Best food?

[2manypets]

What would you say the best food is as far as seeds and pellets? Treats?

 

[oled]

This I hard to say what pellets is the best, of cause the best for you bird is what pellet she/he is eating. I think you have to test

 

[HRH Di]

Our birdies get Zupreem Fruit Blend pellets. We tried Harrisons, but they didn't like them. Those were the 2 brands our breeder fed them so we stayed with them.

As for seeds - we get raw, unsalted, minimally processed nuts and seeds from a local grocery store that sells bulk foods from bins. We can get millet, wheat berries, organic no-salt granola, sunflower seeds, pepitas, raw unsalted pistacios, etc. I also get ingredients for birdie bread there.

For unsalted, raw pumpkin seeds and in-the-shell nuts we get them from
nutsonline.com.

 

[Abzeez]

We feed zupreem fruitblend and roudybush. I rotate them. The breeder I got my grey from suggested that feeding them a few different kinds helps them not get used to just one brand, because what if that brand stops making that pellet, then what? Or what if they change something in the formula and the parrot doesn't like it anymore? We are going to add harrisons to to mix too. Just a thought.

 

[Molcan2]

I feed zupreem, but really any sort of pelleted food that your comfortable with is a good base. That consists of 25% of her diet (pellets are left out at all times - except at night, I don't put any food in her night cage), the rest of her diet mainly consists of an assortment of fresh fruits and veggies. Seeds are given only during training as reinforcements. I do put some nuts out for her daily, however the nuts that she gets are put inside various toys so she has to work in order to get them. She also gets some sort of pasta a few times a week. Depending on the type of bird will depend on the diet needs but this is what seems to work for me.

 

[2manypets]

So I don't need to get bird seeds then? Just pellets, fruits, vegetables, pasta, nuts?

 

[Abzeez]

Seeds as a treat. I give mine nutri-berries. They seem to really enjoy them.

 

[Molcan2]

They don't really need seeds when they are on a pelleted food. The pellets are a 'complete' diet. However the best diet is a varied diet. Good idea to have pellets as a base and then add fruits, veggies and nuts as options. If you do give seed make it a special occasion. Don't mix the seed in with the pellet or offer it in another bowl. Birds have a tendency to pick the seed and leave the pellets. A bird that is on a seed only diet may eat only certain seeds out and you wont be sure that they are meeting their complete nutritional needs.

 

[2manypets]

Is there a list of fruits, vegetables, nuts, etc that are safe for birds?

 

[Molcan2]

No avocados, no chocolate, no pits (apple cores, cherry pits, pear pits, peach pits...etc), and nothing that isn't consumed by a health nut. Meaning don't give chips, sausage or anything like that (no processed foods or red meats). Try to get fresh/frozen instead of canned, don't want to give too much sodium. Try to buy organic fruits veggies if you can, other wise you risk pesticide contamination. Try to stay away from corn, there isn't really any nutritional value in corn. When you get nuts, stay away from anything salted etc., suggest going to a pet shop and buying your nuts there. Some birds are picky to, mine won't eat most veggies raw but will almost everything cooked.

 

[Amber]

Although I don't think theirs anything wrong with a pellet diet, I feed Alex a custom mix I make myself from scratch, which consists of around 30% pellets, 20% preservative free assorted dried fruit (apple, apricot, pear, banana, sultanas and mango usually, sourced from a health food shop) and 50% 'seeds'. I say seeds, but it's more a mix of traditional seed mix (sunflower, safflower, millet, rapeseed, etc, you know the drill) and crushed almonds, oats, cracked corn and other cereal/nut type stuff. Alex is not picky and eats it all, fruit seed and pellet without discrimination. Pickier birds would just eat the seed and leave the rest, making this not suitable for most. This mix is in the cage 24/7.

I chose to do this over a 100% pellet diet (mine is only 30%) due to my concern over the preservatives in some pellets being known carcinogens (yuck!) and that most pellets are designed as a 'total feed', in that they are a complete food, and (as my vet said) 'diluting' the amount eaten by providing fruit and veg can actually result in less nutrition being taken in by the bird. Also more ethical concerns, how the pellets are produced and tested, where the ingredients are sourced (forest clearance, some ingredients sourced from less then ethical places utilising child labour and so on) , what the ingredients are (some are things birds would not normally eat and may not necessarily be good for them, like processed soy as a base/main ingredient) etc.

I did seek the advice of my vet prior to this though, and he helped me balance the ingredients of the mix as well as drew me up a nutritional chart of this mix. We're happy with Alex's results on it. If he was 'picky' and didn't eat it all though this probably wouldn't have worked and I'd have him on pellets.

