Harrison's VS Tropican VS Lafaber's VS Roudybush?

Where to begin on my journey to find a great food for my Quaker Phoenix? I have done a lot of research on these "Top 4" foods and I just cannot decide. here are my basic findings

1. Harrison's BD -
100% Organic (Freaking Great!)
slightly fattening (Most people's birds are fat on the High Potency diet)
Awesome Nutrition (Vet Recommended)
Birds Like it
SUPER INCONVENIENT TO PURCHASE
Sold in a bag with a "No Re bagging / container " Warning... Sounds Fishy

2. Tropican Bird Pellets
Not 100% Organic
Still Great Nutrition (Made by Hagen's "HARI" Hagen AvianResearch Institution)
Has not bad but "Potent" smell
Birds Like it
Slightly Easier to purchase
Sold in a bag with no re seal

3. Lafaber's Pellet Diet
Not Organic
Mid range Nutrition
Birds Love it
Awesome Container (Air Tight Seal)
Very Easy to Purchase

4. Roudybush
Main ingredient is Corn... Filler?
Birds Like it
"Superior Nutrition" - Idk if that is true....
Harder to find in city's where pet-smart's aren't local
Sold in a Bag

Can I get some advice on what pelleted diet to start my Phoenix on?
Please Correct me if any mistake has been made.! Thanks

Well, I'm not an expert on pellets, but my bird has tried Roudybush and Harrison's before. It actually despises the Roudybush pellets and will push it out of its bowl. I think the texture and the shape of it somehow upsets my bird. *shrug*

My avian vet told me to buy Harrison's, so that's what I've started to do. I agree that Harrison's can be difficult to find (it's pretty much only available at my vet's office), but my bird likes it. At first, it hated pellets, but it rather suddenly began eating Harrison's.

Don't Get me wrong I full heartedly believe in feeding our pets the best nutrition available, by in my town Roswell New Mexico, USA none of the Vet's carry Harrison's Bird Diet so if i wanted it I would have to have it shipped to my house and with the scare of holidays and delays I would hate to run out, Some people may say when then just order a lot of it, but the problem with that is Harrison's Does not have a long shelf life...... So Im in between a rock and hard spot......

Roudybush is available here but i'm just not convinced with the main ingredient being corn it's such a cheap filler.....

Tropican is here but I don't know anyone with experience on the pelleted food

Lafaber is seemingly the best option for me, but the quality for the non organic-ness is questionable

I use Harrison's, and if I buy a large bag of it, I do repackage it into airtight containers. The large bags don't have a zip-lock feature on them.

On the bags, it says this.

• Smell the product for freshness prior to feeding.
• Squeez all air out of the bag and zip it shut at the top.
• If the zip lock gets removed or damaged, fold the top over several times and close with a clip.
• Keep food in original bag. Do not repackage into plastic bags or containers.
• Use contents within 4-6 weeks of opening bag.
• Purchase Harrison's foods only in their original packaging.
• Refrigeration after opening may help maintain freshness.

These two links might help...

Topic: STORING HARRISON'S | Harrison's Bird Foods
Topic: KEEP IT IN THE ORIGINAL BAG! ? Storing Harrison's | Harrison's Bird Foods

This is merely to keep the food as fresh as is possible and to ensure the highest quality of food being fed. It can go stale and the food can deteriorate.


Ever left a bag of cereal open? And have it go stale?



BTW, have you seen this?

Cockatiel Sized Pellet Comparison - Artemis Aviary: African Lovebirds; North Carolina, USA



BTW, I normally purchase pellets through the internet and have them shipped to me instead of buying locally. Depending on the seeds, I may buy locally or have it shipped in. I don't find this inconvenient at all!

i also use Harrisons for the pellet portion of Gilbert's diet. He has also eaten Roudybush (he was weaned on this by his breeder, and this is therefore what he ate when i first got him to make his transition easier. He refused Harrisons at first and i had to gradually make the switch to all Harrisons for his pellet.)

