transition was very easy and they love it the amaranth seems to be the favourite in the mix.
Since the change in diet we can actually train them.
So thank you very much you made two birds happy and healthier
Glad it was helpful and that they like it :)
Nice tips and informations, your videos are always an inspiration.👏👏👏
Thank you so much! 😊🦜💙
Brilliant, will be sure to make a batch.
Thanks for the seed tips. =)
Thanks for watching 😊💙🦜
Pls nooo l can't wait this long!!!
Haha I hope you enjoy it!
Hey Sophie love this! Can you please one day show us how to make treats? I’ll really appreciate it LYY!
If I can find a recipe I think works then absolutely!
I tried Nutriberries with figs and dates from another Ladie's recipe. My bird didn't like them much. Sophie if you have a different one I would love to have it.
Hi Sophie! I love all of your videos, they've been the most helpful and detail oriented that I've found so far! I do want to know, do you feed both soaked/unsoaked seeds? If so, how do you ration them out throughout the day? Do you mix soaked seeds into unsoaked? Or mix the soaked seeds into the chop and give the unsoaked seeds with a dry mix separate? I've been incorporating all of these aspects into my GCC's diet, but am still a little lost on the best way to get him to eat all of it daily (soaked/unsoaked seeds, dry mix, chop, sprouted seeds, etc).
In the morning we feed chop, a small piece of fruit and soaked/sprouted items! In the evening we offer our dry mix which contains seeds, herbs, nuts, freeze dried veg, spices, flowers etc 😊 I have a parrot diet playlist you might find useful 😊
Hi sophie. Thank you for your videos you have really helped me be able to get my new conure onto a healthy diet. He 2 and 1/2 and always been on tidy mix seed till i got him and he loves everything you have suggested so far. That much so that he squalks the house down till i wake up to give him his chop haha.
I was just wondering do all these seeds need to be soaked for 8-12 hours and how long can they be left in the cage (weekends work late). Or is there a seed mix u recommend creating that could be fed dry.
Just i have a budgie as well who has always been on seed and never likes new things, before watching your videos tried treat sticks and all sorts and just doesn't touch them.and was wondering if some of these could be mixed and left dry just to try and get him on something more healthy before transitioning him on to soaked foods or veg
Hey Tanya,
That's awesome that he's enjoying all of his snacks!
You can leave the soaked mix in the cage for 6 or so hours.
For a dry mix, you can blend oat groats, barley flakes, quinoa, caraway seeds, puffed millet, hemp seeds, pieces of dried organic veg, dried flowers, star anise, cloves - just depends how diverse you want it!
@@BirdNerdSophie thats great thanks
Hi Sophie, I'm not sure if I missed it in the video, if so I'm sorry! haha but do you do equal parts of all the seeds for your mixture? thank you!
Yes equal parts of each! 😊
I just found your channel! I've been loving it. We're an 8 bird flock. You have great info. I have to ask, where did you get your art on the wall with the fancy portrait of the birdy? It's adorable.
Thanks for watching 😊 I think those were from The Canvasist! If you search ‘digital pet portrait’ there should be a few sites that do them!
Really helpful video Sophie. What dried flower and herbs do you give your birds and where do you get them from? Also what nuts do you give your birds, my Conure doesn’t seem keen on nuts at all
Thanks for watching! For flowers I either by some individually like chamomile:amzn.to/3aOAvgQ
Or I buy avian tea blends of herbs and flowers: www.northernparrots.com/pollys-natural-deptpollys_natural/
My lot aren't that bothered about nuts either but almonds seem to be a winner for many birds!
Hi, I only found hemp hearts by me. Is that ok? Do I have to soak them???
@@mariasardos6860 You don't need to soak hemp hearts so you could skip them out of the recipe!
Thank you so much! This video too made my research a little bit easier once more.
All my animals are on 100% natural diets and I gotta say parrot is the trickiest one yet!
Kinda helps me filter out options that are not as good and it is not easy with raging ADHD 😅
Glad you found it useful 😊💙
good to know another youtuber (like me) watches marlene :)
I am obsessed with Vinny and Brando! 😍
@@BirdNerdSophie :)
Great video, I can't wait to do this at some point for my cockatiel! I'm trying to wean him off his cheap seed mix and onto pellets/veg but he's a little junkie 😞 I feel like i've tried everything but he still manages to pick them out and leave the rest!
