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

[Maxsmom]

Just one. Caitec Oven Fresh bites. I tried a variety (Harrisons, Roudybush, Tops, Intune) in many methods but both my birds readily eat this pellet. I will try again with Harrisons on a later date. I am just happy both eat pellets even if my vet would prefer a different type. Fresh food is eaten each day as well.

My vet told me he prefers I don't feed several types of pellet. States on one pellet they are getting full nutitional value of the pellet but when pellet brands are mixed then the bird may not be getting full nutional value of any one pellet type because all ingredients may not be in each pellet. He feels one doesn't know what one's bird is actually getting by mixing the pellets. He also recommends feeding a pellet that has been on market a long time like Harrisons, Zupreem or Kaybee. Unfortunately I haven't had a lot of success converting to Harrisons. But will try again.

 

[MMBURKE29]

I feed a mixture of Roudybush, zupreem natural and tops. I have decided I will be making the TOPS a great part of the mixture after reading the ingrediant label. But not all my birds like TOPS (specially my diabetic Kelly). When I got Kelly from Anna I was told this was the only pellet his old little body could take. But after he got here and decided he liked me ... errr well loved me .... I started to gradually change up his diet and he has had no diabetic reactions with different pellets. Only time he had a diabetic reaction was when my grandson gave Kelly a strawberry ... Kelly was screaming for one and my grandson was feeding the other birds. lol It was clear in Kelly's poo that he cannot be fed strawberries.

My fids all (with the exception of Kelly who only gets a variety of veggies) gets a large assortment of veggies and fruit. My big macs get whole organic nuts (in shell) and they all get bird mash.

 

[Mizzely]

My vet told me he prefers I don't feed several types of pellet. States on one pellet they are getting full nutitional value of the pellet but when pellet brands are mixed then the bird may not be getting full nutional value of any one pellet type because all ingredients may not be in each pellet. He feels one doesn't know what one's bird is actually getting by mixing the pellets. He also recommends feeding a pellet that has been on market a long time like Harrisons, Zupreem or Kaybee. Unfortunately I haven't had a lot of success converting to Harrisons. But will try again.

See, I've always wondered about this. So I feed Zupreem Natural, and Roudybush Maintenance. Both claim to be a "complete" food to be supplemented with veggies, etc. So if both are complete....if the bird eats 50% Zupreem and 50% Roudybush.... aren't they still, in theory getting 100% nutrition? I realize that this is not flawless, as the ingredients are not identical, so a combo of two might mean that instead of getting, say, 100% Vitamin A for the day, they get 90% or 110%, depending on the ingredient composition.

So, how much does one bird have to eat of one specific pellet to get their "base" needs met? Because if a bird is eating the bare minimum for either pellet to get the "complete" nutrients, then it doesn't matter if they are mixed or not.

 

[Renae]

I was giving the birds Vetafarm pellets, as well as Dr Mac’s Organic Origins pellets, but Dr Mac’s business has shut down.

At the moment, I am debating on adding Roudybush as a second one/replacement for Dr Mac’s.

 

[Ziggymon]

I don't understand the thinking of the vet who says not to mix pellets. Mathematically, it doesn't make sense, if each pellet is 100% complete nutritionally. And if the manufacturer hasn't adequately mixed the ingredients, then it's likely that your entire bag will be short on that ingredient. My thinking is that if one type of pellet for some reason is a bit short on one kind of nutrient, another type of pellet may compensate.

I am currently feeding TOPS, Golden Obles, Harrison's and In Tune. They get freeze dried veggies and berries with their pellets, and also human grade nuts, hemp seed, milk thistle, flax seed and some quinoa puffs. They get a *salad of fresh veggies and a couple of kinds of fruit per day, and in the evening, a warm meal which generally consists of a whole grain, veggies and some kind of legume.

