How many types of parrot pellets do you offer and ..

[Saemma]

why?

For the last few years I've been feeding two types. Roudybush and Harrison.

I have decided that I will only feed one type moving forward since they all enjoy Harrisons very much and pellets are truly a small portion of their daily diet.
All of these years I fed two types because Roudybush is what I started Sachi off with and Harrisons used to be a hassle to purchase around here. By the time Emma came home, the vet recommend this brand and purchasing it online in Canada became so much easier and CHEAPER. My flock really loves their Harrisons coarse so that's what I think I'll stick to. If ever Harrisons ever phases out I guess there's always homemade mash?

 

[wonderb]

Lately I've been feeding mostly InTune. I mix in various other types as well: Harrison's, Zupreem Natural, Golden'obles, TOPS, Caitec bites, etc. Olive used to eat her Harrison's reliably but ever since she got sick, she's been very finicky about pellets. InTune is her current favorite but even among those her preferences change randomly. For a while she would eat only the red ones, and lately she'll eat all the colors BUT the red ones. I'll continue to offer her a variety of pellets until I feel confident she's eating a balanced diet.

 

[Shyra]

I feed three different types: Roudybush, Zupreem fruit, and Tropicana biscuits. When I first got Harley I was told it's better to feed a variety for several reasons. One is that each pellet is different and each brand focuses on the ingredients they feel is the most beneficial. By offering a variety more of your bases are covered in making sure they get the vitamins and minerals the birds need. Two is because there's always a chance the one won't be available when you need it so if your feeding your birds a variety and run out of one you know they will still eat something. Which goes to the third point and that is a lot of times when you are boarding your bird, have a pet sitter, or even if your bird is at the vet's they are probably not going to cook for your bird so it's best to make sure you have a good healthy dry mix of foods available that you know your birds will eat and just in case you have an emergency and don't have a chance to prepare ahead of time it's always best to have at least one pellet in the mix that can be obtained easily from a local pet store that they will eat. In my case, it's the Zupreem fruit.

 

[Saemma]

Lately I've been feeding mostly InTune. I mix in various other types as well: Harrison's, Zupreem Natural, Golden'obles, TOPS, Caitec bites, etc. Olive used to eat her Harrison's reliably but ever since she got sick, she's been very finicky about pellets. InTune is her current favorite but even among those her preferences change randomly. For a while she would eat only the red ones, and lately she'll eat all the colors BUT the red ones. I'll continue to offer her a variety of pellets until I feel confident she's eating a balanced diet.

I feed three different types: Roudybush, Zupreem fruit, and Tropicana biscuits. When I first got Harley I was told it's better to feed a variety for several reasons. One is that each pellet is different and each brand focuses on the ingredients they feel is the most beneficial. By offering a variety more of your bases are covered in making sure they get the vitamins and minerals the birds need. Two is because there's always a chance the one won't be available when you need it so if your feeding your birds a variety and run out of one you know they will still eat something. Which goes to the third point and that is a lot of times when you are boarding your bird, have a pet sitter, or even if your bird is at the vet's they are probably not going to cook for your bird so it's best to make sure you have a good healthy dry mix of foods available that you know your birds will eat and just in case you have an emergency and don't have a chance to prepare ahead of time it's always best to have at least one pellet in the mix that can be obtained easily from a local pet store that they will eat. In my case, it's the Zupreem fruit.

Very good points Ellen and Shyra. I've never heard of Intune. Must go use Sir Chengin Google.

 

[Katy]

I also offer a mix to my grey, Harrisons course and TOPS. No matter what I do, she ears around it. So I save it now for birdy bread. She eats lots of other good things too.

My conure, on the other hand, eats only Harrisons fine. I converted her after 4 yrs on seed and it was a most difficult task. But this is what she likes now, and she's the better eater of the two. Loves fresh, sprouts, and birdy bread. A total turnaround.

 

[Lady Jane]

This is a Harrison's nest all the way. Started my little EB on them too.

