Escape artist,

[Kathy beard]

hi, I have had my GCC for three days and the little bugger has escaped his cage 2 times, found out he was squeezing out the bottom where the grate slides onto top portion of cage, I think I have it fixed ,lol we shall see, by the way, what is the best food for these bird ? Heard pellets and seed , would like to no the best one he is 8 weeks old,

 

[Bird-Mom]

I don't believe in feeding pellets. They are mechanically made and some people's birds have began to have seizures and it was believed to be because of something in the pellets. Pellets are stuffed with so many fillers as well that they have a bunch of junk food in them. If you still want to feed pellets I've always read 20% pellet and 80% seed.
I think you are better off feeding seeds, veggies, fruits, pastas, etc. This way you know exactly what your bird is getting. It's also more natural for them.

 

[Appolosmom]

you should talk with your avian vet about what is best to feed them my vet says only seeds as a small treat

 

[Aubrey]

Pellets do offer some vitamins and minerals and micro nutrients that can be hard to get into your bird if they don't except a variety of foods. The pellet my parrot and I like is cateic oven fresh bites. Feeding veggies and sprouts and a bit of fruits too is ideal

 

[Kathy beard]

Has anyone used the wild harvest cockatiel blend?

 

[echobird]

Not all pellets are equal. Yes there are crap brands like kaytee filled with junk. Roudybush is an okay brand but I'm switching my conure to Harrison's and TOPs soon. Those are two of the best brands. Here is the proper food Pyramid for parrots. This is what I follow.

Everyday I give my bird a chop which contains: carrots, kale, broccoli, yams, collard greens, cilantro, bell peppers, spicy peppers, peas. This is his base diet that he gets daily. I add in any fresh fruit and vegetable I have on hand that day as well and the occasional frozen blueberries.

 

[Bird-Mom]

Has anyone used the wild harvest cockatiel blend?

Yes I have. The one they carry at walmart. I use that and the one they carry in the big container. I've used this for quite some time now. To add nutrients you should get some Oasis bird vitamins from amazon. I spent a lot of time comparing vitamins and this had the most, not to mention all the important ones.
Of course fresh veggies are always good too.

 

[echobird]

It's best to not have a conure on a seed based diet. It's okay for budgies since their actual diet is made up of 50% seed but for conures no more than 12% seed. Lots of dark leafy greens and bright colored veggies are the best option.

 

[alcmene]

An 80% seed diet would be extremely unhealthy. That would be like humans eating an 80% white potato diet. Not feeding pellets is ok if you don't want to go that route, but the bulk of the diet should be made of veggies, whole grains, and fruit instead- not seeds.

Cockatiels and budgies can get away with more seeds then other species because they are seed eaters in the wild. Conures are not. Most vets agree that conures shouldn't be given seeds at all, or a very minimal amount super occasionally as a treat. Definitely not daily.

 

[RFM Buddy]

I'll give you something quick and easy. Prepare chop ahead of time. Pasta(cooked), kale, Apple, carrots...etc. a quick pulse in blender or food processor, not mush just chopped. Next freeze in ice cube trays . Thaw 1 a day , use this as a base and add other fruits, nuts sparingly. I keep some pellets in the other bowl. Bon appetite