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Switching pellets. Please help!

Lady Jane

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Could not find small Tropican.on the net for US. Harrisons is sold here in extra fine which I feed. The small size choked my budgies. Thanks for the info Zara
 

Mizzely

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The Hagen Alternative is about the size of Zupreem Cockatiel.
 

Lady Jane

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Thanks for that. I wonder if the smaller sizes are more expensive for the companies to make? Maybe that is why Goldenfeast dropped the small beak size. It was just perfect.
 

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JoJo&Loki

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The Hagen Alternative is about the size of Zupreem Cockatiel.
Thank you for the info!


@Lady Jane Ill see if I can get ahold of Caitec regarding size and I’ll let you know as well :)
Will be a good test to see if- at the least- their Customer Service is better than GF.

Thank you everyone for all the info, it’s very helpful to me and I really do appreciate it :highfive:
 

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Thanks for that. I wonder if the smaller sizes are more expensive for the companies to make? Maybe that is why Goldenfeast dropped the small beak size. It was just perfect.

I think so. I imagine that they'd have more issues with machining such tiny bits!
 

Lady Jane

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Oh no Goldenfeast did not get back to me. They used to answer the phone!!
 

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Oh no Goldenfeast did not get back to me. They used to answer the phone!!
Ohhh so the CS went down with the Goldn’obles III after the buyout ;)
If my birds didn’t love their other products so much (and I didn’t think they were so good for them) I’d stop using them all together!
 

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Put your pellets between two folded up kitchen towels. Tap with a rubber mallet.
 

Lady Jane

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I really dont want to buy any pellets that are not sized for small beaks. My hands are full of arthritis. I can color with no pain though.
Goldenfeast was the best size for my two.
 

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Do you think the small size Caitec OFBs are too large for your budgies @Lady Jane?
 

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Has anyone ever tried Volkmann? They carry it at the local parrot shop, but I have yet to look into it.
 

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Hmm, didn't realize that Volkman sold their pellets separately! I've only seen them in their seed mixes until now. I've never had a bird actually eat then from the mix...

From what I found, as they don't have the pellets listed on the Volkman website, here are the ingredients:

Corn, soybean meal, corn gluten meal, soybean oil, DL-methionine, maltodextrin, choline chloride, natural and artificial flavors, L-lysine, dicalcium phosphate, magnedium oxide, betaine anhydrous, silicon dioxide, vitamin E supplement, ascorbic acid, manganous oxide, preserved with BHT, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, niacinamide, yucca schidigera extract, copper sulfate, calcium pantothenate, sodium selenite, mineral oil, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin A acetate, calcium iodate, riboflavin, biotin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, natural and artificial colors, cobalt sulfate, folic acid, vitamin D3 supplement.

Volkman Avian Pellets – Small


Seed Factory
 

Leih

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Hmm, didn't realize that Volkman sold their pellets separately! I've only seen them in their seed mixes until now. I've never had a bird actually eat then from the mix...

From what I found, as they don't have the pellets listed on the Volkman website, here are the ingredients:

Corn, soybean meal, corn gluten meal, soybean oil, DL-methionine, maltodextrin, choline chloride, natural and artificial flavors, L-lysine, dicalcium phosphate, magnedium oxide, betaine anhydrous, silicon dioxide, vitamin E supplement, ascorbic acid, manganous oxide, preserved with BHT, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, niacinamide, yucca schidigera extract, copper sulfate, calcium pantothenate, sodium selenite, mineral oil, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin A acetate, calcium iodate, riboflavin, biotin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, natural and artificial colors, cobalt sulfate, folic acid, vitamin D3 supplement.

Volkman Avian Pellets – Small


Seed Factory
I just saw that Volkmann's is all seed, so weird! Might be something to mix a little in with their pellets. It's so odd that Volkmann doesn't have their pellets on their site.
 
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Lady Jane

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@iamwhoiam I cannot see the size Caitec OFB are from a photo. Wish they would show the food out of the bag.

Corn, soybean meal, corn gluten meal, soybean oil
All the things you don't want in a bird food. Volkmans makes a pretty good seed product but I stick with Goldenfeast so far on seed.
I just read on another freeze dried bird food site that supplements for Vit. A and Vit D3 is suspected to be behind much of a birds compromised cardiac issues if they have them. Have no idea how true this is. It was in an e mail the owner of this company to me.

@Mizzely Here is part of that email and she describes natural Vit D3 in food products for birds.
Yes we use natural ingredients to insert Vitamin D3. In addition we use Suntrex D3 which is a naturally plant-derived form of Vitamin D3.
We do not use synthetic vitamins because they are isolated molecules that are not well-processed and absorbed by living bodies. Also,
synthetic Vitamins A, D, E and K can be very damaging to the liver and the cardiovascular system, especially if they are not given or absorbed
correctly. This is one reason why so many birds now suffer from liver and cardio damage.


What do you all think?
 
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Mizzely

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@iamwhoiam I cannot see the size Caitec OFB are from a photo. Wish they would show the food out of the bag.


All the things you don't want in a bird food. Volkmans makes a pretty good seed product but I stick with Goldenfeast so far on seed.

I just read on another freeze dried bird food site that supplements for Vit. A and Vit D3 is suspected to be behind much of a birds compromised cardiac issues if they have them. Have no idea how true this is. It was in an e mail the owner of this company to me.

@Mizzely Here is part of that email and she describes natural Vit D3 in food products for birds.
Yes we use natural ingredients to insert Vitamin D3. In addition we use Suntrex D3 which is a naturally plant-derived form of Vitamin D3.

We do not use synthetic vitamins because they are isolated molecules that are not well-processed and absorbed by living bodies. Also,
synthetic Vitamins A, D, E and K can be very damaging to the liver and the cardiovascular system, especially if they are not given or absorbed
correctly. This is one reason why so many birds now suffer from liver and cardio damage.

What do you all think?



I would have to see actual studies to form an opinion. I did forget about lichen as a source of D3, and I believe you some algae may too, but you can't just go out and buy those plants for consumption and feed them.

I guess the thing for me is... I've seen the effects of vitamin deficiency, specifically things like Vitamin A and D3, and I've seen synthetic vitamins give a bird his life back. So for me, I'm not willing to jump off the synthetic vitamin train yet, especially on the word of someone trying to sell food.

Is natural better? I'm sure it may be, but research I've read had also shown that the body absorbs some synthetic vitamins better than those found naturally, and others equally as well.

In a perfect world, we'd all know the right answers, and it would be easy and effortless to get our birds to eat based on that information, but unfortunately that's just not reality.
 

CrazyKozmo

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Check out Unapproved Vendor's Better Bites (at wayleysdaileys.com). No corn, no soy. She uses almond flour, rice flour, sprouted grains, and avian vitamins as the main ingredients (they come in different flavors so there will be added ingredients). For small birds, you would need to grind the pellets up in a food processor (the pellets are pretty hard).
 
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