Golden Fest Pellets

[VeraGrace]

Do any of you guys feed this to your ekkies? I was wondering because it says this:

A COMPLETE DIET FORMULATION for ALL Parrot Species including Eclectus · NO added vitamins, artificial and otherwise · NO Preservatives · NO Processed Sugars · NO Dyes · The #1 ingredient is NOT Corn 20oz bag.
Seems like a good alternative. Vera doesn't like the fact that I stopped feeding her pellets. I just don't think she's getting enough food with the rice and veggie mix....

 

[lotus15]

Goldenfeast's Gold'nobles are a pretty good pellet choice. I don't have an Ekkie myself but it seems that with the ingredients and the fact that there aren't any added vitamins nor artificial colors/flavors, it would be a good choice for an Ekkie. The only things that might worry me are all of the probiotics... perhaps you can ask your vet?

 

[rikkitikki]

The breeder I am going with does recommend Goldenfeast, though not the pellets, he talks abut the Madagascar Delite blend. Madagascar Delite | Goldenfeast
If you go to what they recommend by species, I don't think I see any pellets on that page for ekkies... Eclectus | Goldenfeast
EDIT: oh wait, there is one that reminds me of pellets the goldn'obles Meh, I don't know that I'd bother with this though. To me it's like making something like hamburger helper, or eating spaghetti O's or Dinty Moore Beef Stew, it's a "complete meal" but you know you're getting all sorts of extras along with it (some of which I can't pronounce). lol, the worst part? Yep, I do eat that stuff myself every once in awhile, but I make those choices for myself. My pets eat what I feed them, not much choice in the matter, so I feed them the best I know how

 

[Red Jasper]

I do not feed pellets of any kind to any of my Eclectus. There is a whole debate going on about whether pellets should be offered at all to the Eclectus and I am a big supporter of "NO." Their enriched, fortified, colored, pumped up content causes nearly all of the Eclectus I've personally known to have severe food sensitivities that often lead to allergies, plucking, toe tapping and wing flipping, itching/scratching, diarrhea and other digestive issues as well as a dullness in feather quality including stress bars and yellowing of certain feathered areas.

I have found the Eclectus to respond most highly with a diet filled with fresh fruits and vegetables, some grains and some protein like beans (but not too much of this.) No corn, spirulina, enriched pastas or colored/fortified foods. Of course, no avocados or onions (as these can kill on contact.) I have also found that out of all the parrots, Eclectus tends to be one of the MOST diet-sensitive parrot and responds the most negatively to pellets, regardless of vets boasting of the quality or maker. Nothing, absolutely nothing, in my book, can substitute a fresh, vitamin filled, delicious meal home cooked and prepared.

I have been blown away with the quality of product that Avian Organics (Welcome To Avian Organics Parrot Food And Treats) has to offer and I use their mashes as bases in addition to fresh fruits and veggies that I integrate within the mashes. The best loved so far is the Mango Medley to which I add diced apple, brussel sprouts, papaya, banana and baby potato or whatever else I might pick up at the fresh market that day. The whole thing takes 30 minutes tops to make and even my cockatiel goes tails up on it.

This is my heartfelt opinion based on over 10 years of feeding my Ekkies various diets (including store bought mixes and pellets a while ago) and observing how they respond and to which they take the best and look/feel the best after eating.

With Vera being used to the pellets, you might be able to wean her off by offering something more delicious instead. If you don't feel like constantly cooking from scratch I do recommend you look into Avian Organics and try the dry trail mixes they offer at Avian Naturals (www.aviannaturals.com) which my birds love. Their foods and mixes are made from organic, human grade ingredients and all my Ekkies (including Kiwi the fuzzy one in my sig who is SUPER picky) loves them. I wish you very best luck with getting Ms. Vera converted to a fresher diet! PS I LOVE her name!!!!

 

[VeraGrace]

Right, I agree- I am just not having success with Vera and the Rice and Veggie mix- she won't eat a lot and constantly begs for food- like she is starving. I took away her pretty bird pellets and stopped feeding her bean mix.

 

[VeraGrace]

I think I'm going to try avian organics

 

[Red Jasper]

Avian Naturals ships very fast but you will have to give Avian Organics an extended period of time because they're shipping from Canada and it has to get through customs first.

I recommend the Mango Medley with chopped fresh apple and brussel sprouts. Also, the Sunsation Pudding is well liked around here with chopped fruits and veggies. Eeka LOVES the Parrot Pinwheels as a morning snack.

The hardest part of having an Eclectus for me was the diet. I started out thinking they'll do well with the basic stuff (seed mixes, basic mashes) but found out that I was greatly mistaken. I've made a lot of mistakes over the years and didn't always have the means to provide the most fresh mash available but now that I've seen what works and what often doesn't, I'm determined to do right by their digestive systems. Hahaha!

 

[Deejo]

Thank you Elizabeth, for your comments regarding our products.

We have an exciting new treat coming soon that will be perfect for ekkies (and other parrot species)

 

[HungryBird]

Maybe you could use Baja Bites or Mango Ginger Minis as replacements? I feed Goldenfeast pellets to my birds sometimes. They like them strung up on leather rope. I don't think Ekkies should eat pellets though. I believe they are supposed to be much more efficient at extracting vitamins from their food so pellets give them an overload. Mango Medley smells really, really good.

 

[CarmieJo]

Howard likes Gold'nobles (they smell good and are shaped like Cheerios) and gets a couple a day as treats. He also likes their Madagascar Delight. I have ordered mashes from Avian Naturals before and Howard liked them very well but I found the shipping and handling was costly.

 

[Red Jasper]

I took some photos for you of the Avian Organics Sunsation Pudding and two mixes from Avian Naturals.

Only 2.5 tablespoons of the mix and 1/4 diced apple, 1/4 cup chopped broccoli and it is enough for three medium-large parrots plus leftovers for tomorrow.

If you go to the Avian Naturals website and sign up to get their monthly newsletter, it will always have a monthly promotional code to enter for a percentage of discount. Usually, it's more than half the shipping cost which makes the pricing more reasonable.

Avian Organics has shipping specials also but like I said before give it a couple extra weeks to arrive because they ship from Canada.

The foods, I agree, are on the pricey end. It is top quality, however, and you get what you pay for. If you add up what you spend making mashes or your own dry mixes the difference is really not altogether bad. (Hey, I should be a sales person for them! HAHAHA!)

 

[rikkitikki]

Looks yummy! I will definitely be trying them out when I bring home my ekkie.

 

[Red Jasper]

:d :d :d

*my emoticons are not emoticonning....

 

[CarmieJo]

:d :d :d

*my emoticons are not emoticonning....

Does that leave you unemotional?

 

[VeraGrace]

Wow, Elizabeth, Thank you for taking all of those photos! that food looks amazing! I am going to order the food tomorrow!!!!

 

[rikkitikki]

:d :d :d

*my emoticons are not emoticonning....

Did you mean ? If so, the d's should be p's

 

[Red Jasper]

no, I meant the colon with a capital D it changes it to lowercase for some reason...