Our Beginnings

Planting The Seed, Feeding The Birds, and What’s in a Name~

Avian FRESH Diets (AFD) are the result of eighteen years of diet evolution by Fred Bauer at the China Prairie™ Breeding Facility with more than 400 parrots of over 50 species. It is centered upon the concept that wild birds eat living, succulent foods without synthetic vitamins, preservatives, concentrates, etc. and have access to and utilize a vast array of herbal plant life.

For millions of years the birds that we value so highly, evolved to become the magnificent creatures that share our homes today. They came to us in perfect health, eating whole pure foods from forests, grasslands, and mountains. These are nature’s gardens, foods in vital living forms provided by the balance of the natural world. There were no synthetic vitamins to "fortify", no artificial colors to "excite", no concentrates to "stimulate", no chemical preservatives to "protect", no animal products to "compensate" for cheap bulk grains, and no machine processing to grind, roll, crush, heat or press, destroying the vitality and energy of these living, health sustaining foods. There were no overgrown toenails, crooked beaks, feather picking, or need for "feather conditioning" sprays.

Fred designed The Avian FRESH Program in proportions providing the best complementary combinations, with the assistance of his birds and other natural food authorities. It is not only the finest avian diet you can feed, it is also easy to prepare! Our sprouting system supplies FRESH living food daily with only two to four minutes of effort per day, and is light-years ahead with a cost below that of assembling these ingredients yourself.

Many ask how we got our name. Well- Great Question, and it has nothing to do with the country of China as would lead one to believe. The China Prairie™ name came about during the oil crisis of about 1978 here in the US. Everyone had to get a fuel allotment from ones local bank in order to buy tractor fuel. Fred had gone to the bank, and was asked for the name of his company and address. Fred’s place in beautiful Humboldt County California, then a pepper and eggplant farm, was in the wilderness with no address and no name, but the government had to have one. So the lady at the bank said "Let's make one up, where do you live"? Fred said, "Between Crooked Prairie and China Creek". She responded, "We could call it Crooked China Company". They both said, "Not that one", so it became China Prairie™ and it stuck! Quite complementary we feel.