Seeds or pellets

[Rebel]

I found this interesting article on seeds vs pellets. Sometimes i wonder. I know people who have cockatiels in their 20s that ate nothing but seeds their entire lives. Never needed to go to vet for any issues. How could that be?

The uncomfortable debate: seeds or pellets? | Free Range Parrots

Debating this is sort of like talking politics. It can sometimes get heated! Although I draw on a lot of research for this article—and the articles it refer ...

freerangeparrots.org

 

[Tommy95]

I found this interesting article on seeds vs pellets. Sometimes i wonder. I know people who have cockatiels in their 20s that ate nothing but seeds their entire lives. Never needed to go to vet for any issues. How could that be?

The uncomfortable debate: seeds or pellets? | Free Range Parrots

Debating this is sort of like talking politics. It can sometimes get heated! Although I draw on a lot of research for this article—and the articles it refer ...

freerangeparrots.org

I think the author is not saying to feed a seed only diet, but that seeds are ok as a portion of a diet.
As with anything, too much of a good thing is bad, pellets included.

 

[Tommy95]

Also the author prefers a higher fat, lower carb diet, which he argues that pellets are too high in carb, and low in fats, and ultra-processed. He believes that it is high carbs that causes many of the diseases including fatty liver, and not fats.

(Note that all these are from my memory from reading his posts quite a while ago so do check for yourself if I am representing him accurately.)

 

[Mizzely]

I think there's some good points but it's also largely anecdotal. Are they healthy birds that don't eat pellets? Absolutely. Are they healthy birds that don't eat seeds? Sure are! Are we still learning about parrot diets, and will what we know today be different in 10 years? Most likely.

I can promise you though that birds can starve themselves to avoid eating stuff that they don't like or some recognize as food, so the point about "just don't overfeed and your bird won't pick out their favorites" is baloney.

 

[Rebel]

I think the author is not saying to feed a seed only diet, but that seeds are ok as a portion of a diet.
As with anything, too much of a good thing is bad, pellets included.

I know. I realized afterwards that i shouldnt have even mentioned the seed eaters i know.

 

[Rebel]

I can promise you though that birds can starve themselves to avoid eating stuff that they don't like or some recognize as food, so the point about "just don't overfeed and your bird won't pick out their favorites" is baloney.

I can believe that with other foods but with seeds, its true in my experience. I was getting a lot of wasted seed , so much so i would save it and give it to the wild birds outside. Waste because my birds would only eat the seeds they liked the most. Now ill only give them a little bit and they will eat just about every last seed, including the ones they wouldnt before. They still get the vegetables etc. at the same time. Its not like im starving them.

 

[Shezbug]

I found this interesting article on seeds vs pellets. Sometimes i wonder. I know people who have cockatiels in their 20s that ate nothing but seeds their entire lives. Never needed to go to vet for any issues. How could that be?

The uncomfortable debate: seeds or pellets? | Free Range Parrots

Debating this is sort of like talking politics. It can sometimes get heated! Although I draw on a lot of research for this article—and the articles it refer ...

freerangeparrots.org

Not everything about a long life points to diet- diet is a factor but I think genetics plays a huge part.

 

[Mizzely]

I can believe that with other foods but with seeds, its true in my experience. I was getting a lot of wasted seed , so much so i would save it and give it to the wild birds outside. Waste because my birds would only eat the seeds they liked the most. Now ill only give them a little bit and they will eat just about every last seed, including the ones they wouldnt before. They still get the vegetables etc. at the same time. Its not like im starving them.

I've tried to wait out Ripley's pickiness for several years, and I know from experience that it doesn't matter if it's seeds, pellets, or fresh food, I can leave it as the only food option for a couple days and he will just stop eating if it's not something he's interested in. He also will just randomly stop eating some foods; most recently he stopped eating Harrison's. I left only Harrison's in his cage for 3 days and he didn't eat a single piece. He did have veggies available because I'm not a monster, but as soon as I put Zupreem back in his bowl, he ate with gusto.

In the past he has physically lost weight while I tried to get him to eat new foods, so I definitely don't think it's an option for every bird.

Birds are naturally neophobic, and if they don't recognize something as food, it's normal for them not to eat it, and some unfortunately will die because they don't realize food is available.

 

[Rebel]

I've tried to wait out Ripley's pickiness for several years, and I know from experience that it doesn't matter if it's seeds, pellets, or fresh food, I can leave it as the

As you know , birds are individuals.

He also will just randomly stop eating some foods; most recently he stopped eating Harrison's.

Maybe he knows something you dont. That makes me think of my cat. Sometimes ill give her some human food.Stuff you would think a cat would eat in a minute. Some of the stuff she wont even touch. I always think, if she doesnt eat it , perhaps people shouldnt eat it either.

Birds are naturally neophobic, and if they don't recognize something as food, it's normal for them not to eat it, and some unfortunately will die because they don't realize food is available.

Thats only sometimes true. There are some new things i offer my birds and theyre willing to at least try it. Then there are other things they actually seem afraid of.

 

[Mizzely]

Obviously everything I just said is only sometimes true. There are no absolutes, especially when it comes to diet. Just saying my experience proves one of the points made by the link wrong. That doesn't mean it's always wrong, just that it's not always true.

 

[sunnysmom]

I didn't get a chance to read the article yet, but since cockatiels are granivores, I think they should have seeds as part of their diet.

 

[Rebel]

Obviously everything I just said is only sometimes true. There are no absolutes, especially when it comes to diet. Just saying my experience proves one of the points made by the link wrong. That doesn't mean it's always wrong, just that it's not always true.

I didnt mean to sound argumentative. I value your opinion on all topics. Youve helped me more than once. I too am only going by my own personal experiences. Sometimes i dont know when to keep my mouth shut.

 

[Mizzely]

I didnt mean to sound argumentative. I value your opinion on all topics. Youve helped me more than once. I too am only going by my own personal experiences. Sometimes i dont know when to keep my mouth shut.

No worries at all I similarly didn't want you to think I was being argumentative

 

[expressmailtome]

Not everything about a long life points to diet- diet is a factor but I think genetics plays a huge part.

There are many other factors such as medical care, husbandry skills, relative age (the average lifespan of the specific species in question), etc. The "puzzle" is highly complex.