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I have to start off by saying, Leslie is brilliant!

Karen with Shadow, a Congo African Grey, she raised for a customer.

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I am the owner of Great Lakes Parrot Place. I raise & hand feed tons of birds through out the year. Because of this, I am always looking for ways to make my day more convenient at feeding time. I hate spending my whole day in the kitchen cooking, making sure they are getting all the nourishment’s they need at each meal when I should be playing and cuddling with them.

Bella (l) & Trixie (r) both Double Head Amazons that Karen raised for her customers.

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When I first heard of Leslie and sprouts, I thought NO WAY! I do not have a green thumb and every plant in my home dies because I forget to water it! There is no way I can grow sprouts. But, after speaking to Leslie & ordering my “Complete Sprouting Kit,” I was hooked! It is so easy to sprout and only takes 3 days and less then 10 minutes out of your day.

But, what is more important to me is, each and every one of my babies are getting a complete nutritional diet & my customers can be confident their baby is getting the best of the best!

Ziggy, a Congo African Grey that Karen raised for a customer.

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I am always recommending my customers to sprout. If they want the best for their parrot, sprouting is a MUST! My customers are always telling me how much they love sprouting and knowing they are giving their parrot the best of both worlds.

I have customers who take their parrot home with no intentions of continuing to feed them sprouts. However, they always come back wanting information about sprouting because they have seen a difference in their birds since leaving my home.

Koopa, Karen’s own Sun conure. Everyone always asks why his feathers glow … the secret is Leslie’s sprouts!

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Then there are those customers who don’t purchase a parrot through me, but are always asking me my secret to such beautiful, well behaved, healthy looking parrots. They compliment me on how their feathers shine & the colors just pop! I tell them “My secret is “sprouting!!”

Popeye, Severe Macaw, Karen raised him for one of her customers.

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But, you don’t have to take my word for it. Pictures speak louder than words! I invite you to check out photos of my parrots at www.greatlakesparrotplace.com and I challenge you to order the “Complete Sprouting Kit” for your feathered baby. I can guarantee in just a few weeks you will notice a difference in your parrot’s behavior, color, and health!

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Karen with Zuri, a Timneh African Grey she raised for one of her customers.

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What do you have to lose? You don’t sacrifice your human family’s health, so why sacrifice the health of your parrot by feeding them unhealthy diets?

Great Lakes Parrot Place

“Parrots raised in a home, for a home”

Karen Engle * 989.873.0901 

 www.greatlakesparrotplace.com 

www.facebook.com/greatlakesparrotplace

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The definitive guide to using GSE.

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According to Allan Sachs, DC, CCN, in his book, “ The Authoritative Guide to Grapefruit Seed Extract”, GSE is a broad spectrum product that has the ability to work against a wide range of organisms. Hundreds of laboratory tests have shown it is powerful and effective against dangerous germs even when highly diluted. An Acute Oral Toxicity Study done at Northview Pacific Labs showed that GSE is safe and non-toxic even at doses exceeding 5000 mg per kg of body weight. This is equivalent to a 200 pound (90 kg) person  drinking one pound (454 gms) of pure GSE daily for two weeks. Typical doses of GSE (used in people) have no negative impact on beneficial gut bacteria.

Although we’re still learning about the use of GSE in the care of birds, we know that it is effective in cleaning cages, enclosures and perches, and for disinfecting bird toys obtained at bird marts.  It can also be used to sterilize the hands before touching parrot babies or hand-feeding them, for disinfecting surfaces, equipment and utensils in the nursery, brooders and incubators, and in the final rinse when laundering the cloth bedding for newly-hatched chicks.  For healing, Leslie prepares personalized individual formulas for healing aspergillosis, candida, and reoccurring bacterial infections in parrots.

For more information on GSE, go to What is Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE)?

GSE has been well researched, more than 80 scientific laboratories have performed hundreds of studies on its effectiveness. A partial list of these labs appears below. This list originally appeared in “ The Authoritative Guide to Grapefruit Seed Extract”, by Allan Sachs, DC, CCN, pages 33 to 34.