 

[April]

As of now I have Nala on just Harrisons but in the past she has also eaten with no issues Roudybush and Zupreem fruity{Whitch I will never put her back on} I tried TOPS and while at first she ate them,about 3 days later she would just ignore them or drop them from the bowl.

 

[Inkrose115]

Hagen Tropican, Zupreem Fruitblend (Easily obtainable from a pet store), Zupreen Avian Entrees (Her favorite), Roudybush (Makes a nice mash). And sometimes more. She likes variety or she gets bored.

 

[Mizzely]

Zupreem Natural and Roudybush Maintenance, mixed 3:1. All of my flock eats both, but I mainly mix for variety and as mentioned, it gives me a backup if one pellet is not available for some reason. I also mix in a small amount of other pellets that I have left overs of just to change it up sometimes and see if they will eat it (I would love if they'd all decide to eat TOPS or Harrison's!)

I have thought about only offering Zupreem in the future though.

 

[Tangle Elf]

I was feeding a wide variety of pellets and rotating them. When I really took a look at the ingredients, I decided to stop. Golden Obles II have pretty good ingredients but the whole idea just started to seem unnecessary. My dry mix now is made up of all whole, dried, human grade, mostly organic foods.

 

[Love My Zons]

I stick primarily to Hagan Tropican sticks, Roudybush California blend, Tops crumplets, and sometimes I buy the Caitec pellets. I have tried Intune and the only Harrison's that is fed but in small amounts is the power treats which Kazoo loves. I just got the Scenic Jungle mix and so far that seems to be one that they are getting used to eating.

I mix it up and offer different kinds of pellets along with their other dry mixes primarily Kathie's blend and various Goldenfeast mixes.

 

[DQTimnehs]

I have Tropican, Harrisons, Golden Obles, Zupreem Fruitblend and Natural.

Tiki: was on Tropican when I got her and still is, but gets a few Harrisons chunks thrown in.

Itsy: was on Tropican and still is but eats a little Harrisons and Fruitblend.

Quack: was on Fruitblend and still prefers it but I am mixing in the other 4 kinds trying to get her on something else. She doesn't much like the Golden Obles or Zupreem Natural. She will crunch up Harrisons but I don't think she is really eating it. She is eating some Tropican.

Darwin: wasn't eating pellets when I got him. I started feeding wet Tropican and Fruitblend. He didn't really like the Tropican but would eat Fruitblend. He is now getting a mix and seems to like the Tropican granules ok as well as the Fruitblend.

I hope to get them off the Fruitblend soon. They only like certain colours; Darwin is the only one who likes purple and sometimes there is way too much purple in the bag for him to eat and his poop is purple sometimes. I might try the Harrisons in the smaller size as the cubes seem a bit big (vet office talked me into that size). I originally was using Zupreem to avoid peanuts for Pogo. He was on the Natural and just Fruitblend as a treat on his play stand but one day on a new bag, refused to eat the Natural. I bought the small size Zupreem Natural this time (same size as the Tropican granules) but nobody seems to like it.

 

[WendysJungle]

Roudy bush and Zupreem natural. I have tried Harrison's, but neither of my birds will eat them. They also get tons of fresh and cooked foods.

 

[Ribbit21]

I mostly feed Zupreme Fruity (Jasper), Zupreme Natural (Marshall) and Golden Obles (Josie). I would love it if they would all eat the same brand! After nearly 2 years I have given up trying to switch Jasper off of Zupreme Fruity. It doesn't make up a huge part of his diet anyway.

Josie is offered other pellets on a regular basis, but she never touches them. In the future I'll probably just stick to the Golden Obles and maybe 1 other brand for her.

 

[Bokkapooh]

Harrisons, which all the big guys readily eat.

Fruit zupreem, which my little guys eat. And I offer Opa.

