For about the past year and half or so, I have taken on the habit of cooking for Pugsly. Once a month I bake him up a batch of birdy bread, cut it up and freeze it. The recipes will vary depending on what I have on hand, but I always use the same basic ingredients (Jiffy corn muffin mix, rolled oats, a splash of grits, 2 whole eggs, chopped unsalted mixed nuts, Roudybush pellet crumbles, splash of fruit or V8 juice, 1/2 banana, a handful of Halo Fanta seed mix, and either solid and pureed frozen mixed veggies OR solid and pureed frozen or fresh mixed berries-depending if i am making a fruity or veggie batch of muffins.


Everyday Pugsly gets one hunk of my birdy muffins(fruit or veggie flavor), a splash of frozen mixed veggies, some fresh veggie-usually broccoli or sugar snap peas in the pod, LOVES 'em, all in his wet cup.

In his dry cup, everyday he gets it lined with Roudybush pellets, 2-3 different flavored Nutriberries and 1-2 squares of Avi Cake. ...and of course, fresh cold water from the PUR pitcher in the fridge.

Totally spoiled, I know, lol.

So over the course of the past year, I have noticed a pattern going on with his beak that correlates quite dependably with the appearance of his beak.

When I bake the veggie muffins, that month he will have some flakyness around the tip of his beak. Nothing dramatic, but some definite shelving, like the tip is a whole other section.

Now, when i bake a batch of the BERRY/FRUITY bread, within days his beak looks like a brand new baby's, with no flaking or shelving AT ALL.

Very weird, but obviously the berries must add something that the other foods don't. Just curious if anyone else has had similar experience with changes in beak appearance with regards to diet. I try to give as much variety as possible and always provide the staples such as the RB pellets, but even when he was just eating that before I used to bake for him, his beak never looked so good as it does with the berries in his food. He is due for his check-up, and I plan to mention it at his appt. Anyone else?

I would be curious to know what it is exactly that stops the flaking.
lily is only 12 weeks old and when I got her, her beak was smooth as could be but a few days after being here it got flaky. I feed her RB pellets and some of her previous food along with fresh veggies - her favorite is green beans

I might have to try to make some "birdie muffins"

Yes it is interesting. Can we get the recipe for your berry/fruit bread?