Sprout seeds as a healthful treat for pet birds

Q: I just returned from a weeklong vacation and left my two cockatiels with a friend. She fed the birds well but did not clean the cage out as I do, but I really could not fault her. As soon as I got the birds home I noticed them at the bottom of the cage eating something with gusto and when I looked closely I saw it was seeds that fell to the bottom and got wet and had started to germinate. I immediately cleaned out the cage so there were no more germinated seeds to eat and I am wondering if eating these seeds could have caused the birds any harm as the bottom of the cage was very dirty. — Sandra Mitchell, Orlando, Florida

A: Seeds that have just started to sprout are actually a bird delicacy and one of the most nutritious items you can feed any pet bird. The sprouting process releases many vitamins and minerals trapped in the seeds that are otherwise not available to the bird when the seed is eaten in its dormant state.

However, they are certainly not a very good dietary supplement when eaten off the bottom of a dirty cage. But you can sprout your own.

There are many fancy seed sprouting kits sold out there, but if you are just sprouting a few seeds for a pet bird or two then it is easier to get a shallow cookie sheet or pie pan and line it with flat newspaper.

Wet the paper and then sprinkle a seed mix on it that is appropriate for that particular species of bird. Be sure that the seed mix contains just seeds — many seed mixes sold for birds contain seeds and pellets and if you try to sprout such a mix then the pellets will just rot.

After you sprinkle the seeds on the newspaper, lay a sheet of plastic wrap over them and just watch. The next day the seeds will plump up and the day after that there will be little roots popping out of them and some green sprouts. You can then peel off the plastic wrap and shake the seeds and rinse them off under running water and offer them to your birds.

Some birds will see the sprouted seeds and instinctively gorge themselves on them as your two cockatiels did. Some birds are cautious and pick them up and drop them for a while gradually getting used to them and others just view sprouted seeds in horror and refuse them.

However, if your bird does like them then this is a fun project to do that provides your bird with a better diet and lots of natural environmental enrichment.

Q: How many toys should a parrot have? My wife has a sun conure and the cage has so many toys in it that when they swing around I am afraid the bird will get hit in the head. She says that the bird needs “environmental enrichment” since it is alone all day, but it seems to me that there must be some kind of rule of thumb or guide in this issue. — John Shay, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

A: In a perfect world the best way to ensure environment enrichment for a bird would be to have an assortment of toys on hand. Then, every morning put a different one or two in the bird’s cage and then take them out at night so when the bird wakes up there are no toys in the cage at all.

Then before you go to work you put two toys in the cage that are different from those the day before and the bird has something different and unexpected to look forward to each day. This is the very best way to keep your bird stimulated and entertained if it is alone while you are at work.