I hope he likes it! Have you seen my video with tips to get birds to eat veggies? ua-cam.com/video/QbVzyFt8ZY4/v-deo.html
@@BirdNerdSophie no but i will wach this i need to taco and greenie will not eat thar chop they hate it i put seeds in it so they can eat it nope they hate it
@@BirdNerdSophie Thank you, yes! I'm going to try spouting as you suggested to see if that can help him transition :)
I found your channel recently.... I am loving your content so much.... So much to learn❤️
I’m glad you are enjoying my videos 😊💙
The best video so far . I was looking for one website so i can order everything together ♥️♥️thank you😭😭😭
Glad it was helpful! 😊
Love this video! Been watching you and your other half’s videos and it’s been truly informative. We have recently took in a 5 month old cockatiel who is slowly but surely warming up to us. However before us it seems like he was on a seed diet to the most part. I will try getting this mix and sprouting it! Is it worth keeping him on healthy seeds mix until he warms up to the house and starts trying new foods? Many thanks keep it up!
Thank you so much for watching! You can try offering new foods now - if you check out my video on how to get birds to eat veggies, there's lots of tips of how to present them to make then enticing - pretending to eat the veggies yourself could be a fun bonding activity too!
Hi, thankyou for this video, with all the ingredients in this video, do they all need to be sprouted or can you just soak them. Thanks
This mix is just for soaking! 😊
Wanted to do this since I saw the video when it posted! Finally preparing to order and knew exactly where to come for the list and refresher!
Let me know how it goes 🥰
@@BirdNerdSophie I had a hard time finding the seeds I wanted grouped enough in one site to not have to pay shipping for a bunch of different orders from different places. I live in the US. Whole foods online only had about 4 items from the list here, they have more available if it was ground and I didn't want to make it all powdery. It was easy to get safflower, oat groats, and hemp seed when I ordered toy parts.
Something that kept coming up in my searches was organic seed for planting. Some companies say their seed is sterilized. Is there a certain type of sterilization that is safe or certain types that are harmful? I am willing to email companies and ask specifics.
I went to a store with a bulk bin section and found some seed locally and cheap by weight! Plus, no shipping, and in oregon we don't even have sales tax!
I used a retail seed mix and then added the ingredients I found.
@@chrish564 hi Chris, without knowing more about the sterilisation, I couldn’t say but planting seeds and ones fit for consumption are likely different! Try anuts. com (without spaces) as a lot of people use that site!
@@BirdNerdSophie thank you!
your birds sound adorable, omg.
Thank you 😊
@@BirdNerdSophie of course!
Hi Sophie, loving your videos! Do you feed the healthy seed mix every day? I'm also wanting to try the sprouting, how often do you feed your babies this? I've just adopted a 1 year old cockatiel who I have called Frankie. He's super cute & I want to make sure he's getting the best. x 🦜
Glad you’re enjoying my content! We offer sprouts and or soaked daily - I try and change up the ingredients regularly to get a good blend of nutrients! Frankie sounds adorable! 😍
Thank you for doing this but i was wondering can you give whole sprigs of Amaranth to parrots like a Millett treat for traning I'm thinking about growing Amaranth plant for myself as I have low iron and need it anyway. I tryed to find out online but I couldn't find out anout the whole sprigs if safe for Parrots
Hey! No I wouldn’t recommend that as amaranth should only be fed soaked or sprouted, not dry 😊
I was talkin fresh straight of the plant sorry about the confusion
But great to know abut it dried I couldn't find anything about dried Amaranth thank you so much for your help I'll just keep to Millett sprigs for training I was hoping for a better healthier choice than Millett but I'll onlt be using it for training so not to bad
Keep up the awsome job I have learned so much from you and your bf thank you
Hi, I love trying to fix stuff by DIY...this way, I know what is going into our mouths and now our soon to be birdie. The only Spelt grain I can find is Organic Rolled Spelt. Would that work?
Rolled spelt won't work in a soaking mix but you can feed it dry!
Hi Sophie! Is there much nutritional difference between whole/hulled hemp seeds? Whole ones are proving to be a bit tricky to get compared to the hulled! I assume you wouldn’t need to soak them as long (if at all) since they don’t have that shell either?
Hey! There isn’t too much difference nutritionally between the two but I definitely wouldn’t soak the ones without the shells! 😊
What is your suggestion for a mix to suit my flock of , cockatoo, pineapple conure, golden conure ?
You might want to check out my DIY dry mix video for them 😀
I love this!
Thank you! 😊💙🦜
Hi, love your videos. I have a pineapple conure and would like to ask, when you soak your grain etc do you leave the lid off? The grain mentioned in this video, are they the sprouting type? xx
Hi Tracey, thanks for watching! You can leave the lid off - I have soaked in a normal drinking glass with no lid!
You can sprout everything but the hemp seed, so I’d leave that out and offer separately if you wanted to sprout it 😊
This will be helpful
Hope you enjoy! 😊
Can u make a list? Or video One for sprout seeds we can soak or sprout and one for dry seeds?
