# Bringing home a plant for birds to eat?



## Fredandiris (Nov 27, 2012)

I know it sounds weird but I want to bring home a plant from the store for the birds to hang out on and eat. They really seem to like sitting on and chewing my fake plants (under close supervision) so I thought that a real plant would be a lot cooler for them! And they'd be getting their daily dose of veggies in, which is a plus. 

Do you guys have any ideas on how to go about this? I was thinking of buying an organic, pesticide free plant. I'm not sure what would be a good one though. And I should probably replant it in some organic soil right? One without any fertilizer? Or is there another type of soil that's safe for them to graze around in, like peat moss, or...I don't know I don't have much experience with gardening


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## Charlotte (Jun 4, 2014)

I think most herbs are ok (with the exception of the mint family, which I read on here are only ok in moderation). I guess herbs don't have the sturdiness you want though?


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## dianne (Nov 27, 2013)

It doesn't sound weird at all. I have often thought the same thing.

I have given my birds carrot tops and wheat grass. They go through it very quickly. They seem to enjoy breaking the stems off more than eating them. They do eat it, but a lot ends up on the floor of the cage.


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## Tisena (Sep 28, 2013)

I'd love to get a bird safe little branchy plant and have it in a big pot in my room so they can play on it  I have aloe vera that I can put in the misty bottle too to help their skin


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## SoCalTiels (Oct 8, 2013)

Plants in the cage

Try giving this a read, from a little while back, the plants came into conversation at the top of page 3 and towards the end of the thread, we started having pictures to show. But for summary, in the time since then, the birds love it. Tink had almost stripped the first rosemary plant in a week, lol. Even caught stubborn Bird trying out the basil. We decided organically grown plants with larger type aquarium rocks arounds the base to keep them out of the dirt. I'm planning to add a bunch hanging/on the sides of aviary outside soon. The only trick is keeping them alive, lol. I had them rotate of a few days in the cage, few days outside in the sun if they don't get light where the cage is. Wheat grass is a pretty easy one.

Personally, I think more veggie resistant tiels, like Bird, are more like to interact with the plants as part of the environment, and experiment with it as a food. I haven't been able to get him to even try veggies otherwise.


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## Fredandiris (Nov 27, 2012)

Wow that's absolutely wonderful!!  I'm gonna start doing that now! I actually just got some basil and sage for my aquaponics system but I'll use em for the birdies instead


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## yokobirdie (Jul 9, 2014)

Yoko just loves her wheatgrass!


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## Tisena (Sep 28, 2013)

SoCalTiels said:


> Plants in the cage
> 
> Try giving this a read, from a little while back, the plants came into conversation at the top of page 3 and towards the end of the thread, we started having pictures to show. But for summary, in the time since then, the birds love it. Tink had almost stripped the first rosemary plant in a week, lol.



I forgot about this lol! I planted some coriander and just plucked some out for them and the rabbits and forgot about putting it in the cage >< I might plant some in their old plastic food bowls and hang them up when they've grown, I still have coriander seeds


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## Hellena (Feb 11, 2013)

SoCalTiels said:


> Plants in the cage
> 
> Try giving this a read, from a little while back, the plants came into conversation at the top of page 3 and towards the end of the thread, we started having pictures to show. But for summary, in the time since then, the birds love it. Tink had almost stripped the first rosemary plant in a week, lol. Even caught stubborn Bird trying out the basil. We decided organically grown plants with larger type aquarium rocks arounds the base to keep them out of the dirt. I'm planning to add a bunch hanging/on the sides of aviary outside soon. The only trick is keeping them alive, lol. I had them rotate of a few days in the cage, few days outside in the sun if they don't get light where the cage is. Wheat grass is a pretty easy one.
> 
> Personally, I think more veggie resistant tiels, like Bird, are more like to interact with the plants as part of the environment, and experiment with it as a food. I haven't been able to get him to even try veggies otherwise.


Thanks for the link, great idea with the plants. BTW, how many cages do you have with 7 birds? Just curious, lol....


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## SoCalTiels (Oct 8, 2013)

I just went by the others suggestions, wasn't my idea at all  I like to keep the link handy.

Until recently, I had three cages, two main and one just as a night cage. Now, I'm down to just the double flight cage and the aviary outside the window. Before, it was a bit of juggling with Reptar and the tiels day to day, but it worked out for my situation.


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