GSE Laboratories

ABC Research, Gainesville, Florida

Abcom Chemie Co, Seoul, Korea

Alpha Chemical and Biomedical Laboratories, Petaluma, California

AquaLandis Inc, Canada

Analytical Chemical Services Inc, Columbia, Maryland

Association of Consulting Chemists and Chemical Engineers

Bioassay Systems Corp, Woburn, Massachusetts

Bio-Research Laboratories, Redmond, Washington

Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah

British Columbia Research Corp, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Coopemontecillos Division Pesca, San Jose, Costa Rica

Daiwa Kasei Chemical, Tokyo, Japan

Department of Health and Human Services, FDA, Washington DC

Department of Food Technology, Gycongsang National University, Chinju, Korea

East Chilliwack Agricultural Co-op, Chilliwack, BC, Canada

Great Smokies Labs, Asheville, North Carolina

Florida Department of Agriculture, Tallahassee, Florida

Hazelton Labs, Madison, Wisconsin

Hilltop Research Inc, Huntington Valley, Pennsylvania

Indonesian Government at the National Center for Fisheries, Jakarta

Institut Pasteur, Paris, France

Journal of Food Sciences

Journal of the Korean Agricultural Chemical Society

Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine

Lancaster Laboratories, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Northview Pacific Labs, Berkeley, California

Silocon Valley Chemlab Inc, Santa Clara, California

Thornton Laboratories Inc, Tampa, Florida

US Dept of Agriculture, Hyattsville, Florida

United States Testing Co, Hoboken, New Jersey

Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, San Nicolas de los Garza, Mexico

Universidad National Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru

University of California, Davis, California

University of Florida, Food Services Dept, Gainesville, Florida

University of Nebraska

University of Southern Florida, Dept of Biology, Tampa, Florida

Valley Microbiology Services, Palo Alto, California

Weston-Gulf Coast Laboratories, University Park, Illinois

For more information on GSE, go to What is Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE)?

We hope this article helped shed some light on the ‘on-line’ GSE controversy. Tell us your thoughts and questions about using GSE with your birds.

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Excerpt from ‘The Holistic Parrot’, by Leslie Moran, May 2013, issue # 184, Parrots magazine.

This is part one of a two part series.

GSE, an all natural product.

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On the internet, there seems to be a good deal of confusion about the safety of using GSE, and much has been written about it, so the purpose of this article is to help establish the facts.

And since we encourage the use of GSE when sprouting for your parrots, and other birds, we want to provide some answers to many of the questions you, our readers, have asked about the safety and effectiveness of GSE.  But first, let’s put some perspective on this subject.

According to a 2009 report in CNN Money, the pharmaceutical industry is the second largest most profitable industry in the world.  It’s also known that the revenue from the entire natural and holistic healthcare market falls way below the quoted statistics of the pharmaceutical industry, yet a few strategically written papers published by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Institute of Pharmacy in Germany and the European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology have gone to great lengths to discredit the effectiveness and safety of GSE.

Grapefruit seed extract (GSE) is a natural, non-toxic compound made from the seed and pulp of grapefruit (Citrus paradisi) - not to be confused with grape seed extract, which is a powerful antioxidant found in the seeds of the white grape (Vitis vinifera).

According to Allan Sachs, DC, CCN, in his book, “The Authoritative Guide to Grapefruit Seed Extract”, GSE has the ability to work against a wide range of organisms, and hundreds of laboratory tests have shown how powerful and effective it is against dangerous germs, even when highly diluted.  A partial list of these labs, as listed in Dr Sachs book appear on this website at GSE, Over 80 Labs Find it Safe and Effective.

GSE is derived from natural plant materials. It is hypo-allergenic, and rarely produces any type of allergic reaction.  GSE is biodegradable and compatible with other natural remedies.  It is affordable and economical, costing only pennies per day when compared to highly expensive prescription drugs and medications.

These facts may help explain why the pharmaceutical industry recognizes the potential threat to their global monopoly on neutralizing pathogens.