I have a dry seed one too on here 😀
Nice video, this will really help me get moving with my future birds
If you want some help with looking after birds I can help you
Glad you enjoyed the video! 😊
@@87.l9 just checked out your channel and it is pretty nice. What do you mean by If you want some help with looking after birds I can help you?
@@jonahcallahan4682 what I mean Is if you have any questions about birds I can answer them or something
@@87.l9 okay thanks!
Just bought a bunch of stuff from buywholefoodsonline. Super exited to make this mix for my conure! Gonna sprout some for his evening meal but I also like using seeds and pellets for foraging. Is it possible to use this mix dry aswell?
Great video as usual!
Thanks Ellis! Hope you and Kip are well! That's awesome! You can feed the hemp seed ad buckwheat dry, but the rest of the ingredients are better when soaked as it makes them more digestible! 😊
@@BirdNerdSophie Hi there Sophie, he’s going very well thanks! The tips you gave us have come in real handy and he’s improving quite quickly. I’ve been giving him this seed mix for about two weeks now and am surprised to find he doesn’t particularly like it/ wont eat them. Have you got any ideas on how to make them more appealing and tasty for him? Thanks : )
@@EllisWaynforth some birds can be so fussy! Pretend to eat it yourself, offer it up on its own before any food, mix in some things he likes so he has to try everything! 😊
Amazing video!! Loved it!
Thank you so much for watching 😊💙🦜
Hi Sophie, I’m so glad to have stumbled across your channel. This video is worth its weight in gold! I wonder if such a seed mix would be suitable for a Pink & Grey galah? I’m trying to wean him off a poor quality seed diet but trying to find information on what seed mix I should be giving him (in addition to his vegetables) is incredibly difficult!
I’m glad you found the video useful 😊 yes galahs can absolutely have this mix too! I also have a video on making a diy dry mix which is a healthy and varied substitute for dry seed mixes too!
Hi Sophie, I've been watching rewatching you and your partners videos for a while now, I feel I've done loads and loads of research and am just so excited to finally get a Weiro this Christmas. I really wanted to ask you how I should bring the bird home? Should it be covered to keep it calm or should it be able to see where it's going in the travel cage? Thanks so much :)
Hey! Thanks for watching! :) It totally depends on how they react and how long the drive is! You could cover the top and sides but leave the front uncovered!
@@BirdNerdSophie cool okay, thankyou so much for your help and your videos they're really helpful :) x
What can we use instead of Kamut? Can’t seem to find it readily in AUSTRALIA 🇦🇺
Hi Kylie, none if the ingredients are essential, so you could swap it out for another healthy grain like quinoa!
Ceres organics has some in Victoria! It’s a tricky one to get but they do have an online store if you’re not local :)
very interesting Video as always. My Cockatiels love this mix. it. I wonder if you could give my some more types of seed mixes.
Thanks for watching! My birds also get Tidymix Budgie diet seed mix as a treat!
@@BirdNerdSophie thanks for your quick answer but I actualliy mean another healthy mix of seeds and grains iI can mix myself for soaking.
@@artemis980 It took me a while to make sure all of these were safe to go together but you could also soak and sprout mung beans, chickpeas, aduki beans and lentils! You can also soak coriander seeds for 8 hours then serve! I have a sprouting guide for the others on my channel!
@@BirdNerdSophie
Hello good video , very helpful. I have a green cheek conure. I have a sprouting jar like the one you use. I bought a kit originally for myself. It is all organic, there are broccoli seeds, mixed pulses, alfalfa seeds and sunflower seeds. Are these all safe to give to my bird? I make my own ACV, it is so cheap and easy. Thanks.
Awesome! Do you have any more info on what pulses they are? Otherwise the seeds you mentioned are all fine for parrots! 😊
@@BirdNerdSophie The pulses are mung bean, greenlentil, brown lentil, chick pea, and aduki bean. There is also a bag of china rose radish, which I have never heard of before.
@@janmargaret7972 I have never heard of china rose radish but the other ingredients are safe!
@@BirdNerdSophie Thank you. 👍
My local supermarket doesn’t have Bragg brand but they do have osu it does say with the mother would that be okay to use or does it have to be Bragg
The one in your supermarket would be fine to use 😊
Great video as always I go through so much bird seed it’s crazy I buy about 9kgs worth every few months and store it in the freezer to save some money
Thanks Kylee! That’s a great money saving hack - it’s always better to buy in bulk if you can! Hope you and the birds are okay!
Very interesting because I"m not sure in I should change to Pellets Presently I change it every other day. How mich do your Birds weight?
