Due to Tropican's unique formula and extruded (heat pasteurized) nature, a soft form may be prepared that is impossible to produce from ordinary bird pellets. This soft moist food is ideal for softbills including Pekin nightingales, thrushes, starlings, mynahs and toucans. Tropican is much lower in iron than dog food or other rations containing animal protein sources. Tropican uses no animal proteins or by-products and hence is much preferred over these foods. Crumbled soft moist Tropican is also ideal for finches, canaries and parakeets, particularly when raising young. It is also an excellent alternate texture to offer to parrots learning to eat formulated diets, and to young parrots being weaned.

TROPICAN SOFT MOIST PREPARATION DIRECTIONS:

Use 1 cup of Tropican (either maintenance or high performance formulas, any size granule) and add 1 cup of warm water. Let stand for approximately 1/2 minute. Pour off water (through a strainer is easiest) and place wet Tropican in a clean margarine container or other closed container. Store in the refrigerator. The following day, the granules will be soft and moist, but hold their shape. Crumble them slightly at serving to separate them (further crumbling can also be used to produce crumbs). Use a longer or shorter soaking period during preparation to achieve exactly the texture you are looking for. Tropican may be stored in the refrigerator in this condition for up to one week.

DAILY METHOD:

(Looks strange but works!) Use a small dish and place approximately 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) of fruit juice in the bottom. Add 1 tablespoon of dry (cockatiel size) Tropican. It will float in the juice at first, but after an hour or two will be a soft moist delight. If you don't use lots of juice it will stick together like a cake.

Louise Bauck BSc, DVM, MVSc.

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