Opinions on these Brands?

[Moshimaru]

In a perfect world I'd like to get all the fids on the same brand of food, but to what I'm at this point unsure of. Of course the most cost effective would be the best, but if they're stuck eating one brand we'll just go with that. I'll probably do a mix of a few anyways just to keep things interesting, but I'd like to know others thoughts on these brands of foods.

Caitec
Hagen Tropican/Tropimix
Harrison's
Higgins Intune
Roudybush
Zupreem - bunch of different varieties.

I'm also finding a few of these brands have peanuts in them? From what I've read, peanuts aren't good for birds; Caitec contains peanut meal, Hagen Tropican/Tropimix brands have de-hulled peanuts in it, and Harrison's has ground shelled peanuts

 

[Animallover03]

I use roudybush pellets for Grumbles and he took to them right away. (Was on a seed diet)
Supposedly Harrisons is best- but overly priced imo. You should see about getting samples of the pellets you are interested in @parrothotel sells some. Good luck!

 

[Newbie GCC]

You can email most of the companies directly and they will send you free samples. IMO it is not which is best, it is which will your bird eat. Thankfully both of mine like the Roudybush. I had tried a few of the multi colored ones and they wouldn't touch them.

 

[Parrot Hotel & Shop]

My guys love roudybush. I do sell sampler packs of pellets too

 

[alcmene]

I agree that the best pellet is whichever your bird will eat. Mine all hate roudybush. They like harrisons. They LOVE zupreem fruit, but i rarely feed it because i don't like the dyes and added sugar

 

[iamwhoiam]

Mine will not eat Roudybush. I used to give them Zupreem natural and fruit flavored but I've switched them to Caitec Oven Fresh Bites and all of them except for two eat those.

 

[NK_717]

Mine have been on a seedmix/zupreem pellet diet and we're hoping that they'll be converted to mostly pellets..
but if they seriously will not touch them I'm going to try Harrisons.

(The babies were given this size- but would the even smaller one be better?)

 

[Tim]

My bird guy makes a custom mix of pellets. That way if one is discontinued (I think of all those people whose birds would only eat Roudybush's rice diet) they still have another choice that is familiar. Different pellets have different benefits, to a degree, too. The peanuts and meanut meal in these diets is heated and extruded, so I don't think it is a problem. I have two caiques--one eats everything except Roudybush, the other eats everything except Zupreem Natural. They both love Harrisons.

 

[NK_717]

My bird guy makes a custom mix of pellets.

That's really neat- wish the shop over here could do it.

 

[karen256]

Peanuts are ok in pellets, as they are cooked enough to kill any fungal spore - peanuts are high in fat, of course, but in a pellet, a bird can't pick out and eat just the peanuts so they are fine. I wouldn't choose a pellet brand based on peanuts unless someone in your household has a peanut allergy.
They are all decent brands. Harrison's is very good, but expensive and goes bad quickly (since it has no preservatives).

 

[alicat]

I'd definitely send some emails and get free samples. Agreed that the best pellet is the one your bird will eat. I spent a lot of money on a big bag of Harrisons before I got my cockatiel thinking I wanted him to have "the best of the best" but no matter what I did he wouldn't eat it. He really likes roudybush so I'm just sticking with that!

 

[waterfaller1]

I feed the first two...and add in some Harrison's sometimes

 

[Gen120]

I feed Roudybush to all of mine. Sammy used to eat fruity zupreem when I first got her but I was able to switch her to Roudybush instead. I agree, that whatever pellet they eat is the best. I tried harrisons too & none of mine would touch it. Although pellets should only make up part of their diet. It should be a mix of pellets, some seed, fruits & veggies, cooked grains & treats sometimes.

 

[alshgs]

Rio was on zupreem fruity when he came to me, but he had a protein issue and the vet had me switch him to Harrison's. He loves it. We just got him to eating some veggies last night so hopefully he will eat them as good as Tuki does. Tuki is on a mix of roudybush, zupreem fruity and zupreem natural. I'm trying to switch him to Harrison's as the vet wanted me to, and he will eat it, but doesn't prefer it. He also gets fresh fruits and veggies daily

 

[Mizzely]

There are only two pellets that I won't consider feeding - Kaytee because of their bird mills and poor quality food, and TOPS mainly because they aren't complete and that's the whole point of pellets for me. From there, its all up to the bird, though I do tend to start with Zupreem because its usually easiest to transition to, and then go from there. I generally don't feed colored pellets unless that's all they will eat, and if that's the case I like inTune because it's naturally colored. I also had concerns about peanuts and mycotoxins, especially because I had a bird with a compromised liver, and so I sent information to all of the companies asking about when they tested and what was considered an acceptable parts per billion reading. Harrison's in that regard is the best because they test their raw ingredients before adding it to the recipe, and again after, with random testing during the process also, and they do not allow for ANY in the product. Others ranged from 5 ppb to 20 ppb.

 

[mstomcat65]

I emailed 3 companies and got some samples. Roudybush, Higgins and Harrisons. Gizmo was not on pellets at all so my goal was to find one he will eat. So far Higgins Intune is the pellet of choice. He's not eating a lot of them but it's a start and they smell really good

 

[Laurul Feather Cat]

I feed Harrison's as a base pellet; I feel it is the best pellet on the market and my birds love it. I use Roudybush as a secondary base source. Once in a while I give some Zupreem Fruit Blend, but it has a lot of hidden sugar in it and I don't trust something that high in sugar to be good for the birds. I think of it as a candy treat. I also use Caitec oven bites cookies at least twice a week; the birds adore them.

 

[gibsongrrrl]

I feed Harrison's, Caitec, Roudybush, and TOPs. Now, mine all eat these so I don't use the other ones you listed, but if I had a bird that wouldn't eat any other pellet I might would try the zupreem as a last effort, but it wouldn't be on my list of things I'd like them to eat. Try to avoid sugars and dyes. I don't honestly know anything about higgins or hagen so can't comment on them, but would ask my avian vet what they recommended if it came down to those. They get to see blood values of birds on different diets so may have a good opinion on how healthy they are for them.

 

[BirdCatLady]

Brodie gets a mix of Harrison's and Roudybush. He took to Harrison's ASAP; Roudybush he's not so much a fan of. He also gets a lot of LaFeber products (Nutriberries, nutri-pellets, nutri-bars, avicakes) since that is what my vet recommended as a good balanced diet for him. (And yes, he's also getting fruits/veggies/nuts!)

He's getting Harrison's High Potency Coarse, currently. That was the first pellet type I tried with him and he loved them. Now he doesn't eat them with as much gusto. He loves Roudybush's Soak'n'Feed, which is more of a cooler weather treat for him.

I will not feed him ZuPreem, because of dyes as well as added sugar. Aside from that though, I'm fairly open to letting him try other varieties of pellets. I'm trying to keep things interesting for him since he gets bored if I don't.

 

[Peppo]

Paco eats Harrisons lifetime coarse. I give him about 9 pellets a day along with his fresh foods. He loves them and took to them immediately. I agree, the best pellet is the one they will eat, I like knowing he is getting all the good stuff in them. I would never feed pellets exclusively, fresh foods are the majority.