Best brand of fruity pellets!

[Tuckermonster]

Howdy all!
I'm sure many of you have heard about the poor babies falling ill and dying in MI from certain brands of parrot food. ZuPreem is one of the culprits. I currently feed my GCC, Tucker, ZuPreem FruitBlend for mid-sized birbs. He used to be on Kaytee pellets for years, but after a while of research I read ZuPreem was better than Kaytee, though it's not the best. I tried switching him to Roudybush, but he wanted nothing to do with it. I would prefer feeding him more natural pellets without the dyes and sugars, but he is very, very picky with his food and it must be colorful, according to him. Some days he'll even decide that he wants to eat red only, orange only, the likes. He is my best buddy and I want the best for him.
I have a new, unopened bag of ZuPreem with the same expiration and batch number as the MI rescue's large parrot FruitBlend. Would it still be safe to give it to Tuck, or should I go back to Kaytee for a bit until results come back from the lab in MI? It seems to have only happened in MI so far, and I live in TX. Are there any other brands of fruity pellets he would enjoy? Again, I've tried Roudybush and he didn't eat it at all. I would love to switch him to it but he wants nothing to do with pellets if they have no colors.
Tuck also gets fruits and veggies (though being picky, he really doesn't eat veggies as often as his fruits), and some seeds as well. I try to give him as much variety as possible. I'll have had him for five years in May.
Any help/ advice would be much appreciated!

 

[Allee]

Thank you for taking every possible precaution when caring for your bird, our parrots deserve nothing less.

With all due respect, at this point there is no valid evidence that food of any kind was the actual cause of the tragic deaths. To state that ZuPreem, Higgins or Lafeber are the culprits is a bit premature to say the least. That said, absolutely take all precautions you feel comfortable with. I see nothing wrong with withholding the unopened bag of food until reliable results are in. A similar colored pellet should be fine temporarily if your bird agrees to eat it.

My quaker's CAV advised us to use only pellets with no added color when our quaker was transitioning to a healthier diet, she hated non colored pellets at first but the trick that won her over was soaking the pellets in warm distilled water or diluted apple juice, can't promise it will work for all birds but it worked for our pickiest eaters.

 

[Tuckermonster]

Thank you so much! I think until I know results are in I'll put him back on Kaytee, but I do want to try soaking Roudybush in warm water or diluted apple juice.

 

[Flboy]

As for RoudyBush. My JoJo barely touches the tiny size pellets. I just picked up a bag of small and he is going nuts over them! His fav is TOPS!

 

[Tuckermonster]

Thank you so much! I think until I know results are in I'll put him back on Kaytee, but I do want to try soaking Roudybush in warm water or diluted apple juice.

 

[Tuckermonster]

Gah, don't know why that first post posted twice. I'll look into the TOPS!

 

[FlyBirdiesFly]

Have you tried Harrison’s? They’re organic and non-colored.

 

[Tuckermonster]

I haven't, though I haven't looked into their food.

 

[Kentuckienne]

Our bird refused Roudybush, tolerated ZuPreme, but loves Harrison's pepper formula.

The data isn't in on the parrot deaths at the rescue in Michigan, but deaths have been reported from several states.

"Caro Ri Keeping everyone updated. Reports of same symptoms and deaths have come in from these states: MI, OR, CA, FL, KY, TN, and NV. Please let me know of any errors or other states."

One place in Florida reportedly lost 9 of 11 parrots. Maybe it's not food related, maybe it's an illness, we just don't know. The first test results should be in Monday or Tuesday. In the mean time, maybe hold off on any of the involved foods, just for a couple of days until we know more. This is a frightening situation, and made worse by not knowing what is causing the problem. You can probably get a free sample of Harrison's to see if it is acceptable to his lordship before you commit to a big bag.