This article, as it appears in Parrots magazine, also looks at the many uses for GSE, giving the exact ratio of the liquid concentrate to water, since it must always be diluted before use.

Safely using GSE in the nursery and healing room – from cleaning hands to disinfecting surfaces, brooders, incubators, syringes and utensils used in hand feeding babies and sick adults.

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Although we’re still learning about the use of GSE in the care of birds, we know that it is effective in cleaning cages, enclosures and perches, and for disinfecting bird toys obtained at bird marts.  It can also be used to sterilize the hands before touching parrot babies or hand-feeding them, for disinfecting surfaces, equipment and utensils in the nursery, brooders and incubators, and in the final rinse when laundering the cloth bedding for newly-hatched chicks.  For healing, Leslie prepares personalized individual formulas for healing aspergillosis, candida, and reoccurring bacterial infections in parrots.

In the home, it’s a good all purpose household cleaner for use on a number of surfaces, and effective in cleaning fruits, vegetables, meat or poultry when added to a sink of cold water.  GSE can be used for purifying water in the sauna, whirlpool and swimming pool, and has supplemented mass water purification efforts in third world countries.

In human holistic healthcare GSE has been used successfully as an antiseptic, antibiotic, anti-fungal, anti-viral and anti-parasitic for conditions such as mouth ulcers, cold sores (herpes simplex), gingivitis, cold, flu, sinus infections, strep throat, candida and allergies. Leslie has been using it for her own natural healthcare needs for decades.

Next month, in Leslie’s  ‘The Holistic Parrot’ column, in the June 2013 issue of Parrots magazine, she’ll look into those published papers who seek to discredit the safety and effectiveness of GSE. She’ll explain what’s going on regarding the accusations that harmful chemicals are added to GSE during the manufacturing process.

This article originally appeared in the May 2013, issue 184, of Parrots magazine.

For a full copy of this article go to www.parrotmag.com   .

Parrots is now available in digital form or a classic hard copy.

We hope this article helped shed some light on the ‘on-line’ GSE controversy. Tell us your thoughts and questions about using GSE with your birds.

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Cockatiels love our sprouting blends

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Q:
I have two healthy cockatiels – one is 4 years old, the other is 3, and I am wondering which sprouting blend would be best for them, and how to best introduce this to their diet?

A:
It’s wonderful that you’re wanting to feed your cockatiels the best sprouting blend made,
because there are literally hundreds of nutrients which parrots must consume daily for good health.

We have customers with cockatiels who already use both our Original Sprouting Blend and the Wheat-Free, but we suggest starting with our Original Sprouting Blend, because the sprouted wheat is so nutritious, and the birds love it.

It sounds as if you’re new to sprouting, and if so, you might find our Complete Sprouting Kit useful.  It contains everything you need for successful sprouting for your birds.

In my book, ‘The Complete Guide to Successful Sprouting for Parrots’, Chapter 5 deals with how to successfully introduce new foods – including our sprouts – to your birds. Because all birds have the natural ability to self-nourish, however, most just begin eating our sprouting blends right away.

Here are two links which might also be helpful:

Complete Sprouting Kits

Healing a Cockatiel of Liver Disease

Q:       Thank you so much Leslie, I will follow your advice.

Owl Finch pair

Q:

I’m very interested in your sprouting mix, but I don’t only have parrots.  I also have zebra finches who love alfalfa sprouts and micro greens.  Would your blend be suitable for them as well?

A:

I also have finches, and they love my Wheat-Free blend!  For the little ones, my sprouting blend needs to be chopped up.

Our wheat-free blend chopped in a food processor

Q:

I don’t see sprouting containers covered on your website – which one(s) do you prefer, and which ones give the best results?  I do have one easy sprouter, which I’ve used, but for some reason, my sprouts come out feeling rather slimy.  Perhaps I’m not using it correctly?  I also seem to end up throwing them all away.

