General Feeding Information
© Laura Fratoni – Eddie’s Aviary -reproduce only with permission please
Feeding your Linnie is most of the fun of keeping them. What do we feed them to ensure they are getting what they need?
Wild Lineolated Parakeet diets? One of the biggest challenges with keeping Linnies is understanding their natural diets, habitats and trying to mimic them. This is due to the elusive nature of the species, often keeping to themselves high in the tree canopy in places like the Andes Mountains. We do not know what their wild main diets are comprised of, but there are some clues.
Linnies have a low stance on the perch and are skilled climbers, “scurrying” on perches more than flying to and from a spot. Their nails are very thick and grow quickly compared to other parrots their size. It is believed this evolved to stave off excessive wear as they run along branches searching for food, so they need to not wear down too quickly. Foods found in these areas are usually insects which are high in protein.
Diversity is King: Birds are like humans: a natural, nutritious and diverse diet is best. We have been trained that “color” on our plate equals broad nutritional coverage. Same for your bird!
Pellet Debate: As with many parts of aviculture, feeding pellets is hotly debated. Veterinarians have the unique opportunity to see birds of all species when gravely ill. Birds mask their symptoms until in very advanced disease, so these vets see large numbers of them that are beyond saving. A large portion of these birds suffered from Vitamin A deficiency and the owners would commonly report they fed them “seed” diets. The problem with blaming seeds for their demise is that not all seed diets are the same. The common brands you see in big box or grocery stores are very “blonde” mixes, made with mostly proso millet and a few others. Safflower and oat groats are commonly dyed different colors to trick us into thinking there is diversity in nutritional value. All “seed” diets are not equal. They should not be the only part of the diet, always think diversity.
Pellets are made from mostly corn and soy, which are high in sugar, and plant hormones. These are endocrine system disrupters. Our birds would not breed on them, which is the benchmark for overall health. They are also highly vitaminized, and the manufacturer recommends them to be 95-100% of the complete diet as each bite of another food off-sets the vitamin load in the pellets which can easily cause them to become deficient. They are also very dry. Linnies drink a lot of water, and do not suffer the issues the Australian species do with digesting them, but that does not make them a good answer for birds in our experience. Europe, with its large number of keepers, tried pellets when they came out in the early 1990’s, and quickly abandoned them for poor breeding results. There are responsible ways to prevent your birds from becoming hormonal and laying eggs if that is what you desire, keeping them deficient is not the way to do it. There is an article on how to prevent these behaviors in another section here in the forum.
What we Feed: We feed a range of foods to try and touch every nutritional base.
We manufacture a 50+ ingredient 100% natural, nut, seed, fruit, veggie, probiotic mix that we use as a daily offering in one of the dry food dishes. A tablespoon per bird is usually plenty daily if you are also a feeder of other things (which we recommend). If you would like to view the ingredient list or purchase our food, click HERE.
In times of molt, conditioning for breeding, or feeding babies: Offer dried egg food and/or Miracle Meal in the other dry dish. The high protein content assists in feather growth as feathers are built from a protein base. We feed all our birds this once per week unless molting or feeding young.
Chop: Chop is a word to describe the style and way to prepare the fresh food, and not so much of what is in it. It is a very flexible fresh option, where you can choose from a large variety of fresh fruits, veggies, and greens. Sprouts can also be added (see below for description). It is easy to want to overfeed, but a single bird should only be offered a tablespoon of the mix in order to encourage them to eat all of it, instead of just picking out their favorite items from it.
Vegetables are much higher in vitamins and not full of sugar like most fruits, so should be the main staple. Choosing veggies of the red, orange, and yellow color variety means they are higher in Vitamin A, which is an area of deficiency that requires coverage. Red, orange or yellow bell peppers, carrot, beets, sweet potatoes (yams), spinach (baby is best to avoid high oxalate levels which can rob calcium), kale, and collard greens for example. Pieces should be diced or shredded to prevent waste as they will hold the food in their foot and heavy pieces are easily dropped. Broccoli, swiss chard, corn (in moderation, as it is high in sugar), peas, brussel sprouts,
Fruits are high in sugar and should be offered in more limited quantities. Apples, grapes and quartered pomegranate (great foraging opportunity) are a couple of favorites. Apple and grape are often heavily sprayed with pesticides so offer organic if possible. Fresher foods retain more of their vitamins, so when available, using a farmer’s market or your own garden as veggies found in grocery stores are often up to a month old and have lost much of the vitamin content.
