The Popularity of Birdie Breads

Birdie breads are a popular addition to many birds' diets, and a great way to sneak veggies into the beakies of stubborn eaters. However, many people unwittingly make sodium- and preservative-laden birdie breads even though they have the best of intentions. It's not necessary to use boxed cornbread mixes to make either an easy, an inexpensive, or a nutritious birdie bread. You might be surprised to know that it is just as easy to make a great "from scratch" bread - and just as inexpensively! Here is the basic recipe, and you can modify this basic recipe in any number of ways!

1c corn meal
1c whole-grain flour
2 eggs*
1/4c oil
3/4c liquid (water or juice or a little of each)

To this basic batter you can add chopped vegetables, greens, nuts, fruits, or any other healthy natural food. Stir it in, and bake at 350F as you would any cake, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

This basic recipe will give you a heavy moist bread. You can slice and freeze the slices individually for future use, or refrigerate for a couple of days. They will spoil or mold fairly easily, since there are no preservatives.

A couple of notes and tips:

Whip the eggs until pale yellow and doubled in volume, then stir in remaining ingredients and beat well until the batter's color pales by several shades; this will produce a little lighter loaf. You can also add 2 tsp of baking powder; I prefer aluminum-free, but it's your choice.

If you use any dried/dehydrated foods, you may need to increase the liquid content, depending on how much dried food you add. Also if you are adding dried ingredients, you may want to grind them in a coffee grinder (that's used only for food and not for coffee) so that they'll be dispersed evenly throughout.

I don't feed many cooked foods, for several reasons: One, birds' digestive systems were designed to eat raw foods, and I've read in several sources (cites not saved, sorry) that cooked foods - grains especially - may cause some issues in birds. Two, heat destroys all phytonutrients and most vitamins that are better served in keeping my flock healthy. However, a small portion of their diet - 10% or less - consists of foods cooked in one way or another, just for the variety.

Happy beaking!