It's best to offer fresh food every day! Also make sure you check out my pellets video to know what to look out for! The cockatiels weigh about 100g, the conures are about 65g!
@@BirdNerdSophie thank's a lot for your quick Response.
Hi there would I be able to give all these seeds to my little one dry?? Or do they have to be sprouted just asking incase he doesn't like them sprouted/soaked and then im left with a fair amount of seed mix.. Could I still offer it to him without soaking them.
The amaranth can’t be fed dry, the other ingredients can be fed dry 😊
Great video Sophie! 😀
As these seeds are moist, does this mean that, like fresh chop, they should only be left with your birds for a couple of hours because of bacteria build up? Also with giving chop in the morning for 2hrs and then soaked seeds in the evening , do you give them anything in between that time?
Hi Barbara! I wouldn’t only be concerned about bacteria forming if it was a hot day, otherwise they can have fresh food in the morning and dried food late afternoon!
Ours get chop and soaked seeds in the morning and dried seeds and bits and pieces in the evening!
Sometime s they’ll have extras at lunch like plain scrambled egg or fresh herbs!
@@BirdNerdSophie Thanks for your reply. I’ve got the birds in my bedroom along with terrariums and vivariums of snakes, geckos and a blue tongue skink, which means the room is always pretty warm. But I’m there all the time, so there’s no problem removing food after a certain period.
Will definitely be trying this seed mix with my tiel and 2 budgies. I already give them sprouted seeds using The World’s Best Sprouting Mix and various other seeds which they absolutely love. I’ve heard of but haven’t tried just soaking seeds overnight like this before, but seeing your birds attack their food bowls, there’s no better recommendation. Great to have something else to help vary their diet and keep them healthy. 😀
@@barbaraanderson2449 ah that makes sense! In which case I would switch it out after a couple of hours! You could feed smaller fresh meals if you are home to switch it up every so often!
Hope your little ones like the seed mix 😊
What is the dry seed mix you make?
Loved this - I am trying to transition my birds to a seed mix that is a lot more healthier I am going to attempt making this, Although I don't have most of the ingredients I'm going to order from Wholefood online! Can't wait for my 1st order (They still are going to have grains, Veggies, legumes and Sprout's every day) But this seed mix will just be something in there cage all the time so that they have something to eat if they wake up before me E.C.T I would give them pellets but at the moment I am not able too, Is it fine if they have no pellets and instead have grains, Veggies, legumes, Sprout's and seeds as there diet?
Lots of diversity is great in their diet! 🥰
Thank you for letting me know! I would love to feed them Pellet's but they are really expensive getting the pellets that are really good quality like Harrisons and Tops. I will see what I can do especially since I have 10 Canaries I do normally get 5kg of seeds so it lasts a good amount of time. Xxx@@BirdNerdSophie
Hi Sophie, is your hemp seed raw, I can get it raw, shelled and toasted I have been giving my bird toasted and he loves it. Ca I also add sunflower seed to this mix?
Yes our hemp seed is raw which is the best way to offer!
I've bought all those seeds for my ciaque (Sunny) and budgie (Sky) for there evening meal. I've noticed Sunny gobbles up all the hemp seeds😎 . I'm not even sure if he eats the other seeds I'm going to have to keep an eye.
Hemp seed is yummy! Our conures love them as treats!
Hi Sophie!
I bought a pkg of dried mixed beans. Now I soak them overnight and them cook them in water for 1/2 hour?
I know they our dangerous Dried. So I a bit nervous about preparing them properly. So do you recommend and how do you do it? Thank you 😘
Hi Maria! I don't actually buy the packs of beans to cook, I only really feed raw foods apart from birdie bread! But you could have to cook them for at least half an hour!
@@BirdNerdSophie
Ok, I thought beans were part of the diet. I’m getting a delivery of some of the seeds you recommend to soak overnight! I’ll keep to those. And Theo loves his chop, especially green peas. Thank you for chop suggestions, I need to change it up. What leafy greens are best? He likes kale and cilantro.
@@mariasardos6860 cooked beans aren’t essential! There are some legumes that you can sprout though!
Leafy greens that are good include kale, collard greens, Swiss chard, rocket and baby leaf lettuce!
What legumes can it sprout? Do you have a video. ?
@@mariasardos6860 I have a video here! ua-cam.com/video/nCSSpCRoQSc/v-deo.html
What is the purpose of the apple cider vinegar? Just wondering if I really need to include that or not
It stops bacteria and mould growth!
Hi Sophie, I'm a bit confused about the seed mix. I didn't see any sprouts. Was it supposed to be a sprout blend or just a seed mixture?
