Pellet recommendation for lovies

[Arisa]

Hi guys! I've had my little guy for about a month now (wow time flies!), and he's about 3 months old. I want to switch him to a pelleted diet but with all the choices out there, it's a bit hard to know where to start (he's my first bird, too). My bird has been on a diet consisted of seed mix, very few veggies, nutriberries, and cuttlebone if that counts. Although he is starting to try other food, his favorite is still the seed mix, or so it seems.
Is there any pellet type of food that your lovebirds actually like or is more willing to try than some others? What should I look for when I shop around for them?

I have a couple that I'm considering (listed below), and would really like your opinions on them, thank you so much!

ZuPreem AvianMaintenance FruitBlend Bird Diet for Small Birds - Bird Food and Parakeet Food from petco.com

Kaytee Exact Rainbow Premium Daily Nutrition for Parakeets & Lovebirds at PETCO

 

[Jaguar]

Those both have sugar, flavor, color, etc. added to make them more enticing and palatable - which isn't a terrible thing, if it's the difference between your bird eating them or not - but they're not ideal. Harrison's and Roudybush are considered the more "premium" brands, but the premium pricetag comes along with that, too. ZuPreem also makes a natural pellet without the crap added, and Tropican has a pelleted food as well. IMO the best pellets are the ones your bird will actually eat. The fruity ones are generally an easier transition, so it's a good place to start. I go with the smallest size, for finches/canaries - the bigger ones get shattered and shot across the room.

 

[Irishj9]

My 24 lovies will eat any pellet brand they can find

 

[fluffypoptarts]

Harrison's. I'm still trying to get mine to eat pellets (this battle has dragged on for a long time), to no avail, so I now sprinkle the mash version over their seed. I'm also going to start mushing it into/onto their fresh foods. Of course I offer avi-cakes and the Caitec oven fresh bites, but I'm not sure those get eaten either (more like tossed around). I bought a birdy bread mix from Harrison's and will see if my little monsters have any interest in that. Good luck with your baby!!

 

[pinkdagger]

I try to avoid any brightly coloured pellets because it skews how their poop looks, and poop is a good indicator of health so it's important that it be clearly visible. I feed a variety of brands to my lovebirds, which include Roudybush Daily Maintenance Crumbles (their staple), Roudybush Rice Diet Mini, Harrison's High Potency Fine (my little ladies are getting up in age and are on the skinny side), Zupreem Natural Medium (they used to eat Avian Entrees Garden Goodness, but a lot of those dried vegetables went to waste - only one of them even likes the dried apple pieces, but that's all that got eaten), TOPs, and sometimes they get Goldenobles. They get Hagen Tropimix for Tiels and Lovebirds on a treat basis inside their foraging toys.

 

[Applebutter]

I switched Beep to the Higgins Intune pellets, lots of healthy ingredients in there.

 

[fluffypoptarts]

I switched Beep to the Higgins Intune pellets, lots of healthy ingredients in there.

Maybe I will try these. Mine are so freaking stubborn. Last time I fished a pellet out of Termie's bowl and offering it to him (like obviously the sweet birdy just overlooked it and needed it pointed out!), he gave me a good pinch! He's like, "I know what that crap is, I'm NOT eating it!!"

 

[Justlinda]

For those that feed the Harrison's, do you prefer the coarse or fine for lovies?

 

[Arisa]

Thanks guys! I think I'll be trying out Harrison's, though I'm still interested in the Zupreme fruit blend because it might be a good transition pellet before switching completely. The seed mix that I'm currently giving my bird has some pellets in there, I notice that he is more willing to try the smaller pieces comparing to the medium sized ones.

 

[fluffypoptarts]

For those that feed the Harrison's, do you prefer the coarse or fine for lovies?

I get both the fine pellets and the mash (which is powdered so you can put on or in things). I switch back & forth. If they'd take to eating the pellets already, I'd just use those, but...

