Seed mix issue

noodles123 · Dec 2, 2018

I know seeds are not the best.
I adopted a re-homed seed addict so she does get some mixed in with her pellets in order to prevent starvation lol.

I have always given her a Volkman "Super Hook-bill" blend without sunflower seeds, but in the most recent batch, I noticed peanuts (no shells)! I never give her peanuts or sunflower seeds for obvious reasons.

Is there a solid seed mix available in the US that does not contain peanuts or sunflower seeds? I was happy with what I was giving her until this recent addition/revelation.

goodfellowsheryl · Dec 2, 2018

Maybe those nutiberries would work

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noodles123 · Dec 2, 2018

goodfellowsheryl said:
Maybe those nutiberries would work

Sent from my LG-V533 using Tapatalk

Thanks! I wondered that myself, but she just throws them.
I have tried to give them to her for ages and she doesn't seem to have any interest in eating them. In fact, she seems irritated by their presence haha!

Scott · Dec 2, 2018

Your best choice may be a custom mix. I used to purchase seed from a large retailer that mixed their own products in a warehouse adjacent to the store. Retail shelves contained a huge variety of proprietary "brands", all produced fresh "next door."

Magnolia Bird Farms: Home The "feed and seed" link shows the warehouse at the Riverside CA location. They likely produce custom orders and will ship as needed.

noodles123 · Dec 2, 2018

Scott said:
Your best choice may be a custom mix. I used to purchase seed from a large retailer that mixed their own products in a warehouse adjacent to the store. Retail shelves contained a huge variety of proprietary "brands", all produced fresh "next door."

Magnolia Bird Farms: Home The "feed and seed" link shows the warehouse at the Riverside CA location. They likely produce custom orders and will ship as needed.

Thank you! How much does it cost to get a bag of seed mix comparable to what you would find in a store (roughly 4lb)? You are in CA and so are they, but I am Midwest, which means I will need to figure out shipping and the price of the actual seed.

They don't show any indicators on the website.

Scott · Dec 2, 2018

noodles123 said:
Scott said:

Your best choice may be a custom mix. I used to purchase seed from a large retailer that mixed their own products in a warehouse adjacent to the store. Retail shelves contained a huge variety of proprietary "brands", all produced fresh "next door."

Magnolia Bird Farms: Home The "feed and seed" link shows the warehouse at the Riverside CA location. They likely produce custom orders and will ship as needed.

Click to expand...

Thank you! How much does it cost to get a bag of seed mix comparable to what you would find in a store (roughly 4lb)? You are in CA and so are they, but I am Midwest, which means I will need to figure out shipping and the price of the actual seed.

They don't show any indicators on the website.

IIRC a 25lb bag of seed mix w/o sunflower was around $40, so guessing a 4lb bag would be higher per pound allowing for typical marketing bias in favor of bulk purchase. Wouldn't think shipping a smaller bag would be prohibitive. OTOH, you might find a reasonably priced local source of individual seeds and create your own mix, ie. safflower, millet, buckwheat, niger, flax, etc. Even if you need to buy in larger quantity, seed freezes well. In fact, some folks do so to kill insect larvae waiting to hatch.

AmyMyBlueFront · Dec 2, 2018

Scott said:
noodles123 said:

Scott said:

Your best choice may be a custom mix. I used to purchase seed from a large retailer that mixed their own products in a warehouse adjacent to the store. Retail shelves contained a huge variety of proprietary "brands", all produced fresh "next door."

Magnolia Bird Farms: Home The "feed and seed" link shows the warehouse at the Riverside CA location. They likely produce custom orders and will ship as needed.

Click to expand...

Thank you! How much does it cost to get a bag of seed mix comparable to what you would find in a store (roughly 4lb)? You are in CA and so are they, but I am Midwest, which means I will need to figure out shipping and the price of the actual seed.

They don't show any indicators on the website.

Click to expand...

IIRC a 25lb bag of seed mix w/o sunflower was around $40, so guessing a 4lb bag would be higher per pound allowing for typical marketing bias in favor of bulk purchase. Wouldn't think shipping a smaller bag would be prohibitive. OTOH, you might find a reasonably priced local source of individual seeds and create your own mix, ie. safflower, millet, buckwheat, niger, flax, etc. Even if you need to buy in larger quantity, seed freezes well. In fact, some folks do so to kill insect larvae waiting to hatch.

When Amy and Smokey would get seed,thats what I did. Kept the bulk in the freezer and a smaller quantity (what they were getting for a day or two) in the 'fridge..kept the buggies at bay.

