By Samantha Khela
What is Chop?
Chop refers to a processed or finely chopped mix of fresh vegetables and cooked grains to be fed to birds. The popularity of chop has increased among pet bird owners due to its healthy benefits to your pet bird’s wellbeing and health.
Why Chop?
Chop is a great way of introducing a variety of different foods to your pet bird’s diet. It’s also an effective way to boost your bird’s healthy diet when it is served to your birds successfully! Chop can be made in bulk, stored in the freezer for long periods of time, and can be used in tandem with their seeds or pellets.
What goes in Chop?
There are many ways you can create your own chop for your pet birds. The general idea is to have everything finely chopped, but not mashed, so that birds can pick through it. When you are first introducing chop to your bird’s diet, I recommend making the mix so that about 1/2 of the mix is food your bird is familiar with and enjoys eating. All vegetables (except onion, avocado, and rhubarb) can be used and raw is fine. Make sure you rinse, coarsely cut and then do small batches in a food processor on low speed before mixing it all together in a bowl. This will give the chop the proper consistency it needs. Aim for approximately 50% vegetables, 40% cooked grains/legumes, and 10% dry ingredients. Chop mixes can be as simple or complicated as you want, it’s completely up to you!
How to feed Chop
Chop mix may look very unfamiliar to your bird, so they will need some help recognizing that it’s food! For birds with a favorite fruit or vegetable, this can be cut into coarse pieces and mixed into the mix prior to feeding. Your pet bird may pick at their favorite fruits and vegetables, but the other ingredients in the chop will be in the mix as well and they will have a taste of it regardless. For birds who do not eat fruit or vegetables yet, their seed mix can be mixed in with the chop. Once they are familiar with the new diet, gradually reduce how much seed you are adding and increase the chop as they eat that. You will probably find they do not eat all of it initially, but with time, become more adventurous. Do not give excessive amounts where your bird can exclusively pick out favorites and not be hungry for the new foods.
If you have any questions about bird diet, feel free to give Bird Sitting Toronto a call or text! I would be happy to help.
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