Best Pellet Brand for Budgies?

[Guardiavoir]

Hi. I have one budgie to feed and will attempt converting him to pellets. I read Roudybush is the best pellet brand out there, and others say Zupreem is a great brand. I also read about the large amount of sugar Zupreem uses in their pellets, and that worries me. People say it's too much sugar.
Which pellet brand is the best for my budgie? He is an adult and currently in good condition--just a little bit underweight. Feel free to suggest other pellet brands, too.
Thanks!

 

[GuineaPigster]

I would not recommend zypreem. Out of 4 budgies, I've never had one that are it.
I've heard good things about TOPS. It doesn't contain Vitamin D though.
I use roudybush, and it's a major hit. Even Bridgette cleans her bowl!

 

[MyAussieFriends]

Roudybush is what my guys get. But they also get a high quality seed mix in their diet. They seem to really do well on a mixture of pellets and seeds.

 

[Mizzely]

The best pellet is the one they will eat On my "totem pole" of greatest to least of the more popular brands:

Harrison's
Roudybush
Higgins inTune
Hagen
Zupreem Natural
Zupreem Fruity

I personally do not recommend TOPS because of the aforementioned lack of Vitamin D3. Since there is no vegetable source for this, it is my main reason for feeding pellets.

 

[Monica]

I feed Harrison's first and foremost, then Roudybush to one. I have two that also eat Nutriberries, but both also eat Harrison's.

 

[Guardiavoir]

It seems like all of you are telling me to buy Roudybush or Harrison pellets. How can I decide between the two?
Also, there are six different pellet sizes for Roudybush pellets. It's listed on the site that Nibles, Crumble, and Mini-sized pellets are all good for budgies, but how can I decide which would be best for my bird?

Edit: If I were to buy Harrison, which kind of pellets should I buy for my bird? Remember, I have to convert a slightly underweight budgie.

 

[Sadieladie1994]

I have a macaw but will feed conure size pellet. Why? He takes one or two bites of the large pellets then toss them. He gets about the whole pellet with conure size. Now, my birds get a variety of food and toys to get nutrition and items to keep their beaks groomed. Also, Volkman is a good seed product.

 

[GuineaPigster]

Theybothsend samples.

 

[Guardiavoir]

I have a macaw but will feed conure size pellet. Why? He takes one or two bites of the large pellets then toss them. He gets about the whole pellet with conure size. Now, my birds get a variety of food and toys to get nutrition and items to keep their beaks groomed. Also, Volkman is a good seed product.

I actually have a bag of Volkman in my house. I sprouted it a couple times, too, and plan on doing that again today.

Theybothsend samples.

Where can I get samples from?

 

[GuineaPigster]

Give them a call! Harrison's sends a very tiny bag, roudybush was EXTREMELY generous they sent one pound of different size pellets for us to try!

 

[Guardiavoir]

Wow! A pound! And my mom and I were only planning on ordering a half pound from Roudybush at first. O-o
Cheers for free food!

 

[GuineaPigster]

I was shocked lol!
It's like $5 of free food haha.
The birds wouldn't touch Harrison's, but Roudybush is much loved. Good luck finding the right fit!

 

[Guardiavoir]

Thanks!

 

[Monica]

If you get Harrison's, get Harrison's High Potency Fine.

Yes, they do give samples! Sometimes if you are lucky, they might send you something more than that! Give them a call, tell them you have an underweight budgie and you would like some samples for him.

 

[Guardiavoir]

SUCCESS! I gave them both a call and they're sending me samples.
Harrison's guessed right away that I needed samples of High Potency fine and super-fine, which I was originally gonna ask for anyway. They read my thoughts. It's getting here next week.
Roudybush of course is also sending me samples for a budgie. I wonder if I'll score a pound's worth of free samples like GuineaPigster did.
...I hate making calls; I feel so awkward and unprofessional. I was nervous to call, but it's all done and over with. SUPER excited to get the samples so I can start testing my bird which brand he likes better!

 

[Monica]

Not to worry! I'm in my twenties and I *STILL* hate making calls! Hate taking them, too! If I can't talk to someone in person, face to face, then I prefer talking via texts or typing over phone calls! You could have e-mailed both companies instead, but it's faster and more convenient (not to mention, less confusing! - that is, if they missed your e-mail/didn't see it) if you just give them a call!


Hope the samples get to you quickly! And it's great that Harrison's is sending you two sized samples! (which might make transitioning them onto the pellets a lot easier!) Harrison's recommends the High Potencty for the first 6-8 months of being on their pellets, so that's what they typically would send out as samples anyway.

 

[Guardiavoir]

I read that on their site. If I decide to use Harrison's, I hope the High Potency stuff will bring Gus's weight back up. For now I'll try to use up what's left of the mediocre seed mix and start giving him Volkman instead, so at least he has a better seed mix.
I wanted to send an email, but then I thought that it might take ages for it to get read by someone. Sometimes it's worth the phone call anxiety, I guess.

 

[Monica]

Ya, it is. Sometimes.


Ever since I put Charlie on Harrison's, he's packed on the weight! And he wasn't underweight before!

My bourke is geriatric, and her health is not what it used to be. When she became extremely underweight (between being sick and having to go on meds, she lost about 20-21% of her body weight - she was 44 grams in her youth, then was 35 grams being unwell), I had her on a seed/pellet diet, but switched to all pellets. She didn't put on weight, so I did all seeds. That didn't work, so I put her on Harrison's High Potency. She still didn't gain weight. I finally had to add Coconut Oil and Red Palm Oil to those pellets (at separate times) to get her to put some weight back on. Although she is now at a "healthier" weight, she remains thin. Her body mass just isn't like it used to be.

I've also had tiels that were not underweight before I got them put on quite a bit of weight, too after the diet change! And one tiel who forever remains thin, regardless of the diet he's on!

 

[Abigail]

I have had good experiences with both Roudybush and Harrison's.

 

[camelotshadow]

Good read, I'll have to look up H & RB & call for samples.
Just got a english parakeet 2 days ago. I bought Volkman cockatiel no sun. It was recommended but my guy picks out only the millet.
I'm concerned that a diet of just millet won't be healthy.
I also fear it won't touch pellets.
It's about 4 to 7 months old blue spangle that's really cute. (Cere is light with some blue & hoping for a male. Guy in bird store said it was hard to tell on this bird & could be either.
I tried arugula & chopped up carrots..even an apple slice...not interested.

Only wants millet but got it to eat millet from my fingers & on my hand so were making progress as I'm assuming it was parent raised & like to get it to step up.



I'm thinking of calling it Bubbles. Its very quiet but has made some lovely songs.

Thanks