Best commercial food for brotogeris?

[AvidBird12]

What qualities should I be looking for in bird food? I know seed diets are bad, but does that also include brands that have mixed foods as well? My beebee parrot is currently eating Kaytee’s Big Bites, as that’s one of the only things our local pet store sells for birds, but I don’t think that’s the best for a smaller bird like him, so I wanted to look elsewhere. I’m also worried about that one because one of the pinned guides in this forum says that peanuts are bad for birds, but they are included in the mix. Should I be picking them out?
I’m struggling to find very good resources for learning about brotogeris species, so would it be best to try to base his diet off of other new world birds, like conures? Or does anyone know more about that?

Also, do you limit how much food you put in the bowl per day, or do you just let them decide how much to eat. Are they like cats and dogs that don’t know when to stop eating and become overweight?

 

[SumitaSinh]

I came to know about brotogeris first time, after reading your post. So fascinating! @Zara, please tell me which species specific thread tells about them!

 

[expressmailtome]

I came to know about brotogeris first time, after reading your post. So fascinating! @Zara, please tell me which species specific thread tells about them!

There are no " the good, the bad..." threads for any of the brotogeris parakeet species as far as I know, and thread about them are found in the Other Parrot Lane section and the Ringneck and other Keet Street section.

 

[AvidBird12]

There are no " the good, the bad..." threads for any of the brotogeris parakeet species as far as I know, and thread about them are found in the Other Parrot Lane section and the Ringneck and other Keet Street section.

Here’s one!
It sounds pretty accurate to my guy! That’s only about behavior, though.

The commenter who did their own version in that thread was very accurate, too! Complete to the phone/iPad case chewing! I always have to hide my phone when he’s out.

 

[Kiwi's Dad]

@Mizzely can definitely help

 

[Mizzely]

Their closest relatives are actually Quaker parrots, not conures

However, there are few species that we really cater diets for in general.

What is a "right diet" for most parrots depends on who you talk to.

Some will say a whole food diet (fresh veggies, sprouts, some fruits, etc) with a bit of high quality seed mix is best.

Others, myself included, find that pellets are a good base, with fresh foods and a bit of seed and nut as treats is a better fit for them.

My pellet preferences are vitamin fortified, and free of dyes and simple sugars, but my actual base criteria are:

- Can I afford it? Does it fit my budget?
- Is it easy for me to acquire, whether locally or online?
- Does my bird eat it and do well on it?

You can do larger chunks of veggies, like cutting off a bit when you're preparing dinner, or you can make a chop: My Chop "Recipe"

I personally avoid seed and pellet mixes just because there is always so much waste with them within my flock over the years.

Peanuts can be picked out, but if they have aflatoxins in them (the reason to avoid them) then those spores can actually be in the rest of the food already.

I mostly only give seeds as a treat, which means for my linnie about 1/4 tsp of seed or less. I also like to give these things in foraging toys So for seeds I try to go with things that are peanut free, and aren't stuffed with a bunch of dried fruits, or large things that my birds won't eat like cinnamon sticks or anise. A parakeet or conure mix would be fine I would think. I also like Nutriberries.

 

[Mizzely]

One thing I forgot to mention is the serving sizes. For me I offer a little more pellets than I know they will eat in a day (through trial and error), an amount of veggies equal to 2-3 times the size of their head, and then a limited amount of seed and nuts Your experience/preference may vary!

 

[AvidBird12]

Their closest relatives are actually Quaker parrots, not conures

However, there are few species that we really cater diets for in general.

What is a "right diet" for most parrots depends on who you talk to.

Some will say a whole food diet (fresh veggies, sprouts, some fruits, etc) with a bit of high quality seed mix is best.

Others, myself included, find that pellets are a good base, with fresh foods and a bit of seed and nut as treats is a better fit for them.

My pellet preferences are vitamin fortified, and free of dyes and simple sugars, but my actual base criteria are:

- Can I afford it? Does it fit my budget?
- Is it easy for me to acquire, whether locally or online?
- Does my bird eat it and do well on it?

You can do larger chunks of veggies, like cutting off a bit when you're preparing dinner, or you can make a chop: My Chop "Recipe"

I personally avoid seed and pellet mixes just because there is always so much waste with them within my flock over the years.

Peanuts can be picked out, but if they have aflatoxins in them (the reason to avoid them) then those spores can actually be in the rest of the food already.

I mostly only give seeds as a treat, which means for my linnie about 1/4 tsp of seed or less. I also like to give these things in foraging toys So for seeds I try to go with things that are peanut free, and aren't stuffed with a bunch of dried fruits, or large things that my birds won't eat like cinnamon sticks or anise. A parakeet or conure mix would be fine I would think. I also like Nutriberries.

