I spend a lot of time and money preparing a fresh food diet for my 9 year old Eclectus parrot.  I combine brown rice, beans, barley, chopped collard greens, broccoli, carrots, peas, corn, peppers, and okra to make the basis of the food and then add in raw seasonal fruits and veggies with an occasional addition of hardboiled egg, plain yogurt, cottage cheese, pasta, and bits of cooked chicken.  She also gets a blend of dried fruit, nuts, and some seeds so her diet is very well-balanced. 

That being said, we all get tired of eating the same thing over and over again so I do like to switch things up now and then to provide some variety and keep my parrot interested in what is in her bowl.  Most recently, I've used Higgins Worldly Cuisines Passage To India and she absolutely loves it!

About This Product

Higgins Passage To India Gourmet Bird Food is a dry mix that you cook in boiling water to produce a ready-to-serve meal to your bird.  The instructions state that you should combine 1 cup of water with a little more than half a cup of this dry mix in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, cover, lower the heat and let simmer for 10-15 minutes.  It can be served warm or at room temperature and can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. 

The ingredients in this food include basmati rice, dehulled millet, green lentils, cracked corn, papaya, coconut, almonds, wheat, split peas, cracked wheat, dehulled buckwheat, peanuts, shelled sunflower seeds, cashews, dates, raisins, carrots, cinnamon, ginger, and kelp.  The guaranteed analysis for this product is 10.5% crude protein, 5.75% crude fat, 3.5% crude fiber, and 12% moisture.  I paid about $6 for a 13 ounce bag of Passage to India at an online bird supply store.

Our Experience

I made this bag of bird food in two batches.  The first time I used too much water.  The basmati rice disintegrated and the whole thing turned into a sticky mess.  When I prepared the rest of the bag about a month later, I was careful to use less water so the rice maintained its shape and the components remained individual instead of being part of a block of mush. 

My parrot didn't seem to mind which type of consistency this Higgins Worldly Cuisines Bird Food had as she eagerly gobbled it up every time she found it in her bowl.  She's a good eater in general (as most ekkies are) but she ate even more than her usual share when she was eating Passage To India.

Overall Opinion

Both the bird and I are happy with this cookable parrot food.  It isn't something that I'd use as her primary diet, but that isn't due to any negative opinions on this product.  I just prefer to prepare my own cooked food diet for my Eclectus.  I will, however, continue to buy this stuff and occasionally offer it to her to provide some variety in her diet.  It is inexpensive, easy to prepare, and my parrot loves it. 

Recommended: Yes