A:

I use glass jars, and place a piece of nylon net over the mouth, which I secure in place with a rubber band.  Also, the reason your sprouts are getting slimy has to do with the sprouting blend you’re trying to use – it has not been formulated with ingredients that have a compatible germination and growth rate. Having a compatible germination and growth rate is something our sprouting blends are known for.

The ultimate sprouting guide for parrots

Q:

It would be great to have you cover your successful sprouting method – in a step by step guide perhaps.  Apart from learning how to master the process, I’d also like to find out how to dry the sprouts correctly before storing them in the refrigerator.  The sprouts that are available at my local market are so wet, they’re good for 1 or 2 days only.

A:

It sounds as though you may be new to sprouting for your birds. If so, you might find the Complete Sprouting Kit useful.  It contains my book, The Compete Guide to Successful Sprouting for Parrots, which will show you how to sprout for your unique climatic area.  It also has information on my method for storing sprouts – which don’t actually need to be dried.  Here’s a link to our Complete Sprouting Kit.

By the way, these sprouting blends are perfect for canaries, too.

Enjoy Sprouting!

Sweet little Lucy, Illiger macaw

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Friday, August 21, 2009

I am owned by Lucy, the Illeger macaw. I had no idea how hard I would fall in love with my girl. I’ve been experimenting with sprouting for her, but I’ve had limited success using online resources. This morning I threw away seeds that didn’t sprout and smelled like a musty dishcloth.

I would like to order the starter kit advertised on your website, that includes the book, a one pound bag of sprouting seed mix and the GSE.

Shane Long

Cary, NC

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The Complete Guide to Successful Sprouting for Parrots

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Hi Shane,

Thank you for your email.

Our starter kit – the Complete Sprouting Kit – comes with either a one pound or a five pound bag of our 100% Organic, complete protein, Sprouting Blend. Our Sprouting Blends are made with human-grade quality ingredients. I sprout the Original Sprouting Blend for my flock, and the Wheat-Free for myself. The five pound bag gives you a better price per pound price.

Our Sprouting Blend also comes in our Original Sprouting Blend, or our Wheat-Free Blend.

Please let me know which type of sprouts you’d prefer (Original or Wheat-Free), and the bag size.

I’m happy to help you get a proper start in sprouting for Lucy. My cover-girl (on the book) Maria, blue and gold macaw, LOVES her sprouts!

I look forward to sending you your starter kit.

In Health & Healing for Parrots Everywhere,

Leslie Moran

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Lucy on her play stand

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Leslie,

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You had a powerful role in my beloved Lucy’s health and happiness. She truly adored freshly sprouted food and with it I was able to give her my best year around.

Shane Long

Cary, NC

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“My Mom keeps me healthy with Sprouts!”, Female Eclectus

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Hello,

I’ve been researching the pros and cons of feeding sprouts for a while. I’ve come across info that says sprouts should only be fed to birds in a breeding situation and should not be fed to pet parrots . What are your thoughts about this?

JN

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A 10 gram Owl finch demands the same nutritionally rich foods as a parrot preparing for breeding season.

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Hi JN,

I’m aware that breeders condition their birds – get them ready for the rigors of breeding season – by feeding them a variety of nutrient rich foods that may include sprouts. Although I’ve never bred parrots I did breed Owl finches for a number of years. And for a successful and productive breeding season these tiny 10 gram birds benefit from a diet equally as nutritious as those fed breeding parrots.

However because avian vets still stress that the leading cause of illness, disease and early death of parrots is malnutrition it’s clear that parrot lovers need to begin feeding their birds differently.

In 2002 a paper titled, “Estimated Nutrient Content of Diets Commonly Fed to Pet Birds” was published in the Veterinary Record. This paper demonstrated that the diet commonly fed to pet birds is severely deficient in complete protein, vitamin D3, vitamin A, and vitamin E while having an excess of fats that were 2 to 3 times over recommended levels.

Because a majority of parrots are fed foods that do not even provide the minimum levels of essential nutrients the only way to reverse the effects of being malnourished is to feed the most nutrient rich foods available. And this means feeding sprouts.