Hi Sharon, this is a soaking mix rather than a sprouting mix 😊
@@BirdNerdSophie Hi Sophie, you mentioned leaving a list of other seeds that can be soaked, can you please. Also, is this given to them as an alternative to dry mix?
@@WeAreNotGoingBackEver hi Sharon, off the top of my head:
Coriander seeds soak 8 hours
Quinoa 2 hours
Lentils 8-12 hours
Pumpkin seeds 8-12 hours
Sunflower seeds 8-12 hours
There are some great parrot cookbooks that have more comprehensive lists - can link if you’d like!
This is kind of a starting point for people who want to sprout - this mix won’t profit but it’s gets people in to the process of activating seeds 😊
Hello, how much seeds should you give your bird compared to pellets? For a cockatiel. Thanks heaps xoxo
In the morning per bird, we feed one heaped tablespoon of fresh food (veg and soaked & sprouted seeds, grains and legumes), in the evening we feed one heaped tablespoon of dry mix (seeds, herbs, flowers, freeze dried vegetables etc), so it's hard to compare the two but hopefully this helps!
Hi Sophie. I wonder why you serve the seeds only after soaking? As far as i know, the nutrient value increases dramatically when they sprout for 2 to 3 days.
This is an alternative for people who would normally just feed a low quality dry seed mix. I have videos on sprouting seeds in my channel too which are my preference but this is to get people started on feeding something healthier.
I was only able to find hemp hearts locally. They're already peeled and in tiny pieces for people to eat. Is this okay? or should I buy some whole hemp seed online?
You can just leave the hemp out, or use the hemp hearts d dry and sprinkled over the top 😊
Hi Sophia, what would you reccomend for bought seed. I cant buy all ingredients at the same time. Wondering what to use untill i buy them . Also what treats for training do you use for training your tiels please
You can use Tidymix budgie diet or some of the mixes from Squeaky Beak 😊 we mainly use millet for training the cockatiels!
@@BirdNerdSophie Thank you xx
do you have a recommended website to buy this stuff for america?
You could try www.anuts.com/ 😊
Whoa! I tell you something now, and you may laugh: ALL the ingredients in your list are already in my larder because I eat them regularly!!! The only ones I do not have are brown linseed and kamut. I also have quinoa, barley, porridge oats, popped millets (they look like mini popcorns, tiny and cute!) and milled flaxseed (I was said that in their whole form it is difficult to get the nutrients of those), and I was thinking to add those too. I bought organic hibiscus, calendula and chamomile flowers and herbs, and I planned to add all those ingredients as well. Do you think it will be a good combination? If there's a problem with some of my ingredients please let me know! Regards and congrats from Barbara, Sam &FreddyKruger
PS are you active in one of the avian forums? You can tell me to mind my business, I won't be offended of couse!
Hey! Yes ground flaxseed is easier to digest but there’s no harm in offering it whole either!
As this is a soaking mix, I wouldn’t include the flowers, but I would add them separately! 😊
And no I’m not on any avian forums!
@@BirdNerdSophie you would be such an asset to any parrot community, with all your knowledge
Hi! thank you for all the information! I want my bird to have a good quality seed mix but sadly I live on an island where there's not much accesibility to organic healthy seeds, I've searched in natural fresh markets and there's very little to none seeds :( can pet stores like petsmart or petco have super premium mixes?
Are you able to order online? 😊 I’m not familiar with the seed mixes they sell but you could have a look!
@@BirdNerdSophie I was able to order a seed mix from TOPs but i'm not sure if its enough, I'll have a look at the ingredients from the mixes I see :) is there some ingredients I should avoid? Thank you
@@BethRo-ut6qp TOPs do great seed mixes! 😊 don’t soak any soup type beans!
@@BirdNerdSophie Perfect, thank you so much! :)
If u have all these seeds do u have to soak them or can u mix them all and feed them dry
They are much easier to digest and more nutrient dense when they are soaked! They can be fed dry but the brown linseeds will be much harder for your bird to digest!
Sophie where can I buy a good seed mix ? I live in Canada.
I’ll leave some links below of Canadian shops that might have some seed blends:
www.theparrotshop.ca/tangos-products.html
www.thingsforwings.ca/
www.animalaholicshop.ca/
Thanks Sophie for the links you shared… you are the best.
the birds are like mmmmmm tasty
My budgies beans are very small. My Mili doesn’t know how to eat oat groats. She just slices them in half with her beak and drops them lol. Are there any smaller seeds you would use for the tinier beaks? I have a bit of a recipe I’m working on. My recipe so far is millet, canary grass seed, a little bit of oat groats (Mili probably won’t eat these), a little flax seed (none of my birds like this, but it’s very healthy so I’ll keep trying it), chia seed, canola seed (aka rapeseed), Niger seed, Aniseed (ground), Walnuts (finely chopped), Dried Coconut finely chopped, and Almonds (finely chopped).
