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Good Treats for Budgies?

budgiebeau

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12/3/20
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Lily
Hi all!
I have recently been told that the bird food brand Kaytee has been linked to causing strokes in birds, I haven't really been able to find anything about it but I am still a little afraid of feeding her this brand, so I have recently switched to the Harrison's Feed brand for her main dish; however, I am now a little bit wary of buying the Kaytee brand treats such as these
bird.jpg
so I was wondering if anyone can tell me if these are bad for her, and, if so, what kind of seed type treats I could give her instead?
Thank you so much :)
 

alyssanor

Walking the driveway
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11/30/20
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canada
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alyssa
Hi all!
I have recently been told that the bird food brand Kaytee has been linked to causing strokes in birds, I haven't really been able to find anything about it but I am still a little afraid of feeding her this brand, so I have recently switched to the Harrison's Feed brand for her main dish; however, I am now a little bit wary of buying the Kaytee brand treats such as these
View attachment 364441
so I was wondering if anyone can tell me if these are bad for her, and, if so, what kind of seed type treats I could give her instead?
Thank you so much :)
i use the kaytee brand and i havent noticed anything but i didnt know that was linked to strokes , now idk if i should give my birds this brand
 

Destiny

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Destiny
Honey sticks are not the healthiest snack, although birds tend to love them. I would use them sparingly. They are usually glued to the stick using a sugar or honey-based mixture, so they are high in sugar and fat. Pretty much birdy junk food. :)

My go-to treat is spray millet. Like any treat, you don't want over-feed it, but it is fine in moderation. In fact, millet makes up a large portion of common parakeet seed mixes, so even if you are not using it as a treat, your birds are probably already familiar with millet. Spray millet is the same seed, but it is still on the stalk - like corn on the cob.

Parakeets love spray millet and they have a blast stripping the seeds out of the spray. Just be prepared for a mess, as the husks get everywhere.

...

On a related note, be sure to offer healthy foods or pellets in addition to seed. Vegetables are very important, as an all-seed diet is too high in fat and can cause serious health problems, like fatty liver disease. I offer my birds a home-made "chop" made from fresh veggies and other healthy items daily. Ideally, dry seed should make up less than 50% of the bird's diet.

Once you get your birds on a more varied diet, yout options for healthy treats really open up - broccoli, sprouted seeds, peppers, and more!
 

JewellBird

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Miranda
I also haven't heard very good things about the Kaytee products, so I try to steer clear of them. My budgies favorite treats are spray millet and Lafebers Nutriberries. They go crazy for both of those and have been great training rewards!
 

Aves

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Utah
I use loose parakeet seed mix and spray millet crumbled up. Some budgies like oat groats, too. Kaytee knows very little about birds, and many of their products are at risk for contamination. Their products aren't very nutritious and full of fillers and sometimes a foreign object. I do use Kaytee spray millet and it is rather old, and it doesn't sprout.
 

budgiebeau

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Lily
i use the kaytee brand and i havent noticed anything but i didnt know that was linked to strokes , now idk if i should give my birds this brand
Yeah, I just found out not too long ago but I heard Harrison's feed is good! Online it is only $8 but the shipping is $13.50! There's an option on the site to find places that sell it near you though to avoid that high shipping cost.
 

budgiebeau

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Lily
Honey sticks are not the healthiest snack, although birds tend to love them. I would use them sparingly. They are usually glued to the stick using a sugar or honey-based mixture, so they are high in sugar and fat. Pretty much birdy junk food. :)

My go-to treat is spray millet. Like any treat, you don't want over-feed it, but it is fine in moderation. In fact, millet makes up a large portion of common parakeet seed mixes, so even if you are not using it as a treat, your birds are probably already familiar with millet. Spray millet is the same seed, but it is still on the stalk - like corn on the cob.

Parakeets love spray millet and they have a blast stripping the seeds out of the spray. Just be prepared for a mess, as the husks get everywhere.

...

On a related note, be sure to offer healthy foods or pellets in addition to seed. Vegetables are very important, as an all-seed diet is too high in fat and can cause serious health problems, like fatty liver disease. I offer my birds a home-made "chop" made from fresh veggies and other healthy items daily. Ideally, dry seed should make up less than 50% of the bird's diet.

Once you get your birds on a more varied diet, yout options for healthy treats really open up - broccoli, sprouted seeds, peppers, and more!
She loves millet! I only give her small pieces every so often and when taking to the vet as a little "sorry for putting you through this" haha. I've tried giving her different veggies and she really likes spinach, she gets scared of new vegetables, but we're currently working on carrots! She seemed to like the taste when I gave her a small slice :)
 

budgiebeau

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Lily
I use loose parakeet seed mix and spray millet crumbled up. Some budgies like oat groats, too. Kaytee knows very little about birds, and many of their products are at risk for contamination. Their products aren't very nutritious and full of fillers and sometimes a foreign object. I do use Kaytee spray millet and it is rather old, and it doesn't sprout.
Thank you so much, I just recently found out that their food wasn't very good but I was afraid of giving her pellets because she choked on it once; however I think I was feeding her the wrong size. I found super fine pellets in the Harrison's Feed which they recommended for budgies so I think that will work better for her :) What brand of millet do you think is good? I currently give her Healthy Select.
 

Aves

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Thank you so much, I just recently found out that their food wasn't very good but I was afraid of giving her pellets because she choked on it once; however I think I was feeding her the wrong size. I found super fine pellets in the Harrison's Feed which they recommended for budgies so I think that will work better for her :) What brand of millet do you think is good? I currently give her Healthy Select.
My budgies eat Harrison's super fine too! I don't have a specific brand but I think if it isn't discolored and it can sprout it should be good.
 

budgieluv3

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Toronto
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Bear (It's a nickname)
Millet is good, try to stay away from those “yogurt treats” they sell in stores.
 

Aves

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Utah
Millet is good, try to stay away from those “yogurt treats” they sell in stores.
Oh yeah, I've heard many bad stories about yogurt treats resulting in a big vet bill.
 
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