Tops pellets vs Harrisons adult lifetime pellets??

[OddBalldi]

I'm looking into the nutritional value of my parrots (cockatiel and quaker) pellets- they're currently eating, and have been about as long as I've had them, tops pellets. But I recently saw Harrisons organic pellets on sale on MySafeBirdStore so that sent me down this rabbit hole lol. Also I would just like to give my birds the best possible diet I can give, so im opting to look more into this. From what I've seen tops lacks a few vitamins that Harrisons has ? Specifically vitamin D3, and my birds do not get direct sunlight and I had only recently realized the importance of this in their diet. But Ive also noticed harrisons main ingredient is millet/barley/soybeans and that seems like it would make it fattier? Im not sure- So does anyone have a nutritional breakdown, suggestions, or just even personal preference to help me out with this? Thanks [:

 

[Mizzely]

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

I personally don't like TOPS, but a lot of birds do just fine on it and it's a very popular food on the natural diet side of the Internet.

The best pellet is the one they will eat, do well on, and that fits your budget/ability to obtain it. So, is TOPS easy for you to buy? Do your birds eat it? Do they do well on it? have they been to a vet to confirm their health?

Beyond that, Tops is 5% fat. Harrison's lifetime is also 5-5.5%. Their High potency 12-13%, but some birds (like mine) need that extra fat and I'm glad for the option.

You could always feed both! Or you could try Harrison's newer pellet, HOPP. Made to compete with TOPs.

Harrison's Organic Premium Pellets

I do have all the ingredients for these formulas on my website Pellets for Parrots

 

[Finchbreed]

As Cockatiels are Aussies - they need greens - so I assume you are adding greens to their diet.
The vitamin D is essential - a friend of mine has recently had her tiel diagnosed with arthritis - I had told her that it needed sunshine and varying sized perches.
The vet has now said exactly the same thing.

 

[OddBalldi]

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

I personally don't like TOPS, but a lot of birds do just fine on it and it's a very popular food on the natural diet side of the Internet.

The best pellet is the one they will eat, do well on, and that fits your budget/ability to obtain it. So, is TOPS easy for you to buy? Do your birds eat it? Do they do well on it? have they been to a vet to confirm their health?

Beyond that, Tops is 5% fat. Harrison's lifetime is also 5-5.5%. Their High potency 12-13%, but some birds (like mine) need that extra fat and I'm glad for the option.

You could always feed both! Or you could try Harrison's newer pellet, HOPP. Made to compete with TOPs.

Harrison's Organic Premium Pellets

I do have all the ingredients for these formulas on my website Pellets for Parrots

This is very helpful, thank you!! I think i might stick with TOPs for a little while and possibly switch to HOPP later on. I had recently taken my quaker to the vet (for a presumed sickness) and they tried to draw blood and said her blood was so fatty that it was almost all white, which is very confusing to me because she has been eating TOPs, sprouted seeds, and vegetable chop for about as long as I've had her (~3 years). She was on an all seed diet with her previous owner so maybe that's what the problem is? Anyway thats the reason I mentioned the fat % in the pellets. I had also taken my cockatiel to this same vet and she had said that she could tell he was on a good, high-quality diet and both of my birds have the samd diet so that's even more confusing- but I loved the in depth breakdown of all the pellets brands, it is very informative! Thanks for the help with this!

 

[Mizzely]

This is very helpful, thank you!! I think i might stick with TOPs for a little while and possibly switch to HOPP later on. I had recently taken my quaker to the vet (for a presumed sickness) and they tried to draw blood and said her blood was so fatty that it was almost all white, which is very confusing to me because she has been eating TOPs, sprouted seeds, and vegetable chop for about as long as I've had her (~3 years). She was on an all seed diet with her previous owner so maybe that's what the problem is? Anyway thats the reason I mentioned the fat % in the pellets. I had also taken my cockatiel to this same vet and she had said that she could tell he was on a good, high-quality diet and both of my birds have the samd diet so that's even more confusing- but I loved the in depth breakdown of all the pellets brands, it is very informative! Thanks for the help with this!

It's possible the previous diet did do some things that make it harder to get back to "normal". How much flying does he do? I know that exercise can also be a factor in fat accumulation.

But it sounds like you're doing good by them, regardless of what you decide to do going forward!

 

[RiosFlock]

Haven't tried Harrison's but I've tried TOPS. I personally like the smell of TOP's grassy and slightly chocolate like? But my birds aren't very partial to it. Lots of wastage compared to when I use hagen tropican/mix.

So I've switched to hagen tropican/tropimix + zupreem natural for my pellets full time. I use two different brands because this is in case they stop importing the brand into my country, so it is good to have a spare brand that they will readily eat/already used to in a worst case scenario. If Hagen stops importing then I'm good with Zupreem and vice versa.

 

[Love My Zons]

Tops is good, but as an all around daily diet it isn't a food that I would feed as a staple diet. The lack of the Vit D3 is one as you are aware.

Roudybush has been around a very long time and they do offer a low fat pellet. They are also one that also has a Veterinary line. Harrison's is very good, some birds don't take to it well, others love it.

Hopps is a small bird diet only, should be okay to feed your birds. I personally would stick with Harrison's Adult lifetime fine. Ask your Avian Vet for their feedback. High potency is one you can start on, move on over to the Adult. High potency has more fat then lifetime.