I mean beaks, not beans
I’m also adding some dried and chopped veggies and a little fruit
Definitely gonna try soaking them as well!
The process of soaking will make the seeds softer and easier for small beaks to eat!
You could sprout quinoa and soak caraway seeds too! Here's a great resource: parrotfunhouse.com/blogs/parronting-essentials-blog/list-of-safe-seeds-for-parrots
Hey Sophie, I have another question. When soaking the seed, does it need to be placed somewhere in particular like a dark area or on a seal with sunlight? Or can I just leave them on the countertop in the kitchen? Thanks!
If you are just soaking, then it doesn’t matter if it’s exposed to light or not, I just leave them on the counter! If I’m sprouting, I try and always soak overnight as the sprouts tend to grow quicker this way!
@@BirdNerdSophie Thank you! Sorry to have so many questions. I had a Cockatiel many years ago that died, and knowing what I know now, I am almost sure that I contributed somehow to his death. It took me years to get another bird. My family convinced me to get the two that I have now. When I first got them I was soooooo paranoid, so much so, I couldn't sleep. I've gotten a lot better, but I still worry about their diets, happiness, etc. I read everything, but as you know, there is so much conflicting information out there. My best friend thinks I'm nuts. She actually went online and did her own research to make sure I wasn't crazy. LOL. I'm so glad that I found you and Dave. You all make me feel safe and confident in my responsibility as a caretaker. Thank you!!!!
@@WeAreNotGoingBackEver I’m sure you didn’t 💙 we can only do what we can with the resources we have at the time! I get quite anxious too, it’s because we care so much! I’m glad you find our content useful 😊
can i feed this to my cockatiels and budgies?
Absolutely!
I really enjoyed this
Glad you liked it :)
Hi Sofie, I got my two cockatiels yesterday. I was looking at the ingredients at the supermarket, I able to find everything but Kamut seeds. Do you have an idea with what I could replace it?
Greetings from Germany
Hi Jo, you don’t have to use kamut if you don’t have access to it 😊
@@BirdNerdSophie thanks for your answer, and sorry for the wrong spelling of your name
So I can just leave it out entirely?
@@jomau1895 that's okay! Yes you can leave it out!
What is the shredded wood that you have at the bottom of the Cockatiels cage? An where can I get it?
We use Easibed - it’s available from a variety of places and you might be able to buy it locally though we get ours online!
I have carefree here, is that ok?
@@mariasardos6860 Do you mean Carefresh?
Yes! Lol
Hey Sophie is it possible to feed buckwheat to birds unsprouted?
Yes! 😊
Hey Sophie, for some reason I can’t figure out the whole food website it won’t let me select what I want (ordering from Canada) so I’m wondering if you may know anywhere good to order in North America? Thank you !
Hey! You should be able to get all of the ingredients from nuts.com 😊
@@BirdNerdSophie thank you so much !! ❤️❤️
Hi, is it safe to feed all these seeds raw (uncooked or un soaked)? Especially amaranth seeds?
I always soak amaranth but the rest are fine raw or soaked!
Sophie are white sesame seeds, red millet and white millet good/healthy for cockatiels and budgies?
They are high in fat but they can have some as a treat!
@@BirdNerdSophie all of them or just 1 of the seeds?
@@candicet5973 all of them are higher in fat and should be fed as treat foods!
A question I have is can I soak these seeds in bulk and then, say, air dry them and store them in the fridge? And do they all have to be soaked everytime or can some be fed dry as treats?
Hey! I wouldn't recommend soaking in bulk and drying them as they'll likely develop mould. I just soak some overnight each time, drain as I'm preparing breakfast and serve!
The only thing I would recommend feeding dry would be the hemp seeds as the others aren't as digestible dry!
Do you have a source that you would recommend for your American viewers?
Yes! Nuts.com is a great website 😊
BirdNerdSophie Thank you. I just put a deposit on a baby GCC. Your videos are a great resource.
@@carriebuchda3277 thanks for watching! That's so exciting - I hope they settle in well!
I don't feed pellets a lot, so Archie mainly eats soaked grains and seeds!
Awesome! 😊💙🦜
So the seeds have to be spouted ? Or you can give it to them normal ?
Yes the seeds should be soaked.as that’s what’s ultimately going to make them healthier! It’s really simple to do 😊
Is there anywhere you can recommend to get the cockatiels
Depends where you are
Where are you in the world?!
This might be wrong depending on where you live. But, the best place to get birds is usually I a shelter or rescue. But if this is your first bird maybe look into good breeders in your area. Again I don't know how available cockatiels are where you live.