 

[fluffypoptarts]

@Arisa I'll actually try a few different ones mentioned on this thread & see if any seem of interest to any birdy. (If they DO cooperate, watch them all like different brands. )

Thanks to you for starting such a useful thread, Arisa!

 

[Justlinda]

Thanks guys! I think I'll be trying out Harrison's, though I'm still interested in the Zupreme fruit blend because it might be a good transition pellet before switching completely. The seed mix that I'm currently giving my bird has some pellets in there, I notice that he is more willing to try the smaller pieces comparing to the medium sized ones.

Good idea about transitioning. I have Zupreme fruit mix, so maybe I could start mixing in a little of the Harrison's at a time. Fuzzy loves all of her foods and GoGo is eating both, but throws out certain colors of the Zupreem.
.

 

[Colbon2]

I currently use Harrison's fine for my Parrotlet and Linneolated Parakeet. I used to have them on Roudybush and switched them over as I was having trouble getting access to Roudybush. Both are highly recommended by my avian vet, Harrison's over Roudybush seems preferred. I would always recommend a pelleted diet over seeds, but if you can't switch over make sure you talk to an avian vet on how you can supplement the added needed nutrition requirements through drops or fresh foods.

 

[Arisa]

So besides these food we mentioned here, I also want to try out sprouted seeds. I've never heard about this before actually -- the concept of sprouting seeds before feeding them to your birds. I think I need to find a video somewhere on youtube on how to do it correctly.

@fluffypoptarts no, thank you actually ^^ I'm getting a lot of helpful advice here! lol
@Jaguar btw is that Junji Ito's art on your icon?!! I'm a big fan too!! xD

 

[Jaguar]

@Jaguar btw is that Junji Ito's art on your icon?!! I'm a big fan too!! xD

It sure is

 

[fluffypoptarts]

So besides these food we mentioned here, I also want to try out sprouted seeds. I've never heard about this before actually -- the concept of sprouting seeds before feeding them to your birds. I think I need to find a video somewhere on youtube on how to do it correctly.

There are some sprouting mixes you can get, too, but not necessary, I don't think. I have yet to try it myself!

@fluffypoptarts no, thank you actually ^^ I'm getting a lot of helpful advice here! lol

I'm glad to help however I can. This place is always full of good information. A lot of good people here, too, now including you!

(Junji Ito is very talented!)

 

[pinkdagger]

Sprouting is very easy and healthy. I have a plastic sprouter so it has a sifter in a cup to allow seeds to soak in a cup of water but to be removed and rinsed easily, but my previous vet would just lie a layer of seeds on a damp paper towel. Many smaller seeds are ready to be fed in about 12 hours (varies from seed to seed). Refrigerate them for up to a week. They can be fed after soaking and are healthiest just before the little tails start sprouting out. They can still be fed with full tails.

It's as easy as "rinse them -> get them wet -> let them stay wet overnight -> drain -> rinse -> feed". I rinse before serving too.

 

[Peachfaced]

I have a mix of Roudybush nibbles and some small pellets that are Kaytee brand (because that's what the previous owner had). For the longest time Sherbie wouldn't touch them. Then on a whim I bought Harrison's fine and he dove right into it. I'll be honest though he still doesn't touch much of the pellets. He eats sprouts and veggies so I'm not super concerned that he doesn't consume much of the pellets. He only gets plain seed if he forages for it or if he's having a training session. There's hiding spaces all over the cage and each night I tuck away small amounts of birdy crack (millet) and small bits of an Avicake here and there.

 

[Arisa]

@pinkdagger thank you for the tips!!! I'm going to try that out soon!
@Peachfaced haha yes those millets are such birdy crack! That was how I bribed my bird the first day that I got him.

 

[Arisa]

Oh I forgot that I have two other questions about sprouting seeds. What type of seeds can I actually use? I'm so embarrassed to say that somehow I thought that I could just use the same seeds that I have right now, but then I looked at them and realized that not all seed types will sprout easily. Also, do you use any agent to help keep fungi, bacteria and viruses off from the sprout such as grapefruit seed extract?