Feeding lots of fresh and sprouted foods mimics the fertile season, so if trying to avoid breeding behaviors in your pet birds, try to limit chop to 2-3x a week at max.
Sprouting: Seeds get a bad rap due to low quality, limited varieties in the mix, and some people using these low variety brands as the sole food. Sprouting seeds wakes up the nutrition in the seed as when stored dry, they are in a dormant state. Soaking overnight, and frequent rinsing, most seeds will sprout within a day or two. Chickpeas and mung beans are also easy to sprout and a good choice to add. Best when fed right after the “tail” emerges, or else nutrition is lost due to energy stores used to produce the greenery. It also takes longer to sprout, which increases your chances of spoilage. We have another article on sprouting that is found under this feeding heading. Don’t forget: sprouts can be mixed into your chop offering. Click for Sprout Kits, & Seeds to Sprout.
Soft Cooked Mashes:
We like to use ancient grains that are highest in nutritional value. Quinoa (done cooking when they first start to unravel), Farro, Amarath, and brown rice are some easy to find, good choices. Couscous, Barley, Steel Cut Oats are a couple other easy to obtain choices. We cook in the “pasta method” which is to bring a large pot of water to a boil and adding the grain. Birds prefer their cooked grains “al dente” so when the grain is “to the tooth” we add frozen vegetables, flash frozen and sold in the freezer section of the grocery store. They usually contain peas, corn, green beans, and carrots most commonly. If the mix contains Lima beans, we discard those as they are a controversial bean. The frozen veggies only need 30 seconds to thaw and warm, so we quickly drain the mixture. Once the water has been removed, we toss in dried egg food, or ground monkey chow for a bump in protein. You can also add mashed hard boiled eggs, sprouts, and chop if you want to go for the trifecta of bird feeding all in one!
Egg Food: Linnies do very well with higher protein foods, especially during breeding enticement, feeding of young, times of molt, or young birds feathering in for the first time. Feathers are made from keratin, which large stores of protein make for faster feather development, and strength in the shaft/bards.
There are two main kinds of egg food: commercially prepared, dried egg food, which will not spoil and can be left in a bowl available to the birds at all times, and fresh egg food that you prepare by scrambling, hard boiling and halving or mashing to a fluffy consistency. This is an inexpensive and great way to feed egg food to your birds but must be removed from the cage after a couple of hours to prevent spoilage.
Hanging “Whole” Veggies as part of Enrichment: Stainless steel bird “kabob” toys are an easy way to offer whole, fresh foods that add to your bird’s mental enrichment. Chunked apple, broccoli, steamed al dente sweet potatoes, and grapes are easy to pierce choices. Hanging a leaf of kale, swiss chard or collard greens offers much shredding and nutritional enrichment.
Conclusion: Variety is king! Choose brightly colored (organic when possible): red, orange, and yellow veggies to boost Vit A. Use a quality daily dry staple. Do your research on pellets. If you want to use them, take photos of your bird at the start, and compare to a new photo one year later (you will likely drop them). Be mindful of the amount of light you provide (12+ hours per day is a trigger), and how often you serve fresh as they are all hormone triggers. Always offer egg food in times of breeding or molt (include 2x a day spray baths). Be sure to remove all fresh foods from the cage after a couple of hours, sooner if ambient is above 70 degrees.
If you enjoy this Forum, or the Content found here helpful.... consider buying the author a coffee. Helps with website costs, and keeps motivation levels up for more late night work. Thank you
CLICK HERE to Buy Me A Coffee
© Laura Fratoni – Eddie’s Aviary -reproduce only with permission please
Feeding your Linnie is most of the fun of keeping them. What do we feed them to ensure they are getting what they need?
