Proper diet - best pellet formula?

In preparation for the arrival of my Illiger's macaw I've been looking into the proper diet for him/her. I realize fresh fruits and veggies are critical to a bird's diet, but I also want to feed the best quality pellet available also. As a dog person I am conditioned to analyze the ingredients list and guaranteed analysis to ensure your dog's diet is composed of quality grain-free kibble with the correct protein, fat, calcium, etc. levels for the individual dog.

We feed Yoshi Zupreem Fruitblend pellets because this is what his breeder fed and the reviews I could find seemed to be mostly positive. Now that I have a macaw baby on the way I've been looking closer into my birds' diet, and I was shocked when I read the main ingredient in Yoshi's Zupreem pellet is ground corn! Then I realized that ground corn and other grains seem to be the main ingredient for most formulas.

So, other than emphasizing the fact that birds should be fed a mostly natural fresh diet, what should I be looking for in choosing the highest quality pellet?


What brand and type of pellet do you feed your bird(s)?
What would the ideal main ingredients be?
What are the ideal guaranteed analysis parameters?

I feed both of my bird Harrison's pellets.

Rio Mom said:

I feed both of my bird Harrison's pellets.

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I've heard many good things about Harrison's and appreciate the organic ingredients.

So, is ground corn considered the standard main ingredient for any pellet formula?

I feed Ville with Harrison

I feed my birds Harrison's "High Potency Coarse" pellets and Dr. Mac's Organic Origins "Medium" pellets, but Dr. Mac's might be difficult to find outside Australia.

nikkiscriv said:

Rio Mom said:

I feed both of my bird Harrison's pellets.

Click to expand...

I've heard many good things about Harrison's and appreciate the organic ingredients.

So, is ground corn considered the standard main ingredient for any pellet formula?

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In both Harrison's and Zupreem, yes. I tend to view Pixel's pellets as the "grain portion" of her diet since, honestly, that's what pellets are. Of course, while corn is not the best grain, it is much more acceptable to feed a bird corn than a dog. And the mixture of grains in pellets do provide a complete protein source to the bird.

But she also eats beans, sprouted seeds, fresh vegetables, fruit, oatmeal, rice, nuts, etc. So while kibble is the often a dogs whole diet, pellets are only a component of a birds diet.

I also prefer Harrison's. Penny was on Zupreem Fruitblend pellets when I first got her, but I decided to switch her over because I didn't like some of the ingredients in the Zupreem. Harrison's is formulated by veterinarians and has really good ingredients for the most part. The main disadvantage is the price. It's definitely one of the most expensive pellet brands out there. Luckily, I can get it cheaper from the vet clinic where I work.

Another brand I've heard good things about is Totally Organics Pellets (TOPS). I think it is even a bit cheaper than Harrison's. The main reason I decided not to try it is because I've heard the pellets crumble very easily, so some of it ends up being wasted.

I'll have mine on Harrisons

The comment about crumbling reminds me that another thing to consider when choosing a brand of pellet is whether the pellet was extruded or not.

HalfInsane - thank you for your response. That's exactly the correlation I was looking for.

FutureDMV - I've looked at TOPS online and thought it looked rather crumbly.

Looks like I will be checking out Harrisons. Thank you all!

Check out "Totally Organics Pellets." They have no additives, food coloring, or synthetic vitamins, and are free of known bird allergens. They are also significantly cheaper than Harrison's. My bird loves them and most reviews I've read are all very positive.

http://totallyorganics.com/about.php

TOP Organic Bird Pellets

Exceptional Quality All ingredients are Human Grade and Certified Organic.

I have TOPS mixed in with Pepper's Harrisons. For the longest time she wouldn't even touch any of the TOPS, just picked out the Harrisons. She's starting to eat a bit of the TOPS now but it does crumble badly. I'm going to stick with just Harrisons for pellets.

Rio Mom said:

I have TOPS mixed in with Pepper's Harrisons. For the longest time she wouldn't even touch any of the TOPS, just picked out the Harrisons. She's starting to eat a bit of the TOPS now but it does crumble badly. I'm going to stick with just Harrisons for pellets.

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Guava can't get enough of them, lol. They do crumble rather easily, though. There is now a smaller pellet size available to avoid waste. I plan on getting it.

my parrot is on Kaytee Exact Rainbow Chunky.
harrisons in the UK is crazily expensive.