food type

[Mommabird]

What kind of bird seed or pellet brand should I purchase for a parrotlet? I'am asking because I plan to buy a pair of parrotlet. However I don't see a food listed at petsmart for parrotlets. Do they eat the same thing as lovebirds or another type of parrot? I'am located in ontario canada, so I need a brand I can get at a local petsmart. Thank you for your help in advance.

 

[WallyLoopey]

They can eat small pellets that are made for parakeet/cockatiel sized birds

 

[Mizzely]

Majority of the pellets are either the same formula or very close to it as each other, just shaped differently. So when you go to the aisle and see a picture of a cockatiel, that is a good size pellet for cockatiel sized birds.

Some birds like it smaller, some like it bigger. I have one quaker that likes cockatiel sized, the other that likes "parrot" size. For a parrotlet I would go with Parakeet

 

[Love My Zons]

I love parrotlets! I had one for almost 16 years. They love to eat! They will take readily to pellets. They will eat seed so limit the seed to their diet. NO or very little SUNFLOWER SEEDS! Many mixes with have them, offer as treats. But not in their daily food. Too fatty for them. Safflower based mixes are good but safflower too is fattening. There are specific mixes for parrotlets. Volkman makes a Parrotlet mix. For pellets, I fed mine the Harrison's High Potency super fine and fine. I started on High Potency and then went to the Adult formula. They will eat mashes you can make, egg food is a great warmed mush of a meal. Experiment with chopped vegetables and leafy greens, dark greens are great. Millet spray is great to offer as well.

Fun birds for sure! I really miss having one and plan to add one in the future.

 

[SquawksNibbles]

I have Budgies, which are a bit bigger than Parrotlets, and I don’t even feed them Cockatiel mixes. Not because their bad for Budgies or Parrotlets, I’m just a bit paranoid about size when feeding the birds, due to an accident years ago with my precious Budgie girl Bella involving larger food. I know a lot of people are fine with feeding Cockatiel food, and I’m sure it’s okay. There’s just still a bit of fear there, anyways, so I just feed Budgie food or smaller. I’m sure you can get away with either Cockatiel or Budgie food. I think my birds prefer smaller sized food anyway, so I just go smaller.

Congrats on your soon-to-be feathered friends in the family.

 

[GracefulWolf]

There is a big difference in quality between brands. I feed parakeet size Zupreem fruit blend and natural pellets. I tried the cockatiel size once and it was too big. Roudybush is also a great brand. I like Zupreem better since it has fruits and veggies in it. For seed, Lafeber nutriberries are great for them. I feed the cockatiel blends. They love the classic, tropical fruit, and the el paso (the pepper one).