Parrot Nation

I don’t know why this occurred to me, but it did. I was thinking about zip-loc bags and the integral part of they play in storing Chop. This innocent little sandwich bag has become a big part of my life. And from the email I get, it seems to have become a staple in the lives of many other people and their birds.

As I was thinking about how to title this post, the phrase, “Zip-loc Life” kept coming  back and with it, the song, “It’s the Hard-Knock Life” from the Musical, “Annie” which shows you the direction my brain wanders every once in a while. So, seeing as we just went down Bizarre Boulevard, let’s take look in a few of the windows shall we?

First of all, I felt compelled to rewrite the first few stanzas of the song, and God forbid, if you want to sing along, here’s the link to music from the original song: Annie: The Musical

It’s the Zip-Loc Life

It’s the Zip-loc life for us!

It’s the Zip-loc life for us!

 ‘Steada Dicin’’
We unzip!

 We get kisses,

 They got no lips!

 It’s the Zip-loc life!

Got no woes to speak of, so,

It’s the Zip-loc row we know!

 Lotsa choices,

 It’s no bull!

 Comfy Bellies

 Aways full!

 It’s the Zip-loc life!

After getting that out of my system, I began thinking about some questions I’ve gotten regarding packaging Chop for the freezer.

I happen to have three Greys, so it’s easy enough to store their meals in a regular zip-loc. But I got an interesting question from a reader who has little, tiny, eensie weensie birds and only a couple of them. What is she to do when she is packaging up little tiny amounts of Chop for her mini-flock?

I ruminated about this and came up with a solution: 2×2 zip-lock storage bags:

You can find these bags at the  “Scrap Rack”

I think they would be perfect for small amounts of Chop and of course they are reusable if you wash and rinse them out, allowing them to dry thoroughly.  Of course, there are other sizes available as well, so you can not only tailor your Chop, you can modify the way you want to package it to suit your particular needs.

I guess what it comes down to is options. And the one thing you always have with Chop, are options- how to make it, what to put in it, how to package it and how to store it. If it works for you, then the more likely you are to continue making it and feeding it to your birds.

I’ve said before that Chop is a solution to the problem Liz Wilson pointed out at one time or another; that people simply have a difficult time managing their schedules to prepare fresh food for their flock twice a day, every day for decades. Chop is more of a response to a behavioral issue of humans. Yes, it’s great for the birds. But the real beauty of it lies in the fact that it sets up the environment for success. It’s difficult for most people to feed fresh food to the flock twice a day. And while making Chop is no walk in the woods, it’s easier in the day-to-day.