I just made a fresh batch of “Chop”. I made about 40 meals, which is just short of 3 weeks worth of twice daily meals for my Greys. Along with the “Chop”, I serve sprouts, a nut mix, and a bean mix and of course they have pellets in their bowls in their cages. I also give them fresh-juiced vegetables and fruit occasionally. But the bulk of their daily meal is “Chop”. Here’s a shot of the pre-bagged meals sitting in the bowl I made the chop in. The bowl is 16 inches in diameter:

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As you can see, it’s got a lot of different things in it. These are just some of the ingredients:

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Yes, that’s sea vegetables! It’s a dried kelp called “Nori” and it’s loaded with nutrition. I also added rice, oats for oatmeal, quinoa, flax seed, coconut, hemp seed, rape seed, niger seed,  and a bunch of different vegetables. What you don’t see in the photo that I put into the chop is a lot of fresh beet greens, fresh carrot, dried bird greens, some celery tops, kale, and fresh peppers. As you can see, it has some seed in it, but they are the “good for birds” kind. I thawed the vegetables, ground them up in the food processor and dumped in the dry ingredients. I cooked up the rice and the quinoa, dumped that into the bowl with the rest of it and mixed it up with a big wooden spoon. The result is a great smelling, fresh tasting mixture that is simply wonderful for your birds. Do they eat it? Absolutely!  I actually haven’t had a bird reject it yet.

The beauty of “Chop” is its flexibility. You can use fresh vegetables, frozen vegetables or both. You can add anything that your bird likes and will eat, along with pasta, noodles, quinoa, spelt, oats, rice, or a store-bought “soak & serve” mix. You can add seed to get them eating it and keep them interested. If they like it and it’s good for them, toss it in there, chop up the uncooked vegetables and dump them in, sprinkle with some good seed, a vitamin supplement if you like, and you’re good to go for 3 weeks! If you have the freezer space, make more.

You could even throw a “Pot Luck Chop Party”,  (or a “Chop Luck” Party?) and get together with some bird friends. Everyone brings something for the batch of chop, make it and divide it up. Once it’s made, you can sit down at a table and assembly line package the food along with some “snackies” and a cocktail or two. Make enough and everyone is good to go for a month.

It is incredibly easy to do, and gets some greens down those little bird beaks. And it results in some pretty happy and healthy Parrots.

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Please give making a batch of “Chop” a try. Once you do, you will realize how easy and more convenient it is, and how much healthier it is for your birds.  The secret isn’t the recipe, it’s the packaging and the flexibility of the recipe. You don’t have to sweat and swear every time you make a meal for your birds. It’s as easy as opening the freezer door.

(You can read more about the chop recipe in other posts. Just select “Chop Recipe” in “Key Words to Posts” on the right side of the Blog. It will take you to the other posts about “Chop”.)

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