Jim

Sandy19 · Dec 2, 2018

noodles123 said:
goodfellowsheryl said:

Maybe those nutiberries would work

Sent from my LG-V533 using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

Thanks! I wondered that myself, but she just throws them.
I have tried to give them to her for ages and she doesn't seem to have any interest in eating them. In fact, she seems irritated by their presence haha!

Have you tried crumbling them up a bit? If I don't crumble them then Peanut just throws them around too.

noodles123 · Dec 2, 2018

Sandy19 said:
noodles123 said:

goodfellowsheryl said:

Maybe those nutiberries would work

Sent from my LG-V533 using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

Thanks! I wondered that myself, but she just throws them.
I have tried to give them to her for ages and she doesn't seem to have any interest in eating them. In fact, she seems irritated by their presence haha!

Click to expand...

Have you tried crumbling them up a bit? If I don't crumble them then Peanut just throws them around too.

No, in all of this time, I never actually have lol. That could work!

Scott · Dec 2, 2018

Another option short of picking out the peanuts by hand is to find kitchen colander with holes sized to allow the entire mix to pass through except peanuts - they are likely the largest item. A potential problem is the peanuts may carry mold spores and other contaminants that might remain with the good seeds.

I've never tried "baking" seed mix in the oven, not sure if temp above a certain value would kill the offending organisms??

noodles123 · Dec 2, 2018

yes, aspergillosis is the risk I was worried about (I believe anyway). Thanks!

Flboy · Dec 2, 2018

My JoJo hates Nutraberries! Something to look into, TOPS! They carry two seed mixture‘s that are great, the Napoleon, and the all in one! And for sure sign up with them because they are sending out decent deals! Abba is another good product!
https://topsparrotfood.com/?gclid=C...sJXX3kBg72lSHvPa4h_C-C8dq7zB1bVEaAmcaEALw_wcB

ABBA SEED

noodles123 · Dec 2, 2018

Thank you! It appears that the Napoleon mix is intended for smaller parrots (according to the label) ---do you think that if I added Safflower seeds (preferred seed, in moderation) that it could work for a larger bird (U2)? I feel like it could, but I haven't seen it in person.

EllenD · Dec 3, 2018

There are actually several great commercial seed mixes available here that contain no nuts at all, no sunflower seeds, and no crack corn/corn kernels, and some no safflower seeds either...Tropimix for large birds, Higgins California Blend, Higgins No Sunflower, Zupreem Sensible Seed, Sunseed Vitaseed No Sunflower, VitaPrima no Sunflower seed...These are the ones off the top of my head...As far as LaFaber goes, the "Nutriberries" are the cakes of seeds that are treats, the "Pelletberries" are the staple diet, along with their "Daily Diet" or "Premium Diet" mixes that come in the tubs...

I fed Higgins California Blend for a long time, and I now feed Tropimix, both of which are very similar, blends of healthier seeds, grains, legumes dried veggies, dried fruit, herbs, etc., but still very "seed mix" like...If you want one that's only healthy, lower-fat seeds, then the Higgins No Sunflower and the Zupreem Sensible Seed are very good.

ChristaNL · Dec 3, 2018

Scott said:
I've never tried "baking" seed mix in the oven, not sure if temp above a certain value would kill the offending organisms??

The problem with baking is that is also damages the provitamins and vitamins, sometimes influences the natural oils etc.
Kill all really IS a kill all ....
(even the nutrients/ that is why they add vitamins to pellets, because all the really good stuf already got lost in the process of making/baking them)

noodles123 · Dec 5, 2018

EllenD said:
There are actually several great commercial seed mixes available here that contain no nuts at all, no sunflower seeds, and no crack corn/corn kernels, and some no safflower seeds either...Tropimix for large birds, Higgins California Blend, Higgins No Sunflower, Zupreem Sensible Seed, Sunseed Vitaseed No Sunflower, VitaPrima no Sunflower seed...These are the ones off the top of my head...As far as LaFaber goes, the "Nutriberries" are the cakes of seeds that are treats, the "Pelletberries" are the staple diet, along with their "Daily Diet" or "Premium Diet" mixes that come in the tubs...

I fed Higgins California Blend for a long time, and I now feed Tropimix, both of which are very similar, blends of healthier seeds, grains, legumes dried veggies, dried fruit, herbs, etc., but still very "seed mix" like...If you want one that's only healthy, lower-fat seeds, then the Higgins No Sunflower and the Zupreem Sensible Seed are very good.

I haven't checked your whole list yet (thanks by the way) but I think Sensible Seed has sunflower seeds in it--they are shown on all varieties of packaging as far as I can tell. I think I actually had to buy it once when the other brand ran out (can't buy it in stores) so I picked out the sunflower seeds. Just FYI--maybe they changed the formula?

Seed mix issue

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