A properly grown sprouting blend that contains complete protein should make up 50% of a bird’s meal.

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However, after working with feeding birds sprouts since around 1998 – to both my breeding birds and my companion parrots – I’ve determined that a sprouting blend must be formulated to provide specific qualities to truly benefit the birds that eat it.

In order for a sprouting blend to have the highest nutritional level possible for the birds who eat it look for these three things:

1. It must be formulated to provide complete protein. Protein provides the basic nutritional building blocks for every cell in a bird’s body. This is the main downfall of a seed based diet – it does not contain complete protein and contains high levels of fat.  For more info read, Feeding Parrots: The Value of Complete Protein.

2. The sprouting blend must be formulated to be able to sprout for 2 to 3 days to reach optimum nutritional levels.  Beware of the information on-line that exclaims soaked is more nutritious than sprouted. Click this link to learn the facts. Soaked vs Sprouted Seeds.

3. The sprouting blend must be certified organic. In the body pesticides mimic hormones and can reek havoc on delicate hormonal systems. In my work of using food and nutrition to heal parrots and other birds I have seen pesticides be at the root cause of self mutilation, over active sexual and mating behaviors and  aggressive behaviors. For more information click and read, “Why Feed Your Birds Organic”.

Crimson-wing hen enjoys her organic meal of our sprouts and veggies.

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Since parrots have been fed a combination of foods – for decades – that are missing in the vital basic nutrients I think feeding them a properly formulated, properly grown sprouting blend is the best thing you can do to help prevent illness and disease or reverse any existing health problems or conditions.

I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions.

In Health & Healing for Parrots Everywhere,    Leslie Moran

Daniel and his Cockatiel babies.

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Hi there,

I really enjoyed your class last week end, at the Pettin Place (Reno, NV).

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We talked about getting pellets for my cockatiels, but how do I get them to eat them, they love sprouts a lot even the babies.

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Attached is a photo of me and the babies 33 days old. x                               x             x    x  

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The Complete Guide to Successful Sprouting for Parrots

Hi Daniel,

Thanks so much for letting me know you enjoyed my class.

Chapter 5 of my book (The Complete Guide to Successful Sprouting for Parrots) talks about how to be successful when introducing new foods to parrots of all types. And pellets (organic) should only make up about 25% of a parrot’s diet.

When I first began feeding sprouts I had nine parrots of a variety of species and had to go thru many different ways of getting them to try and eat a new food … Chapter 5 describes everything I went through. If you need a copy of my book Pettin Place (Reno, NV) has some copies.

There are so many different ways to introduce new foods, it’s impossible to cover them all here. I hope you understand. That’s why I wrote an entire chapter on that subject.

Let me know how you get along with this, okay?

In Health & Healing for Parrots Everywhere,

Leslie Moran

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Chili Pepper is getting better, thank you Leslie!

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We wanted to thank Leslie for all she has done and continues to do for Chili Pepper, my 10-year old Quaker Parrot who has been pulling feathers out of her chest area, legs and thighs.

Working with Leslie has been a very rewarding experience for the both of us.

Leslie has indeed been able to communicate with Chili Pepper and discover her dramatic past before I adopted her a couple of years ago.

Thanks to Leslie, we now have a better understanding of the root cause of Chili Pepper’s feather plucking problem, and how it has affected her on an emotional and physical level.

There is still a lot more to achieve, but I already witnessed, over the last several months, positive changes in Chili Pepper’s behavior: she is a much more relaxed, social, playful and confident little birdie.

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Again, thank you, Leslie for all the work you’ve done with us!

Virginie, Fairfax, VA

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Peepers, Male Lutino Cockatiel

Hi Leslie,

We took Peepers to the vet Tues. night to have a recheck & blood work, he hadn’t been there since June.  He wasn’t happy with them taking his blood of course but he is okay.  His liver enzymes should be 350 which is the high normal.  It was over 1000 in June & now it is 754 which is better than it has been since he & Snuggles had pneumonia.  His protein has gone up since June, was 2.6 & now is 2.9, the normal is 3.0 & the albumin (blood protein) was .8 & now is 1, the low normal is 1.2.  So everything seems to be getting better.

