How to Save Money on Bird Food
Feeding a pet bird, especially a parrot, can get expensive. Often the treats and supplemental foods end up costing more than the base diet. While it's important to feed your bird a variety of high quality foods, it doesn't have to cost a wing and a leg if you follow the steps outlined below.
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Instructions
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Bargain shop and buy in bulk. Often you can save substantial amounts of money by buying the 20- to 40-lb bags of pellets from online retailers. Even after shipping, the price per pound is often less than half that of smaller packages from pet shops. Store the pellets in a large airtight container or freeze for maximum shelf life. Avoid buying more than a 6-month supply at a time to ensure your bird's food is fresh.
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Rather than buying expensive dried fruit and vegetable blends, shop for fresh produce in season. Fresh produce is healthier, less expensive and most birds prefer it.
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Make your own cooked bird food instead of buying packaged ready-to-cook blends. Most cooked bird foods are primarily made of beans and rice, both of which are inexpensive and readily available. There are a variety of recipes on the Internet for healthy bean-and-rice mixtures to feed your bird.
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Instead of buying expensive treat sticks, make your own treats. "Birdie bread" recipes are widely available, inexpensive to make and much more nutritious than most commercial treats for pet birds.
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Use cuttlebone as a mineral supplement. Plain cuttlebone, especially when purchased in bulk, costs much less than colored and flavored mineral blocks. It also has the same concentration of minerals as your bird's bones, unlike commercially manufactured mineral blocks that are often missing trace minerals.
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If you feed your bird sprouts, make your own mixture of seeds for sprouting. Natural food stores often have bulk bins where you can purchase the same seeds used in commercial sprout blends for about half the price.
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Tips & Warnings
For convenience, you can fill a small container with a week's supply of pellets while keeping the remainder in storage.
Shells from hard-boiled eggs can also be used for extra mineral supplementation. Don't use raw egg shells, however, as they can contain dangerous bacteria.
Never try to save money by feeding your pet bird a cheap seed-based diet, or worse, wild bird food. Although quality seed mixes can be used as treats, they are deficient in essential nutrients such as vitamin A.
Although birdie bread and cooked mixtures make great treats, the majority of your bird's diet should be a combination of high quality pellets, fruits and vegetables.
