Okay gotta rant (pellets)

[Hay Kay]

Why is is so cotton picking hard to find the ingredients lists? i mean harrisons has theres right on their website - i was going to compare all the pellets on the market (cause that's what i do when im bored, and as far as i know there isn't a parrotpellet anaylisis.com). however im getting kinda cranky. if someone knows the secret, or the sites or if all sites can be trusted that would be great. my main focus was going to be on
Harrisons
Roudybush
Zupreem
Kaytee - exact
....... thats as far as i got.. help here would be GREATLY appreciated! thanks! you can even post what pellets you feed and why so newbies have somewhere to look for their pellet quest

 

[Cynthia & Percy]

here is a place that has the ingrediants and comparison charts for most pellets
Cockatiel Sized Pellet Comparison - Artemis Aviary: African Lovebirds; North Carolina, USA

 

[Hay Kay]

Cynthia - YOU are my hero!!!

 

[Hay Kay]

i like her charts except that TOP says their blend is cold pressed - and thats not on her chart.. Curious though.. what are things we DON'T want to see in our pellets? And what are things we want to see higher up?

 

[Jacob]

I feed Harrisons. There are only two types of bird pellets available in my country and I decided to go for the organic one

 

[Cynthia & Percy]

my preference was tops but not my birds they go for harrisons but ruddybrush is ok too you want more organic and less aditives and the rest depends on any alergies your birds have if that makes sense just my opinion

 

[Hay Kay]

Okay thanks - I'll add what I feed - i feed harrisons (to felix and bumblebee when she was with me) with a tiny bit of zupreem fruity. the fosters came on pretty bird. They will eat the harrisons mixed with their pellets, but i can't convert them fully (or try at least) until i get approval from their owner. however Sunny is on all zupreem (fruity and natural) and doesn't have a taste for harrisons.. I have been comparing ingredients and i want to get her off of it - i figured i could send anyone interested in the results an email (its in excel) Right now I am leading to TOP and Harrisons as they both contain the least amount to no preservatives.. Im currently looking at the preservitive list on the others.. It wont be the most complete study but enough to get some general info out there

 

[bubblelady]

I'm feeding TOP...it's the only one they'll eat. I just discovered this recently, having spent money on Harrison's, Roudybush, KayTee, and Zupreem. But if they're going to be picky, at least they picked a good one...I think

 

[Tamara]

We do a mixture of Roudybush and Harrisons. It works well for us!

 

[Tielygirl]

i like her charts except that TOP says their blend is cold pressed - and thats not on her chart.. Curious though.. what are things we DON'T want to see in our pellets? And what are things we want to see higher up?

Well as far as what you dont want in is: Fillers ie) corn, wheat, sunflower, safflower... however its ok in moderation- Corn in one of my peeves because its the cheapest biggest filler out there and it has almost no nutritional value. Also stay away from heavy preservatives (organic is good, but be sure to look at the ingretients and preservatives used)
Stay away from preservatives like Tocopherols.

Try to find a pellet or seed mix that doesn't begin with: corn (whole, rolled, mashed, granulated, etc), sunflower, safflower.

One of my favorite brands is goldenfeast. They have the Hookbill legume and petite hookbill legume- over 40 fresh ingredients, natural preservatives, and the first 10 ingredients aren't corn. Plus their pellets are a little more money, but the ingredients are AWSOME!
www.goldenfeast.net

 

[JLcribber]

i like her charts except that TOP says their blend is cold pressed - and thats not on her chart.. Curious though.. what are things we DON'T want to see in our pellets? And what are things we want to see higher up?

Some birds have reactions to Soy.

 

[Gen120]

I feed a mix of Zupreem and Roudybush!

 

[Hay Kay]

Thanks everyone! that is such a HUGE help! Back to research mode.
Question on the goldenfeast - wouldn't you consider that to be a bit more on the seed side of life? Just a question for clarification - the ingredients sound yummy - but my birds are off seed (other than the odd treat)..

 

[Irina]

Hi, I am new here, but was reading the topic and wanted to add a few words as I thought it might be helpful - TOPS have now removed corn from their ingredient list because it can cause problems with Eclectus parrots. Also, TOPS are great, but it doesn't contain vitamin D, for that you might want to add any other brand of pellets into the mix, or not to worry about it at all if the birds get to go out in the sun on a regular basis

 

[Cynthia & Percy]

Hi, I am new here, but was reading the topic and wanted to add a few words as I thought it might be helpful - TOPS have now removed corn from their ingredient list because it can cause problems with Eclectus parrots. Also, TOPS are great, but it doesn't contain vitamin D, for that you might want to add any other brand of pellets into the mix, or not to worry about it at all if the birds get to go out in the sun on a regular basis

thanks for the information and would you like to introduce yourself in welcome lane I am glad you joined

 

[Irina]

Cynthia, thank you, I would love to, in fact, have done just now

 

[Tielygirl]

Thanks everyone! that is such a HUGE help! Back to research mode.
Question on the goldenfeast - wouldn't you consider that to be a bit more on the seed side of life? Just a question for clarification - the ingredients sound yummy - but my birds are off seed (other than the odd treat)..

Yes the seed diets are wonderful but they have pellets here:
Goldn'obles

they are apperently coming out with a smaller pellet of the same type too!

heres a link to the full list of what they have (this is minus the basic plus line, which is a basic seed diet):
http://www.goldenfeast.net/gourmet_blends_list.htm

Also, I find variety is often better then any single pellet out there. I feed 3 types of pellet, and a seed mix, often goldenfeast. my pellets I mix are: zupreem nat, roudybush, tropican, and occasionally for a treat pretty bird, this is besides fresh, cooked, and seed mixes I give.

 

[allison]

I tried Goldenobles, my fids refused to eat them, so I stayed with TOPs (I was going to mix them). I really like them and so do the fids. Goldenobles look pretty healthy too so I'd try them. I also give Tropican more as a treat for flavor. I mix it in with the TOPs and some Harrisons. IT is the healthiest fruity pellet I've found.
Hagen Tropican Lifetime Cockatiel Granules Bird Food 80520 - 1.8 lb: WindyCityParrot.com, Bird Food, Parrot Food, Parrot Cages,Bird Cages, Aviaries, Bird Toys

 

[M.C Bird Rescue]

I am also not an all pellet feeder. Dont wanna get me started. hahahaha

 

[birdergirl]

I have been asking myself a lot of questions about pellets lately, and here's where I am now. I just last week received my first order of Breeders Blend pellets. After some research, this formulation sounds the best to me.

The highlights:
Cold-pelleted. Parrots are not domesticated animals, and they have not evolutionarily adapted to cooked food. Personally, I'm not happy with anything cooked being a regular part of their diet.
Spirulina - Not being a chemist, I won't claim to understand how this works, but as someone who has spent time cooking and studying food, I know many algas and seaweeds are just plain good foods.
No Preservatives or Animal By-Products - no need to explain
Soy Protein Concentrate instead of soy meal. I have concerns about soy, but after reading a little, this seems to be a much better amino acid source than any other pellet provides. (Wikipedia article on soy protein: Soy protein - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Doesn't "explode" like your average pellet.

Lowlights: Only a couple of places to order from. The usual issues with a dietary change- acceptance. It's "crumbly," but that tells me there's no filler.

Here's the website: Breeder's Blend

I ordered from allbirdtoys.com. She shipped immediately. I ordered online Sunday night, and my order was at my home in Florida Thursday. She also carries organic seed/veggie mixes and other items.

Of course, you should do your own research, and each species has its own requirements. For a Poicephalus, this seems to be the best pellet I could find.