Parakeet food for a green cheek?

I'm getting to an end of large Kaytee parrot food bag that we bought in Petsmart when getting Parry (they recommended it to us). This food has large pellets and dried fruit which Parry never eats - most of this food goes to the wild birds and squirrels in the garden. He only eats small seeds (or pellets that look like seeds) and some fresh fruits, so I was trying to find another mix for him that contains very small pellets and seeds/nuts. I was thinking about Harrison fine, but it's way too expensive and has only pellets. It is also not sold in the stores around here, and I need to see the size of the pellets before I buy. So I just got two different bags of small parrot food - one Zupreem tiny fruit pellets and another - All Living Things parakeet diet containing all possible seeds (no sunflower seeds or peanuts which is great) and small pellets. Parry loved both of them, and I've never seen him eat so much as yesterday when I gave him these. I made a fruit/veggie puree and mixed it with this food, so he got to eat some 'real' veggies too. Anyway, I was wondering if it okay to give him this food or there are some other options. He wouldn't touch anything not-seed-looking, bigger than a sunflower seed or anything too hard to break (like these Kaytee pellets that are like stones). I also wonder if anybody else has had this problem. Thank you!

Both my Amazons eat zupreem natural but the size made for small birds. The ingredients are the same just the size of the pellet. I found that they waste less that way.

Have you tried pretty bird pellets? When I used them years ago my small birds seem to like them quite a bit. You sure can use the small sized parakeet seeds as that would work just fine as you have other stuffs you mix in to feed such as fruits and veggies plus whatever pellets you choose.

All of my birds eat or have eaten Harrison's Fine sized pellets. This includes my bourke parakeet, the cockatiels, my red throated conure as well as my mitred conure.

When comparing seeds to pellets, pellets are a healthier option for birds!


Vegetables, grains, healthy legumes, some fruits, the occasional cooked eggs and sprouted seeds are all great additions to the diet, though!

For how long would a 1 lb bag last for one gcc? 1 lb Harrison is $15 here with shipping - I find this ridiculous. Does it have everything or do I need to buy some other bird food to go with it? As far as I find a retailer I can buy from, I'll get one. I just cannot bear with idea of paying for shipping more than for the product.

Veimer, I can't answer that question (how long it'll last) as I don't know the answer to it.

Last time I bought Harrison's, I ordered a 5lb bag which was over $27. That was October of last year, and I'm still feeding from it! I normally purchase the 25 lb bags which cost about $95-$125+, so I fully understand it's expensive! I am by no means rich and have very little income atm.


Harrison's recommends feeding all the food within 4-6 weeks after opening up the bag to ensure the freshest quality of food. Some of us are buying larger quantities of it, then storing it or refrigerating it to try and prolong the freshness of the food.


Pellets were designed to be everything that birds are required to eat, and it *is* a healthier alternative to seeds. However, everyone on this forum will tell you that parrots still require vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, eggs and sprouted seeds. All of my birds eat a varied diet, some more so than others! (two birds currently don't get seeds where-as the others do - unless it's sprouted seeds)



I typically buy most of my bird products from Kathie at My Safe Bird Store although have found that The Birdsafe Store also has good prices. If you order enough products from MSBS, you can get free shipping! She often has free-shipping deals on orders over $72 or $100. Actually, today is one of those days she's having good shipping prices!



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Wow, thanks to a FB friend I just found a place that sells Harrison's … just 10 min walk from my work! It's a biggest Chicago parrot supply store that I had no idea about…

Again, I'm not a fan of Harrison's....They're located near by me and I NEVER use them.....I drive by their company on a daily basis to go to work.....

Why don't you like Harrisons? And where are they...didn't know they were close.

You know people talk that works in the manufacturing of pet food, I get a lot of those people that comes through....Their company is located in Brentwood! I work not too far from there.

I didn't realize that they were in town...

MikeyTN said:

Again, I'm not a fan of Harrison's....They're located near by me and I NEVER use them.....I drive by their company on a daily basis to go to work.....

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Mike, what would you use? Would you recommend Dr. Harvey's or Higgins? I also wonder if we can make a mix from scratch? I don't mind spending extra time on that, and I have a nice Whole Foods in my area where I could buy some nice ingredients.