My vet always recommended it and sells it but i don't really go out of my way to his office to buy it. I have been purchasing online and it's worked well. Normally buy two bags at a time and order again when i am half through the 2nd bag. I also keep nutriberries in the house as a staple because he loves them SO much and gets one every day or so.

It is basically what your bird will eat that is the best. You can love harrisons all you want but if the bird doesn't agree...

I feed TOPs to my cockatiels, Roudybush to my conures and cockatoo. I also feed a wide variety of goldenfeast mixes and Bird Paradise mixes. My birds honestly don't come anywhere close to eating the recommended pellet amount (except for the tiels who will eat everything in sight even if they aren't hungry) but they get all the different mixes. They also get plenty of fresh foods which is the best.

My mother feeds Pepper Harrison to her macaw and TOPs to her cockatoo. And all the mixes and fresh foods too.

Another vote for Harrison's. It's worth it to have it shipped, in my opinion.

I'm a fan of Harrison's Lifetime organic, as I do believe it's top quality as evidenced in blood work over many years, and superior feather coloration.

I also use Roudybush. Scenic pellets as treats.

ALL my birds LOVE pellets. NONE have ever needed "converting". From what I've heard from others, that is not normal LOL! I'm not complaining though! For some reason my birds AND birds I've had in the past of various species, AND my Budgies (species notorious for hating pellets) have never had a problem diving right into it. Everyone will eat fresh foods, but when it comes to pellets, you'd think it was sunflower seeds... They come running! Maybe I've always had weird birds? I can't explain it.

My RFM Valentino was raised on Harrison's and Tropican. He will eat both pellets with no problems. Both these pellets are hard for me to get. I have to order both on line. Tropican I can only get in 20 pounds. I freeze all that extra food and 20 pounds lasts me about 6 months.

I have not been ordering Harrison's because it has been too expensive. Once I get back on my feet and have my own credit card I can order with I will begin to purchase Harrison's again. Valentino still loves it because while on his play dates my friends have been using the squares as reward food for Valentino to step up for them. He inhales the Harrison's.

Valentino hates TOP's. I have a bag never opened that I don't know what to do with. I might have to throw it out.

I ran out of Tropican once and Valentino regressed into baby feed me formula mode. Even though I had fresh foods and a different pellet (TOP's) Valentino would not stop begging until the Tropican was delivered and supplied for him. I never want to run out of Tropican again.

Zupreem is like crack to Valentino. He cannot get enough and I only use it in his foregoing toys and as training treat.

If you can afford it get the Harrison's. Freeze what you are not using the extra amount you order. Refrigerate the amount you have set for daily feedings. Harrison's spoils very easily so the only amount that is in room temperature is what is in Valentino's dish.

I do think Tropican is a good pellet. I sample what ever I feed my birds and I found Tropican to be quite tasty. Harrison's didn't taste good to me at all. I tend to wonder what is in that Harrison's that birds love so much. It is so different than other pellets but it does not taste all that good.

For me I feed Valentino Tropican as his staple along with his fresh mix. I use nuts as treats and for training. I also will use the Zupreem as training but do not feed him this as a meal. I don't think Zupreem is a bad pellet it is because Valentino LOVES this pellet it is like crack to him. Birdy crack. I am afraid he would eat Zupreem and nothing else.

I have traveled through Roswell NM many times during my southwest trips. I have enjoyed the area. Although I never realized how hard it was to get parrot food out there.

I also would love to know what website you use to order Tropican in smaller quantities than a 20 pound bag. However I do order the high performance parrot sticks and this seems to be hard to find in smaller bags. Would you order the lifetime maintenance or the high performance? The pellet Valentino eats would be too large for your Quaker.

@noblemacaw Wildlife safari pet emporium sells tropican in Roswell NM

I use Harrison's pellets. I've had various birds in the past and I have never had a problem converting them to them. My birds have always looked great after being fed them too.

My mother is trying to convert her birds to Tropican granules. My Green Cheek prefers Harrison's, she won't eat Tropican.

Tropican smells better, but I like Harrison's more because they are completely organic. I can't tell you if the other pellets are good or not because I've only ever used Harrison's.