Small bird holistic diet

[Vera]

With all the recalls and deaths going on (and beacause i have always been thinking about diet,processed food cannot be as healthy as fredh food) i am reconsidering my parrotlets diet (again.)
At the moment this is her diet:
Harrison pellets and some Top pellets
Veggies on a skewer.,sometimes eaten sometimes not.she eats broccoli,zuchini,carrot,chili pepper,brussel sprouts. Not much else.
A organic seedmix in the evening.it is low fat and has some dehydrated herbs and flowers in it.
I think her diet is 50-60% pellets, 30-40% seeds and rest veggies depending on how much she will eat from it that day.
Couple of times a week i cook a mix of grains,rice,pulses and dehydrated veggies for her.she loves this.

I would love to feed more fresh food..she will not eat defrosted chop/mash.to wet for her taste.i also cannot give this during the day,because i am gone for work all day and dont want it to spoil.

I am thinking about trying this routin:
She is out in the morning to have breakfast with us,for about an hour. Feed her some chopped veggies as breakfast.
She will have the seedmix for during the day,with some veggies on a skewer.(not wet,so won't go bad during the day)
In the evening when she is out she will get some cooked food.i canalso buy this without pulse,i think to much pulses arebad?not sure if i can feed the mix with pulses daily....

Then i will need something to cover nutritional gaps. Maybe calcivet and daily essentials once or twice a week?

I will also feed some nuts and use rpo or coconutoil couple times a week.

Atm she will only eat the above veggies. I do not feed sprouted seeds.
Do you think this diet is ok without pellets?am i missing anything? What about using supplements?

 

[Vera]

Oh and maybe instead of using a supplemt,i can offer the pellets i have in a seperate bowl for her to snack from,but not forcing her to eat the pellets because she doesn't has seeds during the day......

Another question: is it possible to chop up the morning veggies on sunday and store it in the refridgerator to feed the whole week?or will it go bad when chopped up?

 

[LunaLovebird]

Regarding chop, yes, you can store it in the fridge pre-made. I do. You just have to be wary of certain vegetables (not many), as some go off faster than others. Mainly the really juicy / liquidy ones. Most are fine though.

 

[Vera]

i have just made some new chop, hope she will eat it:
steamed: carrot, zuchini and sweet potato (purple skin kind, never seen it before), green beans, broccoli, some culiflower and paprika.
added: kale.

hope she likes it. can i store this in the fridge and use it in a week? or maybe better 3 days and freeze the rest?

 

[VantCors]

I'm looking for similar advice for my parrotlet, just was wondering the difference between the tops and harrisons pellets? Does she prefer one more than the other?

 

[Vera]

Tops has no synthetic vitamins in it.it is more natural and not heated as much as harrisons.
I think the ingredients in top are the best from all pellets.

At the moment i feed Top, sprouted seeds,some veggies and a bit of dry seeds.
I feed different veggies on a skewer.ahe likes it best that way.
I also feed cooked grains and pulses a couple times a week.

 

[MagpieDragon]

Sounds pretty good, but I am curious- why keep the seed in but not the pellets?
Just wondering

 

[alexmait]

On my vet's advice, when I switched my bird to an all pellet diet with occasional seed/nut treats, it was an odd coincidence that her health declined. My bird became depressed, stopped flying, was easily short of breath, lost muscle mass, etc.

Because of that, I now prefer the idea of giving them a fresh whole foods diet and keeping the pellets to about 50%. There are healthy phytochemicals and balanced nutrients in fresh veggies and fruits that cannot be replicated in a lab. Also, pellets unless organic are usually made from genetically modified soy, corn, wheat..foods that are hard to digest thus interfering with adequate nutrient absorption. GMO foods may also promote disease.

Most whole grains have the right amount of proteins we need, but I would include some cooked legumes so your birds can choose to eat it if they wish. Pellet formulations have about 5% fat, but for birds who fly for exercise I would give my birds more seeds or nuts for the calorie density, maybe increase fat intake to 10-15%.

Fresh foods are more enjoyable too and help with hydration, whereas pellets are like eating dry cornflakes for every meal.