The vet was very surprised when she saw Peepers since he is much better since she saw him last.  The vet was very happy & she said everything looks like it is turning around for him & hopefully he will continue to get better.

She said to keep giving him his milk thistle & lactulose twice a day & continue with your sprouts & Harrison’s food & the Aviculture pro-biotics of course.  She wants to do more blood work on him in 6 months unless he starts going down hill again.

So it looks like the Milk Thistle & Lactulose syrup along with your sprouts & other organic foods have made a difference.  Snuggles seems to be fine, we will take her to the vet in a couple of months to check her blood.

That is the good news & hoping Peepers continues to get better & Snuggles too.

Thanks for your help!

Jeanette K, Downey, CA 

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Best Bird food Ever! Original Sprouting Blend, the foundational food for good health and healing. x Hi Jeanette,x x This is wonderful news!!!!May I post this email along with a photo or two to my website?I’m so happy for your, your husband and precious little Peepers.   In Health & Healing for Peepers and Snuggles, x    x                              x          x        Leslie Moran

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Peepers is learning to eat what’s good for him

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Hello Leslie,

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Of course you can post it.  I was so relieved with the results.  We are hoping Peepers keeps improving & his liver isn’t beyond repair.  Here’s hoping for the best!

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Thank you for your help,

Jeanette K, Downey, CA

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Our Original Sprouting Blend in a meal with mixed vegetables and strawberries.

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Hi Jeanette,

Thanks for letting me use your great email and photo of Peepers. It’s definitely good news! Is he still receiving the DMG ? That will also help detox and regenerate his liver.

In Health & Healing for Peepers & Snuggles,

Leslie Moran

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Peepers is getting better with your sprouting blends

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Hi Leslie,

Peepers had a strange stool about a week ago, was very large & gelatinous, kind of clear & the color was yellowish green, hard to explain so when I told my vet that she thought for now I should only do the milk thistle, lactulose syrup, sprouts, pro-biotics, Harrison’s food & other organic greens & fruits for now.  She thinks maybe I might be giving him too much stuff.  Have you ever seen a dropping like that?

xThank you,                  x          x

x                       x                          x            x     x Jeanette K, Downey, CA

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Hi Jeanette,

Sounds as if he may have been ‘detoxing’ , my only concern is that the DMG may be one of the reasons why his blood results improved so much.

I just finished doing my column and the past two columns have been about how food effects the genes, and this directly relates to whether disease states in genes are activated or are kept inactive.

The DMG donates methyl molecules which is VERY important in enabling the methylation process in the body. And methylation directly effects the liver, having it detox and be able to rebuild healthier cells.

Most vets don’t know about DMG.

You can do what ever you decide, but I suggested the DMG because it is very important in helping to reverse liver disease in parrots.

In Health & Healing for Peepers & Snuggles,

Leslie Moran

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Our happy, healthy, sweet little Peepers

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Hi Leslie,

Okay, thanks for the important info. on DMG, I will give it to him again.  I was just worried about his dropping, had no clue why it looked like that.

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Thanks you,

Jeanette K, Downey, CA

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For birds, we use the liqued form of DMG.

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Hi Jeanette,

You’re very welcome. Please know that I work with my clients as if their birds were my own. I really care about Peepers getting healthier. And I know you vet cares about and wants this also. However, because I have used food and nutrition for healing the animals for so very long, I have a different understanding of how to support the body’s won natural healing processes.

DMG – A Metabolic Miracle

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Here’s a link to an article on my website about DMG.  I how this sheds light on why it’s one of the main supplements I use when helping to heal the birds.

In Health & Healing for Peepers & Snuggles,

Leslie Moran

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Best Bird food Ever! Original Sprouting Blend with mixed veggies.

Thanks again Leslie,  I will check out your link.

Jeanette K, Downey, CA 

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