 

[OzzieTheAlex]

Ozzie's main diet is Harrison's organic pellet, he also gets tropican pellet, but it's only about 15% of his diet, I usually use it to give him a little change in his diet, because eating the same food everyday is boring, I use it on Mondays and Thursday, while the other days is Harrisons. And I also use pretty bird pellet as training treat.

 

[Thugluvgrl187]

Squeeky and Scooty get a mix of Harrison's High Potency, Roudybush Crumbles, Zupreem Natural, and a very light sprinkling of Zupreem Fruity. So that makes 4

 

[Maxsmom]

My birds do not eat Harrisons at least yet. I know that brand tells you how many pellets a bird needs a day to get full nutritional value.


Not recommending everyone just use one pellet or follow my vet. Everyone should do what's best for their own birds.

See, I've always wondered about this. So I feed Zupreem Natural, and Roudybush Maintenance. Both claim to be a "complete" food to be supplemented with veggies, etc. So if both are complete....if the bird eats 50% Zupreem and 50% Roudybush.... aren't they still, in theory getting 100% nutrition? I realize that this is not flawless, as the ingredients are not identical, so a combo of two might mean that instead of getting, say, 100% Vitamin A for the day, they get 90% or 110%, depending on the ingredient composition.

So, how much does one bird have to eat of one specific pellet to get their "base" needs met? Because if a bird is eating the bare minimum for either pellet to get the "complete" nutrients, then it doesn't matter if they are mixed or not.

 

[Mizzely]

My birds do not eat Harrisons at least yet. I know that brand tells you how many pellets a bird needs a day to get full nutritional value.


Not recommending everyone just use one pellet or follow my vet. Everyone should do what's best for their own birds.

I was just trying to spark conversation, as I am genuinely interested in the answer It wasn't a criticism in the slightest! I want to do best by my birds, and while I think my logic is sound, I am very interested in any information that challenges that logic. That's how we grow and learn!

 

[Merlie]

The variety of pellets I feed my flock would make most people's heads spin .. lol.

Base is Roudybush, various sizes depending on bird.

Some birds get a mix of Roudy, Harrison's and TOPs <I wish all my birds would just eat TOPs, but no luck there>.

Some birds get a mix of Roudy, Harrison's, TOPs and Zupreem Natural. I've had a few toughies who seem to prefer Zupreem, but will nibble on the others.

Tikki, my very picky girl .. gets a mix of Roudy, Harrison's, TOPs and the Zupreem Nut flavor .. she's a PIA with eating pellets, but seems to really like the nut flavor from Zupreem. It gets her head in the bowl and then, she will nibble on some of the other varieties.

Occasionally, I'll order some Goldenobles to change things up a bit, more like a "treat" than a staple diet.

Of course, like Heidrun, pellets are only a very small portion of what they get fed. Veggie/grain chop, birdie bread, fruits, nuts, etc., are offered every single day. I also offer a dry mix, but not every day, that is kinda like Kathie's Bountiful Harvest .. and I actually will use some of that as a base, then add things to it I know my birdies like.

I've given up obsessing over pellets. I offer a variety so they don't get bored and have a choice. I know I don't want to eat the same stuff every day. My guys eat more fresh stuff as of late than pellets anyway. I've only got a few difficult "fresh food" eaters, but they still get it everyday .. I'm stubborn .. I know from years of trial and error, that one day they'll try something and actually realize fresh food is yummy!!

 

[Saemma]

Well folks, I have officially phased out all pellets except Harrisons Coarse. They all love this pellet and eat every little morsel. NO WASTE. The rest of their diet is mashes, fresh chop, fresh produce and nuts.
I am happy and am sticking to this new way. Merlie.. your list of pellets made me dizzy.

 

[Pumpkin]

Tropican for everyone here, Avian Organic mashes, fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts! I know you just asked what type of pellets but I`m going to follow the trend here.

