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Your opinions on the best handfeeding formula?

Diveks

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so i've been handfeeding baby birds for years but I have never settled on one brand. My lovebirds will be hatching soon and I will have to handfeed some from day 1 (don't worry i know how much work it would be and i do have previous experience with day olds) as one of the parents misteriously passed and the other had broken some of the eggs.

I've used kaytee, zupreem, nekton, and nutribird. Never had an issue with any of these but wanted to settle one one. I heard a lot of issues about kaytee and their handfeeding formula so im rethinking about going back to them. I raised one clutch from day one with nekton once and they grew up fine, although more brands are available to me this year so i'm wondering if they would be a good formula which i might just stay on. Tropican, mazuri, and more are finally getting imported in. Im wondering on what most of you are using for formulas, your opinion on others, and if you had a bad experience with one that you don't mind sharing!
 

Laurie

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Most commercially available formulas will work but there are differences and some my be better for different birds. So I would maybe try and consider the species. A lot of it is personal choice but some formulas will have too much or not enough fat for certain species.

I used Kaytee and Roudybush for parrotlets and preferred the Roudybush.

I tried Roudybush and Kaytee High Fat for caiques and like the Kaytee High Fat for the caiques. I have a friend who tried regular Kaytee and Roudybush for caiques and stuck with the Roudybush. I also know another caique breeder who handfeeds her birds regular Kaytee and used High fat for a friend she handfeeds for. They will digest each formula differently but there are many options that work. You can probably figure out what works best for you by trying different one on different clutches of babies.

Whatever you do you should pick on and use it from start to finish and not change it up in the middle.

Another important thing, especially with recent supply chain issues you might give preference to one that is widely available.
 

Diveks

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Most commercially available formulas will work but there are differences and some my be better for different birds. So I would maybe try and consider the species. A lot of it is personal choice but some formulas will have too much or not enough fat for certain species.

I used Kaytee and Roudybush for parrotlets and preferred the Roudybush.

I tried Roudybush and Kaytee High Fat for caiques and like the Kaytee High Fat for the caiques. I have a friend who tried regular Kaytee and Roudybush for caiques and stuck with the Roudybush. I also know another caique breeder who handfeeds her birds regular Kaytee and used High fat for a friend she handfeeds for. They will digest each formula differently but there are many options that work. You can probably figure out what works best for you by trying different one on different clutches of babies.

Whatever you do you should pick on and use it from start to finish and not change it up in the middle.

Another important thing, especially with recent supply chain issues you might give preference to one that is widely available.
zupreem is out as we have been having a shortage of their products and I don't have access to roudybush. tropican seem to have the perfect ammount of protein with a tad bit higher fat content needed. nutribird A21, exact, and mazuri seem to have almost perfect contents for lovebirds, while nekton seem to have a very low fat content. i've tried exact and nutribird but haven't tried mazuri.
 

Laurie

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zupreem is out as we have been having a shortage of their products and I don't have access to roudybush. tropican seem to have the perfect ammount of protein with a tad bit higher fat content needed. nutribird A21, exact, and mazuri seem to have almost perfect contents for lovebirds, while nekton seem to have a very low fat content. i've tried exact and nutribird but haven't tried mazuri.
Hopefully someone can comment on lovebirds in particular.
 

Diveks

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Whoops i made a mistake looking at the fat contents of nekton it was also good for lovebirds. I am a fan of their lori food and probiotics although a lot of people are using nutribird for their lovebirds here so i might go with that one… ill have to think about it more.
 

Zara

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I have been loyal to Nutribird A21 for my lovebirds. It appears to be the most popular choice here in Spain for lovebirds and cockatiels.
I´ve never had any issues at all, nor had any problems with chicks, or food spoiling.

As Laurie said, choose one formula and use it the duration until weaning. Switching formula is an emergency only situation. You may find it helpful to buy enough formula to last you until then from the start.
 

Diveks

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I have been loyal to Nutribird A21 for my lovebirds. It appears to be the most popular choice here in Spain for lovebirds and cockatiels.
I´ve never had any issues at all, nor had any problems with chicks, or food spoiling.

As Laurie said, choose one formula and use it the duration until weaning. Switching formula is an emergency only situation. You may find it helpful to buy enough formula to last you until then from the start.
Okay then nutribird it is! It’s also not that expensive of a handfeeding formula here so thats a plus! Think ill get the 800gram ones as i will also be handfeeding older babies as they grow up. All of my pairs the the aviary decided to lay at the same time so i might have to stock up.
 

BrianB

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I use Mazuri. One formula for conures and cockatiels, the other is the high energy formula for macaws.
 

Matto

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I use Tropican and really like it. Kaytee is also good. I used Roudybush before and thought it was difficult to work with, but it did the job.
 

Diveks

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I use Mazuri. One formula for conures and cockatiels, the other is the high energy formula for macaws.
I use Tropican and really like it. Kaytee is also good. I used Roudybush before and thought it was difficult to work with, but it did the job.
some formulas need to be sifted for day olds do the mazuri and tropican ones have larger particles?
 

BrianB

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I'm usually feeding 6 - 10 baby conures at a time and it just makes it easier to mix if I sift it first. There are usually a few small bits at the bottom of the sifter that didn't break up and I discard them.
 
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