I have the brand..TOPS all seeds mix, not sure if you’re familiar with that brand but my bird won’t eat it.. now I came to find out it probably needs to soak in water 😅
Some of the TOPs mixes are great for soaking!
What ones can I buy for budgies
Your budgie will be able to enjoy all of these 😊
What if you cook the seed for 7 to 10 mins? Wouldn't that make it easy to digest and save some leftovers in the fridge?
Cooking then breaks down some of the nutrients and makes them spoil faster!
They’re much healthier soaked and prepped on a daily basis!
Hi Sophie my conure bird has been dropping “dandruff-like” fluff on my shoulders when she sits. It’s winter where I live, so is it due to seasonal changes?
Also, she’s been dropping a lot of small tiny feathers too!
Hi Sara, it sounds like she is moulting which is a normal process and happens once or twice a year!
@@BirdNerdSophie thank you so much for replying!
Hi Sophie, if I buy shelled hemp seeds. How much should I give my cockatiel daily?
Shelled hemp hearts
Only a couple of seeds are they are higher in fat :)
Thank you for always replying so promptly. ❤️.
In your video you added hemp seed to the mix in equal parts so confused me a bit. I could only get so far amaranth,oat groats, spelt grain, kamut grain and quinoa. Well my cockatiel Theo luvs it!!! So when I saw hemp hearts not Seed I thought I could use it. But wasn’t sure, that’s why I needed your advice.
I enjoy you and ur birds and videos so much. They been a lifesaver.
So sorry I’m not getting all my questions in one text ☹️. I was researching the sites you recommend and I saw Flax seeds. Do you recommend I add them to mix in equal parts?
You are so knowledgeable and sweet! I enjoy David also. You two make a lovely couple. Thanks again in advance 😘🕊
@@mariasardos6860 Yes as it's mixed with all of the others, it's not so abundant, if you were just feeding on it's own, you'd only do a few! Glad you are finding my videos useful! 😊💙🦜
Can I add chia seeds and flax to this?
Yes to flax, no to chia! It goes too gloopy and jelly like!
how to do you get an African grey to eat veg I have tried every veg, every which way of cutting ,chopping, grating ,spiralising ,cooked ,uncooked and i cant get him to eat anything but peas. HELP
Hi Carol - here are my tips for getting your bird to eat veggies! Fresh herbs like mint, rosemary and thyme work well too! ua-cam.com/video/QbVzyFt8ZY4/v-deo.html
Yay!
Hope you enjoy!
Is pepper seeds good to sprout?
What kind of pepper? Birds can eat seeds straight from chillis and belle peppers 😊
How much seed should i give to each bird per day? 100g?
No haha - about 1-2 teaspoons per bird plus lots of veggies!
@@BirdNerdSophie ughh they don't eat too many veggies. They just pick up bits of veg and throw it on the floor 🙁
@@ornithologydude8649 keep trying - chop or grate super small!
@@BirdNerdSophie might have to book a consultation?
@@ornithologydude8649 Have you tried sprouted seeds yet? my newest cockatiel hates veggies, but man she goes hog wild on her sprouts. Which in turn i've seen her pick up a veggie here and there. Also have you tried veggies in various sizes? Some parrots are intimidated by whole veggies, some even by diced, I found mine love to eat more of them when they are chopped fine from my food processor. Originally for my budgies when they were younger I used organic baby food mixed in with chop. Then weened them off the purees.
Love that mix.
Thank you 🥰
@BirdNerdSophie Sophie, I am sorry but I forgot how long you let them soak. And then you just feed them? I am gonna try that. Usually I use the seeds to make bake. But just soaking, hmmm, he might like it. My little Mr. Fussy. I'll have him 1 year in 1.10. And he still doesn't like dark green leafy veggies. I think it's a long time. I am gonna try the scrambled eggs with broccoli crowns. My husband bought some this morning. Yes, I wouldn't buy any seed mixes. I noticed one time that there is a lot of "dust" in these bags.
@@susannemichelsen8879 soak for 8-12 hours, rinse we and feed 🥰
@BirdNerdSophie I put hemp seed. Amaranth, buckwheat, quinoa, oat groats in my sprouting jar. I didn't have kamut and spelt. I made the beaten egg/broccoli omelets for Keeko. Of course he ate the egg but ignored the broccoli. Urgh! From the rest of my chop I'll make a bake probably so it doesn't go bad. Freezing becomes too mushy despite oats and raw quinoa. I make the weekly chop like you do. Brown linseed is flaxseed, right? Since I am from Germany originally I know linseed but here in the states it's flaxseed. I like eating linseed oil with cream cheese and cooked potatoes 🥔
How much apple cidar vinegar?