Wild Lineolated Parakeet diets? One of the biggest challenges with keeping Linnies is understanding their natural diets, habitats and trying to mimic them. This is due to the elusive nature of the species, often keeping to themselves high in the tree canopy in places like the Andes Mountains. We do not know what their wild main diets are comprised of, but there are some clues.
Linnies have a low stance on the perch and are skilled climbers, “scurrying” on perches more than flying to and from a spot. Their nails are very thick and grow quickly compared to other parrots their size. It is believed this evolved to stave off excessive wear as they run along branches searching for food, so they need to not wear down too quickly. Foods found in these areas are usually insects which are high in protein.
Diversity is King: Birds are like humans: a natural, nutritious and diverse diet is best. We have been trained that “color” on our plate equals broad nutritional coverage. Same for your bird!
Pellet Debate: As with many parts of aviculture, feeding pellets is hotly debated. Veterinarians have the unique opportunity to see birds of all species when gravely ill. Birds mask their symptoms until in very advanced disease, so these vets see large numbers of them that are beyond saving. A large portion of these birds suffered from Vitamin A deficiency and the owners would commonly report they fed them “seed” diets. The problem with blaming seeds for their demise is that not all seed diets are the same. The common brands you see in big box or grocery stores are very “blonde” mixes, made with mostly proso millet and a few others. Safflower and oat groats are commonly dyed different colors to trick us into thinking there is diversity in nutritional value. All “seed” diets are not equal. They should not be the only part of the diet, always think diversity.
Pellets are made from mostly corn and soy, which are high in sugar, and plant hormones. These are endocrine system disrupters. Our birds would not breed on them, which is the benchmark for overall health. They are also highly vitaminized, and the manufacturer recommends them to be 95-100% of the complete diet as each bite of another food off-sets the vitamin load in the pellets which can easily cause them to become deficient. They are also very dry. Linnies drink a lot of water, and do not suffer the issues the Australian species do with digesting them, but that does not make them a good answer for birds in our experience. Europe, with its large number of keepers, tried pellets when they came out in the early 1990’s, and quickly abandoned them for poor breeding results. There are responsible ways to prevent your birds from becoming hormonal and laying eggs if that is what you desire, keeping them deficient is not the way to do it. There is an article on how to prevent these behaviors in another section here in the forum.
What we Feed: We feed a range of foods to try and touch every nutritional base.
We manufacture a 50+ ingredient 100% natural, nut, seed, fruit, veggie, probiotic mix that we use as a daily offering in one of the dry food dishes. A tablespoon per bird is usually plenty daily if you are also a feeder of other things (which we recommend). If you would like to view the ingredient list or purchase our food, click HERE.
In times of molt, conditioning for breeding, or feeding babies: Offer dried egg food and/or Miracle Meal in the other dry dish. The high protein content assists in feather growth as feathers are built from a protein base. We feed all our birds this once per week unless molting or feeding young.
Chop: Chop is a word to describe the style and way to prepare the fresh food, and not so much of what is in it. It is a very flexible fresh option, where you can choose from a large variety of fresh fruits, veggies, and greens. Sprouts can also be added (see below for description). It is easy to want to overfeed, but a single bird should only be offered a tablespoon of the mix in order to encourage them to eat all of it, instead of just picking out their favorite items from it.
Vegetables are much higher in vitamins and not full of sugar like most fruits, so should be the main staple. Choosing veggies of the red, orange, and yellow color variety means they are higher in Vitamin A, which is an area of deficiency that requires coverage. Red, orange or yellow bell peppers, carrot, beets, sweet potatoes (yams), spinach (baby is best to avoid high oxalate levels which can rob calcium), kale, and collard greens for example. Pieces should be diced or shredded to prevent waste as they will hold the food in their foot and heavy pieces are easily dropped. Broccoli, swiss chard, corn (in moderation, as it is high in sugar), peas, brussel sprouts,
Fruits are high in sugar and should be offered in more limited quantities. Apples, grapes and quartered pomegranate (great foraging opportunity) are a couple of favorites. Apple and grape are often heavily sprayed with pesticides so offer organic if possible. Fresher foods retain more of their vitamins, so when available, using a farmer’s market or your own garden as veggies found in grocery stores are often up to a month old and have lost much of the vitamin content.