Thank you so much!! I will be trying your chop recipe, and I think I found a good pellet that I can order. Now the hard part is switching him, but I think there’s already some threads on that!

 

[AvidBird12]

One thing I forgot to mention is the serving sizes. For me I offer a little more pellets than I know they will eat in a day (through trial and error), an amount of veggies equal to 2-3 times the size of their head, and then a limited amount of seed and nuts Your experience/preference may vary!

Thank you!

 

[Mizzely]

Thank you so much!! I will be trying your chop recipe, and I think I found a good pellet that I can order. Now the hard part is switching him, but I think there’s already some threads on that!

Awesome and yes there are many! I will say not to give up too quickly! Sometimes they are very resistant, and sometimes they change their minds! My Jardine's would only eat Zupreem Fruity for 3 years...then one day decided he hated it and now he eats Harrison's and Psittacus.

 

[Cat The Great]

What qualities should I be looking for in bird food? I know seed diets are bad, but does that also include brands that have mixed foods as well? My beebee parrot is currently eating Kaytee’s Big Bites, as that’s one of the only things our local pet store sells for birds, but I don’t think that’s the best for a smaller bird like him, so I wanted to look elsewhere. I’m also worried about that one because one of the pinned guides in this forum says that peanuts are bad for birds, but they are included in the mix. Should I be picking them out?
I’m struggling to find very good resources for learning about brotogeris species, so would it be best to try to base his diet off of other new world birds, like conures? Or does anyone know more about that?

Also, do you limit how much food you put in the bowl per day, or do you just let them decide how much to eat. Are they like cats and dogs that don’t know when to stop eating and become overweight?

Personally for me, I would use pellets but it is whatever your bird will eat. Switching over will be challenging but it may be better long term to use pellets. I personally feed Georgie a mix of veggies and fruit everyday with Roudybush pellets. She is stubborn and won't eat certain veggies or fruit but it is important to keep trying. It took Georgie at least 3 months to 6 months to even touch them. Now after several years, she does eat some veggies and fruit but she is still picky. I don't personally feed any seeds or sprouted seeds since I have limited time and she doesn't touch them, but I have heard of other owners feeding it to their own CWPs. As Mizzely said you should definitely be removing the peanuts. As far as food goes, I don't limit Georgie's food whatsoever and she has pellets available all day with veggies and fruit in the morning. That being said, Georgie only eats enough to maintain her weight.

 

[AvidBird12]

Personally for me, I would use pellets but it is whatever your bird will eat. Switching over will be challenging but it may be better long term to use pellets. I personally feed Georgie a mix of veggies and fruit everyday with Roudybush pellets. She is stubborn and won't eat certain veggies or fruit but it is important to keep trying. It took Georgie at least 3 months to 6 months to even touch them. Now after several years, she does eat some veggies and fruit but she is still picky. I don't personally feed any seeds or sprouted seeds since I have limited time and she doesn't touch them, but I have heard of other owners feeding it to their own CWPs. As Mizzely said you should definitely be removing the peanuts. As far as food goes, I don't limit Georgie's food whatsoever and she has pellets available all day with veggies and fruit in the morning. That being said, Georgie only eats enough to maintain her weight.

Thank you! I’m hoping he will take to the pellets without too much trouble, but I’m prepared for him to put up a bit of a fight. I’ve switched him between different brands before without any problems, but he’s never had pellets so my worry is that he’ll think they’re too plain. He’s very picky about veggies, though! I’ll try giving them to him for breakfast when he’s a bit more hungry.

 

[vkelman]

I’m struggling to find very good resources for learning about brotogeris species, so would it be best to try to base his diet off of other new world birds, like conures? Or does anyone know more about that?

Let me invite you to the excellent resource dedicated specifically to Brotogeris species, with very knowledgeable and passionate people. I own my Yellow-chevroned parakeet (Brotogeris chiriri) female Shura for four months - and this Facebook group was invaluable. We're not new to parrots, having Pacific parrotlets for the last 25+ years, but Brotogeris are quite different.

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www.facebook.com

 

[vkelman]

I came to know about brotogeris first time, after reading your post. So fascinating! @Zara, please tell me which species specific thread tells about them!

We've have been the parrotlet owners and lovers for 25+ years and still are, but I got Brotogeris chiriri four months ago and now am absolutely in love with that charming, loud, expressive and very demanding birds. Might be the best small parrot to have.

 

[vkelman]

Here’s one!
... Complete to the phone/iPad case chewing! I always have to hide my phone when he’s out.

Oh, yes! I decided I'd buy the new phone case when the current one will be completely chewed by our Yellow-chevroned parakeet Shura
Fortunately she doesn't seem to ingest leather parts she chew away.

 

[vkelman]

Some will say a whole food diet (fresh veggies, sprouts, some fruits, etc) with a bit of high quality seed mix is best.