TOPs, in bird bread

 

[suileeka]

Pepper: Roudybush Nibbles
Linnies: Roudybush Crumbles and Zupreem Natural
Lior: Roudybush Mini, Harrison's Pepper, and TOPs
Cian: Zupreem Natural
Sora: Zupreem Natural, TOPs

That's the preference in my house. I keep trying with TOPs for everyone, but Lior is the only one who really LOVES them (and also the only one who will regularly eat Harrison's).

 

[SunUp]

Zupreem Natural and Caitec.

Makana ate Harrison's for over a decade (HP, regular, and pepper), then decided she was just done with them. I bought all fresh batches thinking there was an issue, but nope...she was done. I've been trying for months to get her eating another dry pellet...she'll eat Zupreem Natural when they've been soaked in hot water and they're nice and soft, but she won't eat them dry. She has actually nibbled some Caitec and some Scenic, so I may be making inroads into her stubbon head.

 

[Saemma]

Pepper: Roudybush Nibbles
Linnies: Roudybush Crumbles and Zupreem Natural
Lior: Roudybush Mini, Harrison's Pepper, and TOPs
Cian: Zupreem Natural
Sora: Zupreem Natural, TOPs

That's the preference in my house. I keep trying with TOPs for everyone, but Lior is the only one who really LOVES them (and also the only one who will regularly eat Harrison's).

That's quite the specific order!

 

[GlassOnion]

InTune, Roudybush, Goldn'Obles, Zupreem. I feed a mix because I think a variety of tastes and colors makes it more interesting for my guys.

 

[Stormcloud]

I've just switched mine over from Harrion's to Roudybush, but not by choice. The national distributor for Harrison's won't have any for 2-6 months . According to my AV this is not the first time that this has occurred and he now won't stock Harrison's ever again while the current national distributor is responsible for its supply...or in this case, lack thereof. I can't feed my birds seed as they start sneezing for days with hay fever like symptoms. Pellets make up the majority of their diet, about 70% with the rest being fresh. Both my birds had sinus infections when I got them and even though they were treated with antibiotics it would always return until I had converted them to pellets. I have never ever had any other health issues with my Hooded Parrots since their conversion was completed. (I keep getting interrupted, because there's a whole bunch of Crimson Rosellas in the front yard. They have a wonderful call and my birds are singing back to them, which means it's getting pretty loud around here at the moment). My thoughts on pellet usage are very similar to Mizzely's, which include:

a). While I understand that everyone does what they feel is best, I believe that many are missing a very important opportunity. Prevention of disease is always better than cure and most of the problems that our AVs see, over 75%, can be traced back to poor diet. Like it or not, a good quality pellet is the only reliable way of supplying the required amounts of vitamins, minerals and trace elements in the correct quantities into our birds. A high-quality pellet is not just a food for when your bird gets sick, it is a food for the life of the bird. Pellets have proven to be the simple most powerful tool I have at my disposal to insure my birds' health and reduce my AVs bill.

b). Like Mizzely, I also think most here tend to underfeed pellets. Manufacturers state that pellets are designed to make up 90% of their diet. For my own birds, I found this to be too much, especially when using Harrison's High Potency. I now (was) only use High Potency when they are moulting and for the rest of the year they are fed Adult Lifetime. Observation of your birds is key. If you notice undesirable things such twitching, dial back the amount or switch to a lower strength formula. Experimentation and observation will lead you to determining the correct quantity for your own birds.

c) Always make sure your bird will accept pellets from more than one manufacturer and continue to feed the secondary pellet once a week to ensure your bird will continue to accept it. I don't mix them in the same bowl as my experience has shown that they'll eat their favourite and reject the rest, just like they used to with their seed. If you find yourself in the situation where the primary pellet is unavailable for whatever reason then there is always a backup. In my case, I now need to find a new backup, which will most likely be Vetafarm.

When I see with my own eyes how much more active, better feathered, minimal f and healthier the little fella below is since I based their diet around pellets, I'll never understand why more don't do it. Your birds will be the big winners at the end of the day and your wallet won't be as light with reduced AV bills. It's nice just having to go there for wellness checks these days.


Hototo, complete with carrot stained beak