Feeding birds can get expensive! I am constantly looking for ways to trim my bird budget. One of the best things I have started doing is taking a weekly drive to the Paterson Market on Railroad Avenue. This is a street filled with fruit, vegetable and flower stores. I buy the fruit that is in season, so every week it is different. It is also very reasonable. My best buy this week was peas in the pod at 3 lb. for .99#, and my birds loved them. Also, dried fruit is available. Banana chips at $1.99 a lb. are a great buy, compared with pet stores and catalogs. All kinds of dried fruits are available: Apricot, plums, prunes, dates, papaya, and my birdsí favorite, pineapple. You never know what you will find.....one week, I bought a sugar cane stalk.....it was about a 5 foot length for $1.99. I cut it up and made perches, which have been chewed and enjoyed. Other smaller pieces were passed out, just for chewing pleasure.

  Sometimes, we buy coconuts. They are 2 for $1.00. My husband, Joe, cuts them in half; we take out the coconut, and use it as a food supplement. There is a lot of coconut. After the coconut is out of the shell, we let the shell dry for a few days. Then, Joe makes toys out of the shells. The only extra part that's needed is the chain to hang the toys. The birds love to chew these shells and they are very durable and all natural.

    While I am at the market, I buy some fruits and vegetables for Joe and the girls too, so it saves on a trip to the supermarket.

     Some newspapers also carry coupons for the market for people who like to coupon shop. It is crowded, but I always feel like I am in a tropical market place. It is the same kind of atmosphere.

  One other shopping tip: Tom, a co-worker and bird owner and I started ordering some supplies, such as Pretty Bird, in bulk. We both use it as a supplement, so we order a 20 lb. bag. We each get 10 lb. and that lasts quite a while. I keep it in my birdie refrigerator, so it stays fresh. Twenty pounds is about $22.00, so I pay about $11.00 for ten pounds. I always buy seed in bulk and that cuts the price per pound in half.