Others, myself included, find that pellets are a good base, with fresh foods and a bit of seed and nut as treats is a better fit for them.

I belong to the first school of thoughts you mentioned, although I don't have anything specific against *good* pellets like Harrison's and Top's. Most people I know prefer cold-pressed Top's.

I fully agree with the rules you stated: no additives, no dyes, no peanuts etc

But my parrots refuse to eat pellets and I don't see a reason to go through the struggle of convincing them.
There is one significant reason to like pellets: it's much easier to provide a diet with no significant deficiencies using pellets, than to achieve it with fresh vegetables, freeze-dried stuff, chops, sprouts, herbs and flowers. Still, I went ahead with that second approach.

Surprisingly, our Brotogeris chiriri female Shura doesn't want to eat quality seeds. It's the first bird I know who doesn't like them. She really likes nuts (I'm trying to limit them) and likes apples and pears.

In the United States and Europe particularly there are a lot of excellent resources of quality freeze dried mixes, sprouts and parrot teas:

biobirdblends.com - I would encourage you to Google for Dr. Jason Crean.

China Prairie Products - look at their Easy Sprouter kit.

Home of the healthiest and most nutritious raw parrot food. - just outstanding quality food, shipping world-wide.

Christine's Chop Shop

christineschopshop.com

Organic Avian Herbal Teas and Complementary Natural Food for Parrots | Polly's Natural Parrot Boutique - Europe only.

There are a lot of sources of quality seed mixes, like Goldenfeast "Australian blend", Dr. Harvey "Our Best Parakeet food", Bird's Love mixes and many others. No dyes, no additives is an absolute rule.

 

[vkelman]

... she does eat some veggies and fruit but she is still picky... I don't limit Georgie's food whatsoever and she has pellets available all day with veggies and fruit in the morning. That being said, Georgie only eats enough to maintain her weight.

Personally, I found two significant ways for my birds (the nine years old male parrotlet Chizhik and 1.5 years old female Yellow-chevroned parakeet Shura) to eat a lot of different vegetables, some fruits, herbs and flowers:
1) A fine grained chop prepared on a food processor with addition of sprouts, dried flowers and herbs, dry spices, grinded nuts, etc. + some chia flax and hemp mix - birds are really attracted to that "omega rich" trio.
2) Skewers with fruits.

I don't limit the healthy food either, birds are not dogs and don't eat more than they need.

 

[Mizzely]

I belong to the first school of thoughts you mentioned, although I don't have anything specific against *good* pellets like Harrison's and Top's. Most people I know prefer cold-pressed Top's.

I fully agree with the rules you stated: no additives, no dyes, no peanuts etc

But my parrots refuse to eat pellets and I don't see a reason to go through the struggle of convincing them.
There is one significant reason to like pellets: it's much easier to provide a diet with no significant deficiencies using pellets, than to achieve it with fresh vegetables, freeze-dried stuff, chops, sprouts, herbs and flowers. Still, I went ahead with that second approach.

Surprisingly, our Brotogeris chiriri female Shura doesn't want to eat quality seeds. It's the first bird I know who doesn't like them. She really likes nuts (I'm trying to limit them) and likes apples and pears.

In the United States and Europe particularly there are a lot of excellent resources of quality freeze dried mixes, sprouts and parrot teas:

biobirdblends.com - I would encourage you to Google for Dr. Jason Crean.

China Prairie Products - look at their Easy Sprouter kit.

Home of the healthiest and most nutritious raw parrot food. - just outstanding quality food, shipping world-wide.

Christine's Chop Shop

christineschopshop.com

Organic Avian Herbal Teas and Complementary Natural Food for Parrots | Polly's Natural Parrot Boutique - Europe only.

There are a lot of sources of quality seed mixes, like Goldenfeast "Australian blend", Dr. Harvey "Our Best Parakeet food", Bird's Love mixes and many others. No dyes, no additives is an absolute rule.

I have a pretty long list of items that I use in my birds' diets - pellets are just one of them.

Alternative Parrot Food Options

While fresh food is awesome, sometimes it's not always a possibility! Reasons such as: Poor local produce options, especially seasonally Birds don't like "wet" food or are being introduced to fresh foods Spoilage issues due to work schedule or temperatures Waste due to smaller flock not able to...

lilmonstersbirdtoys.com

As for why I insist my birds be on pellets, I have a few main reasons:

- My Jardine's is a super picky eater and pellets saved his life after 19 years of malnutrition on a seed only diet.

- if something happens to me, I know my birds will have a quality cornerstone to work with, vs hoping someone is able and willing to prepare fresh food for them

- It's a stable food I can keep on hand at all times, that doesn't perish easily when left in the cage