1-2 tablespoons!
Oh l was wondering l don't give my birds veggies because last time l gave my bird lettis but he got sick and he past so l am scared to give them veggies.
Vegetables are the essential part of a bird's diet in order to keep them healthy! Make sure you pick the right veggies and wash them thoroughly!
Oh l was also wondering if every vet would say give your birds veggies well most of them sorry that ask you so much!!!
@@melissarueb9326 I would hope that every vet would! Any vet that wouldn’t say that is not a vet to be trusted!
Thank you
aww man i missed it i was at school
That’s okay! Thanks for watching! 😊💙🦜
My bird will only eat seeds, I had my own homemade seed and now he throws them around. 8 can't get my budgie seed to sprout
Most seed mixes like budgie seed won’t sprout, you’d need to buy seeds specifically for sprouting! 😊
I have been going off what the parrot species eats in the wild as close as I can. Wild parrots live twice as along as pet ones (minus predators and disease wise, I mean avg life span of a healthy bird). Seems we aren't doing something right.... Cockatiels and Budgies eat seeds in the wild. They also eat them sprouted (as well as other things). These are pretty much the only 2 parrots I've researched so far that do. The main issue with this is people think oh, well they eat that in the wild, that is fine for mine. The problem with that is wild parrots forage, almost constantly. They are burning calories as much as they take in. Pet parrots on the other hand are couch potatoes comparatively. Even if you do training, and flight training you will never mimic a wild parrots caloric burn over intake. Basically, wild parrots don't sit in 1 spot and gorge themselves every day like pet ones do.
TLDR, at least set up foraging areas and toys when you do give them seeds! Make those buggers work for it!
With my budgies and cockatiels, I've been doing 50% veggies with sprouts. Then foraging areas for seeds during the day, they get about 30% from that. Then pellets for 20% of their diet. Still need to pick up dried flowers, and some herbs. In the next few months I can get both locally and for free here (in the yard and garden). I plan on dry freezing a bunch for this next winter. I wasn't prepared last season. They also get a tiny tiny amount of fruit every other day. I think people forget just how small a parrots stomach is when they give them fruit. I mean 1 grape to a cockatiel is like a human eating 256 grapes.
I would think conures would be on a slightly different diet than cockatiels no? 1 is from south and central America, where the other is Australian. Not sure there. I can only assume regional wise is so vastly different their diets would also be different. I don't have a conure myself, so haven't researched diet on them. Keep thinking I will get a sun conure or two, but would rather go with quakers lol. Happy with all the budgies and cockatiels I have now though.
Some of those seeds are crazy priced in America compared to the UK. I had to find alternatives to a few of these you listed. Like the spelt, for example, not sure why its so crazy priced in the US. We don't grow it here I suppose.
Seeds that float are dead seeds. You will get them here and there, but shouldn't get a lot like that. Was everything you got non GMO? Some processing plants dry out or spray seeds, that murders their ability to sprout correct. It leaves you with dried up husks of seeds. Which is when you get those floaters. Fun fact, a lot of bird seed mixes you buy for a pet bird will float lol .... If that doesn't tell you something about those cheaper seed mixes. I'd avoid sprouting all pet store seed mixes, unless they clearly state on the bag Sproutable to be honest. They chemically treat those seeds with so much crap. You don't want that on any sprouts if they do sprout. You can tell when the ingredient list on the side of the bag is more than 5 items.... I can speak from first hand experience on those before I started looking into making my own seed mix a few months ago. The canary seed I got wasn't non GMO of course, so a lot of little floaters there.
Awesome video btw! Also, I knew I was going to miss the premiere lol Also new icon for my channel EEEEEEE! :D
Conures and cockatiels do have different diets, but they can both still enjoy the seed mix!
I have heard that hemp is very expensive in some stores there! Nuts.com is a good US site that seems to have decent prices for different nuts and seeds!
Everything is non-GMO and organic. The seeds that floated are amaranth and linseed which can float anyway - the coriander seeds I also soak naturally float so everything is great quality from my supplier!
Thanks for watching!
@@BirdNerdSophie Thanks, I will check out that link!
My cockatiels hate sprouted seeds they will not eat them!
I bought him from a breeder that lied to me about how they ate and I just have recently got them to where they'll eat turnip greens
Some birds just need a bit too d patience and persistence when trying new things 😊
I’ve tried sprouts 🌱 with my babies but looking forward to trying varieties they may benefit more from and enjoy 🦜🦜
Lots of fun and variety for the babies 😊
the birds are like mmmmmm tasty
They love it! :)
@@BirdNerdSophie this seed mix is perfect!