Alex has this mix 24/7, and it is supplimented by daily fresh fruit and veg (peas, carrot, corn, apple, mango, kiwi, celery, red pepper etc. Anything that's handy and bird friendly is diced up and given.) I make up 3 days worth and keep it in the fridge. Since the content of the fresh mix varies with each batch he doesn't get sick of it. Whatevers not used by the end of the third day is thrown out, and a new mix is made up with whatever fruit and veg is on hand.

Alex also has a cuttlebone and a calcium perch if he chooses to use them. He also gets 'tidbits' of healthy human food if he wants some when I am eating. A teeny bit of pasta or honey toast is always a hit. Just enough for a taste, though!

 

[Tazz]

I've just got a conure who is 11 weeks old. 'She' has an over bite beak but seems to be a healthy eater. I've just had her at the vet and he said she is malnourished. I got her a few days ago from Crewes Hill. Another family had her for a week and returned her citing her beak issues. She is an amazingly loveable and seemingly happy bird. Could anyone suggest what I can feed her to get her healthy?! HELP!!!!!

 

[Molcan2]

Hey tazz, congrats on your new addition. This is a really old post though, you'll probably get a lot more responses if you open up a new thread for your question.

 

[Tazz]

Thanks Molcan2 ... I've just done that!!! I'm desperate for a quick answer. I'm utterly in love with my little girl and just want her healthy!!! Thanks

 

[Molcan2]

Your welcome. There are a ton of conure people who will come a long and give you great advice. Welcome to the forum

 

[Tazz]

Thanks, I'm looking forward to learning off all of you!

 

[BreannPearlLang]

I was buying goldenfeast conure blend
Ingredients: Whole cantaloupe seed, hulled oats, safflower seed, canary grass seed, buckwheat, white proso milet, granola (made with pecans, sugar, wheat flakes, brown rice flour, organic oats, corn syrup, canola oil, honey, organic evaporated cane sugar, natural flavoring, salt plus natural vitamin E & ascorbic acid to preserve freshness). Roasted corn, shelled raw pistachios, roasted cashews, non-roasted sunflower kernels, roasted almonds, dehydrated red & green sweet peppers, dehydrated tomatoes, pepitas (shelled squash seed), cooked and dehydrated beets & black bean flakes, cooked & dehydrated sweet potatoes, whole star anise seed, low moisture apples, papaya & pineapple, sterilized hemp seed, cooked & dehydrated red beans, pinto beans and chic peas. Dehydrated carrots, cranberries and blueberries, whole bee pollen, freeze dried corn & freeze dried garden peas, and natural flavoring.
a blend of oats, veggies, fruits, nuts and healthy seeds.. but i cant find it anymore and i'm going to run out soon.
i'm going to buy some of the main things that was in it.
I also provide flax seed and chia seed in a treat cup for the play gym.
five times a week i provide fresh fruits..it gets expensive.. sometimes i just take grapes from safeway. i worked there and we always let customers open things and try them.. so i grab two-four grabs every so often if i have nothing else for fresh fruit.
i'm going to try nutriberries when i run out of goldenfeast. there are a few other kinds of goldenfest im going to buy too. also, theres nutriberry recipes you should google.

 

[BreannPearlLang]

i'm going to try this Petite Hookbill Legume Blend | Goldenfeast with http://www.parrotforums.com/recipes/4818-homemade-nutriberry-type-treats.html

 

[WannaBeAParrot]

the best for you bird is what pellet she/he is eating. I think you have to test

I agree with what Oled said above. The fanciest, most expensive, "gourmet", vet recommended pellets will be the worse for your bird if s/he won't ever eat them. Over the 30 years Pritti has been with my family, last 20 with me, he's had a variety of foods. We can't give him anything at all with seeds because he becomes like a neurotic OCD bird running around this way and that way looking for more and he'll wait and wait for more if he ever gets them as a dishful that instead of one at a time.

So far I'd have to say that the Zupreem Natural is his favorite of all. It's all the same color. I He doesn't care for Harrison's. The Pretty Bird colorful pellets are eaten by color-preference, as are the Zupreem colorful pellets.

As your vet for samples of what they use.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Because my galah had organ failure when I got her I'm extremely uptight about what pellets I give her, her stable diet is Totally organic pellets and I attempt to include harrison's power treats but she doesn't like them(and she hates Harrison's pellets). She also gets fresh fruits and veggies(especially peppers, dark leafy greens, and quinoa)