 

[tozie12]

i'm all about variety. now i do have three card carrying members of the Anti-Pellet Brigade. But i offer: tropimix, kaytee rainbow, zupreem nut blend, zupreem veggie blend, and just lately: Intune and Pretty Bird.

throw in some nutriberries for Marley and some avicakes for everyone. some high quality seed mix for ollie. some chop. some birdie bread. some fresh fruits and veggies. some whole nuts. some of whatever i happen to be eating... well its a wonder they dont all look like those little round Angry Birds! a ball of feathers with a head and feet.

 

[Buckbeak]

I have probably every type of pellet imaginable available to me easily because I work in a bird supply store. We make custom blends in store so Bucky is used to getting a lot of different kind of pellets at one time. We use a lot of Zupreem and Goldenfeast products in our customs, as well as Hagen and Higgins and some others. He has previously eaten all of these with little fuss, right now I just added some Higgin Intunu large, medium, and small to his food bin because his mix didn't look very balanced.

I have not tried Harrison's with him but I plan on trying it eventually. I have found that there are a lot of birds that DON'T like Harrison's and I don't want to only offer him it. I imagine Harrison's is the super healthy and good rice cakes that taste like cardboard... but for birds

 

[Mizzely]

I have probably every type of pellet imaginable available to me easily because I work in a bird supply store. We make custom blends in store so Bucky is used to getting a lot of different kind of pellets at one time. We use a lot of Zupreem and Goldenfeast products in our customs, as well as Hagen and Higgins and some others. He has previously eaten all of these with little fuss, right now I just added some Higgin Intunu large, medium, and small to his food bin because his mix didn't look very balanced.

I have not tried Harrison's with him but I plan on trying it eventually. I have found that there are a lot of birds that DON'T like Harrison's and I don't want to only offer him it. I imagine Harrison's is the super healthy and good rice cakes that taste like cardboard... but for birds

I think the big draw for Harrison's is that they use organic ingredients. I don't think it LOOKS much healthier than Zupreem or Roudybush (aside from sugar), which makes it harder for me to justify spending 3 times as much on it when I've tried it before and they don't seem interested. I do add it to their mix still on occasion, but I am not all that sad that they don't care for it

 

[GlassOnion]

How I get Harrison's in my birds is by making a cooked mix, then mixing Harrison's mash before freezing it all.

 

[heirofslytherin123]

Vala came with a bag of Higgin's inTune conure/cockatiel pellets (2-3 weeks worth) and she LOVES them. I use Roudybush and TOPS for my guys pellets. So i decided to get a bag of the mini roudybush for her to try. It was the smallest bag and the closest size to the inTune. The TOPS pellets she never touched. Then the AV told me that she was low in protein and recommended Harrison's High Potency Fine, which i happened to have a 4lb bag of. She has mostly transitioned onto the Harrison's HPF but it's like 70/30 and she eats ALL of the inTune pellets before she touches the Harrison's.

 

[CrazyBirdLady]

The littles get fruit zupreem and roudybush

The larger birds get a combination of pretty bird, fruit zupreem, and the nut blend zupreem.

I cannot get anyone to touch Harrison's although I have tried.

 

[birdies yaaay]

My GCC was weaned onto colored pellets. He would pick out certain colors. So I recently switched him to Roudybush Daily Maintenance crumbles. It took him 2 days to do the switch. I've been thinking about mixing the Roudybush with Harrison's. Though, I'm a little hesitant because I'm afraid he'll pick out his favorite. Do any of you have that problem with natural colored pellets?

 

[Mizzely]

My GCC was weaned onto colored pellets. He would pick out certain colors. So I recently switched him to Roudybush Daily Maintenance crumbles. It took him 2 days to do the switch. I've been thinking about mixing the Roudybush with Harrison's. Though, I'm a little hesitant because I'm afraid he'll pick out his favorite. Do any of you have that problem with natural colored pellets?

My Quaker was weaned onto seeds, and I converted him to Fruity as it was the only think he would try. It took me several months to get him to the Natural. Once on that though, he was more receptive to other natural colored pellets just know that it may take a long time for them to accept it!