Feeding lots of fresh and sprouted foods mimics the fertile season, so if trying to avoid breeding behaviors in your pet birds, try to limit chop to 2-3x a week at max.
Sprouting: Seeds get a bad rap due to low quality, limited varieties in the mix, and some people using these low variety brands as the sole food. Sprouting seeds wakes up the nutrition in the seed as when stored dry, they are in a dormant state. Soaking overnight, and frequent rinsing, most seeds will sprout within a day or two. Chickpeas and mung beans are also easy to sprout and a good choice to add. Best when fed right after the “tail” emerges, or else nutrition is lost due to energy stores used to produce the greenery. It also takes longer to sprout, which increases your chances of spoilage. We have another article on sprouting that is found under this feeding heading. Don’t forget: sprouts can be mixed into your chop offering. Click for Sprout Kits, & Seeds to Sprout.
Soft Cooked Mashes:
We like to use ancient grains that are highest in nutritional value. Quinoa (done cooking when they first start to unravel), Farro, Amarath, and brown rice are some easy to find, good choices. Couscous, Barley, Steel Cut Oats are a couple other easy to obtain choices. We cook in the “pasta method” which is to bring a large pot of water to a boil and adding the grain. Birds prefer their cooked grains “al dente” so when the grain is “to the tooth” we add frozen vegetables, flash frozen and sold in the freezer section of the grocery store. They usually contain peas, corn, green beans, and carrots most commonly. If the mix contains Lima beans, we discard those as they are a controversial bean. The frozen veggies only need 30 seconds to thaw and warm, so we quickly drain the mixture. Once the water has been removed, we toss in dried egg food, or ground monkey chow for a bump in protein. You can also add mashed hard boiled eggs, sprouts, and chop if you want to go for the trifecta of bird feeding all in one!
Egg Food: Linnies do very well with higher protein foods, especially during breeding enticement, feeding of young, times of molt, or young birds feathering in for the first time. Feathers are made from keratin, which large stores of protein make for faster feather development, and strength in the shaft/bards.
There are two main kinds of egg food: commercially prepared, dried egg food, which will not spoil and can be left in a bowl available to the birds at all times, and fresh egg food that you prepare by scrambling, hard boiling and halving or mashing to a fluffy consistency. This is an inexpensive and great way to feed egg food to your birds but must be removed from the cage after a couple of hours to prevent spoilage.
Hanging “Whole” Veggies as part of Enrichment: Stainless steel bird “kabob” toys are an easy way to offer whole, fresh foods that add to your bird’s mental enrichment. Chunked apple, broccoli, steamed al dente sweet potatoes, and grapes are easy to pierce choices. Hanging a leaf of kale, swiss chard or collard greens offers much shredding and nutritional enrichment.
Conclusion: Variety is king! Choose brightly colored (organic when possible): red, orange, and yellow veggies to boost Vit A. Use a quality daily dry staple. Do your research on pellets. If you want to use them, take photos of your bird at the start, and compare to a new photo one year later (you will likely drop them). Be mindful of the amount of light you provide (12+ hours per day is a trigger), and how often you serve fresh as they are all hormone triggers. Always offer egg food in times of breeding or molt (include 2x a day spray baths). Be sure to remove all fresh foods from the cage after a couple of hours, sooner if ambient is above 70 degrees.
If you enjoy this Forum, or the Content found here helpful.... consider buying the author a coffee. Helps with website costs, and keeps motivation levels up for more late night work. Thank you
CLICK HERE to Buy Me A Coffee 
