Many people have been asking about the chop I make for my birdies, so here is my current recipe so you can make it as well. I have been using it for several months now unchanged, and all is well. Yes, I will be selling this chop frozen in 1lb and 5lb bags and will give more information about that in a upcoming post. The key is variety, variety, variety! Fresh chop should be 30% of your birdie's diet for best health, and variety can make it one of the best parts of their day. It has taken me years of trial and error to perfect this recipe, as the few breeders I know of that are still in operation and not yet retired tend to guard their secrets well.

It freezes well, defrosts well, is high in Calcium, Proteins and Vitamin A and everything else a birdie needs except for Vitamin D, which is an animal product. About 98% of my birds go crazy for this chop, cleaning the bowl every day, therefor giving me a good half hour of peace and quiet. Make sure to remove anything uneaten at the end of the day. All my birds get soooo excited when they see the feeding trolley rolling up filled with the chop bowls.

I do not include any fruits in this recipe, as I use them only for treats. Fruit is high in sugar and water, and can give a bird the runs easily. Apple seems to be the favorite for my birds, but you can have fun experimenting with many others like bananna and mango in smaller amounts.

Amounts to feed:
For parrotlets and budgies I give three quarters of an ounce for a pair, for lovies a full ounce. Conures get one and a half ounces, quakers just a little more, ringnecks and suns two ounces, and larger birds like cockatoos and amazons two ounces for each bird. I give amounts based on average bird weight, and you can do your own calculations based on your birds weight, the percentage of body weight they need to eat in a day, divided by the 30% that can be fresh foods and taking into considerations age, breeding status, activity rates, pickiness, and other factors adjusting up or down. There are 28 grams in an ounce, and 16 ounces in each pound. I just use ounces to measure as that is the size of my favorite scoop.

This recipe gives me about 120 pounds, but you can scale up or down as needed. For example, using 10% of my amounts would give you 12 pounds, divided up and frozen should last you quite a while. You can keep this in the freezer in a good quality container for up to three months. And if you have to scale up, well, then somebody sold you an actual dinosaur instead of a parrot!

Ingredients marked with a are the really important ones, those marked with a ^ are optional if you want a lower calorie, lower protein mix.

This recipe costs me about $480 to $540 in ingredients, and total prep time is about 12 hours spread over 3 days. I highly recommend a food processor to chop, high quality knives and high quality tupperware for storage. Remember to wash everything twice, and spin to remove excess water. This can be frozen in ice cube trays for convenience, and a container floating in water will defrost in a few hours. Will defrost well in the fridge overnight, but don't try using the defrost setting on the microwave, it will not turn out well!

THE RECIPE!

Fresh and Uncooked:
- 25lbs carrots for vitamin A chopped fine
- 5 heads romaine lettuce, high in minerals, such as calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, and potassium.
- 2 large bunches of spinach. potassium, magnesium, and vitamins B6, B9, and E, carotenoids, vitamin C, vitamin K, folic acid, iron, and calcium.
- ^2 bunches cilantro or parsley for aroma
-* 5 bunches kale, densely nutritious superstar due to the amounts of vitamins A, K, B6 and C, calcium, potassium, copper and manganese
-* 10 pounds broccoli crowns, a good source of fiber and protein, and contains iron, potassium, calcium, selenium and magnesium as well as the vitamins A, C, E, K and a good array of B vitamins including folic acid. One cup has as much Vitamin C as an orange!
-^ 4 pounds red bell peppers. good for color and Vitamin C
-^ 20-30 various heads of lettuce or other leafy greens. Endive, green leaf, red leave, living, etc. No iceberg as it is not very nutritious, and no more spinach as too much is not good. Aim for a large garbage bag full sized amount, or as much as can be afforded.

Previously Frozen:
-^ 4 kg peas, for vitamin C, folate and vitamin B1. Birds love them!
-^ 4kg corn, providing fiber, which aids in digestion, plus folate, thiamin, phosphorus, vitamin C, and magnesium. Nice and sweet making the chop attractive for even the pickiest eaters. Fresh corn can be used in season.

Sprouted:
-* 3-5lbs soak seed mix, soaked 12hrs and sprouted 24hrs. Too many benefits to go into here, all birds love soak seed!
-^ 5lb sprouted mung beans, green superfood that birds love.

Soaked and Cooked:
-* 12 cups (dry) various beans such as navy, dark red, kidney, black eyed, etc. Great for fiber and plant based proteins. Plenty of Proteins. Keeps birds at a healthy weight, boosts heart health, good source of iron, magnesium, antioxidants, folate and potassium. Beans must be soaked overnight to eliminate dangerous toxins, then simmered for two hours.
-^ 12 cups (dry) various lentils, red, yellow, green and brown for color variation. Same benefits as the beans, along with zinc and cholesterol lowering properties. Soaked overnight and simmered for 25 minutes
-^ 4 cups dried peas, yellow and green, whole and split. Soaked overnight and simmered for 30 mins.
-^ 4 boxes whole wheat and ancient grains pasta, cooked al dente. High in fiber, manganese, selenium, copper and phosphorus along with the B vitamins. Cooked grains are easier to digest, entice the birds to the chop, and provide the important fiber boost. Make sure to get the expensive stuff, the cheaper brands are more like birdie junk food.

Extras
This is where things can get expensive quickly, and I use them only in moderation. This includes ingredients like chia seeds, sesame seeds and ground flax. I use about a cup of each, and I include things like hemp seeds, black oil sunflower seeds, fancy nuts, hot peppers, and any other bird friendly treats that catch my fancy. Be sure to research anything you feed your birds carefully, and remember that not everyone in an online forum actually knows what they are talking about, and many online articles are written by people trying to sell something or just garner some views. Double check everything, evaluate the source, and don't let confirmation bias get in the way!

I hope this helps some of you out there. Chop is a great way to introduce variety into a birds diet, and can greatly increase health, happiness and lifespan as well as lowering vet bills!