Home grown grass for budgies

[tweetiepiesmom]

Yes blue48 I think you and your budgies will be happy that you grow the grass.

mona I think it was Hezz who said to be careful with potted greens in the cage for our budgies because the soil may not be good for them. The growing medium often contains things you don't want your budgies to eat. The soil I buy has additives to help it retain water. Your grass looks good! I'll be interested to hear when you start to get some seed heads.

[mona]

Yes, tweetiepiesmom. Thank you for pointing that out. Though my soil is entirely organic.. nothing mixed in there. Still I wouldn't want to take a chance. I have just the organic soil and coco peat. Somehow, I never had success with any kind of potting mix, in the past. I'm just tempted to see their reaction with a bunch of fresh greens, but they would like to chew one more wrong item and that would be the plastic container 🙈😂🤷‍♀️ They would be better away from it!

I have read that it takes anywhere from 60 to 90 days for foxtail millet seed heads to grow. I'll get a new container and add those old dusty foxtail millet in that. Probably, I'll read up a bit on growing millet sprays on rooftops or balconies. My toy vendor advised me about some containers, which I have no knowledge of. I'll check if there's any special requirement or the regular planters (maybe deeper ones) would work.

I love watching the greens grow and the birdies relish the variety. I give them fresh plant or grass every day as a treat, when they return back to their cage in the evening. They relish everything! Cookie shreds it too sometimes, but that's okay I guess.

[tweetiepiesmom]

mona I also just love growing things for my guys to eat. I have some oat grass growing. Buddy likes to chew on the blades but I'm not sure if he eats any of it. Tweetie Pie does care for it - I think the blades are too big for him. I noticed a couple days ago that seed heads were just starting to show. This morning there was a seed head open so I clipped it for him.



Buddy really loves it!!!



(Pardon my thumb in the corner of the photo.) Its very quiet right, Buddy pigging out on the seed head while Tweetie Pie is enjoying a basil stem with little flowers.

[mona]

I haven't got any seed heads yet. I'm waiting to see their reaction to seed heads.. 🤗

Buddy seems to relish the seed heads.. It looks lovely and delicious! 😋

[tweetiepiesmom]

He absolutely destroyed that! After he ate all the seeds, he shredded the grass blade! Now that I know he likes it, I'll keep it going.

[mona]

tweetiepiesmom I love it how you advised me to try out grass and fresh homegrown plants.. I'm getting more ideas and definitely mine are so happy eating the fresh greens.. 🤗🧡

I'm thinking I'll take a small container with me during travel. I can pick out a few fresh greens & even use it to feed water to them too, if they don't drink from my hand..and they can relish the plants during travel. Might help them relax.

[mona]

Though I threw out most of the balcony grass after the bird flu spread, I had some soaked chickpea, mung beans from our recipes.. Let them sprout and added it to soil & kept it indoors by the balcony door for precautions with bird flu. It grew so well within days! I'll be carrying these on my way to give them as treat, if the vet says it's okay to feed fresh plants... or my mom will use it for her budgies..


I'm going to try this once again in a small container at the new place. If it grows really well there too  I'm going to add it to large containers.





Against Food authority regulations, farmers are using sulphur for fumigation over cilantro especially over here. Read that in the news feed sometime back. I'm not going to buy cilantro..and it makes me super skeptical about buying green leafy veggies..

I have got cilantro seeds, but had no success growing it. Might try it again after looking for any special instructions for cilantro

I have read that kidney beans are also safe for them, but should be very well cooked. I did cook it one day, but was so skeptical. Didn't give it to them. I'm thinking about growing kidney bean plant too..that would be safe for them..

[blue48]

Well, I have a fine container of beautiful grass. Will they touch it? No

[mona]

Mine cannot resist grass or fresh greens if it has water droplets on it. I dip it in water before giving to them..

[Morgan]

mona - there are a few beans that are safe for birdies to eat sprouted only, but the rest MUST be cooked fully or they can be toxic. Kidney beans can be toxic even to humans if not cooked 100% thoroughly, so those I personally would avoid. Although they should be safe if cooked until mushy, it just makes me paranoid too!

The safest legumes can be served sprouted only, (or cooked if desired): mung (I think the same as your moong), chickpeas, adzuki beans (one of my personal favorites anyway), whole dried peas (like green or yellow split peas, but the ones that are split won’t sprout), and any lentils.

Other beans can still be given, they just have to be cooked thoroughly. But that is just the bean itself - I don’t think the green parts of the plant has anything toxic in it, because toxins are energetically “expensive” for a plant to produce. The seeds’ toxins are there specifically so they can grow into new plants - but I don’t think the stalks or leaves of bean plants have toxins.

May want to look it up just in case though, because humans don’t usually eat those parts anyway so it’s not something I would call common knowledge. Except fava bean leaves are very tasty in a salad

[mona]

Thank you for pointing it out Morgan

I'll definitely look up if kidney bean plants are safe. For now, I'm mostly sticking to moong/mung beans, white and brown chickpea (mostly boiled, afraid of sprouting!).. My mom might get them eating a few more veggie variety and cookie breezie might try out seeing her flock!