Best food?

[alcmene]

I'm currently feeding both the cockatiel and sun conure Zupreem fruit blend pellets, as that was recommended to me by several experienced bird people. 2 ques:

1) Is this the best food? Or is there something better i should be feeding instead?

2) Tiel is getting med size. Conure M/L size pellets. They both seem to prefer the smaller ones (it's not a competition thing. The conure will still chose the smaller pellets even if the tiel isnt around). The ingredients list is slightly different, but very similar. If i stick with this food, would it be ok to give them both the Med size pellets?

 

[riddick07]

I'm not really fond of Zupreem but if you want to feed that brand than the natural ones are better. Less dye and such in the natural zupreem pellets.

Harrison's is the generally agreed on 'best' pellet around. I feed TOPs myself along with a mix. I also feed birdie bread, sprouts, fresh mixes that I make and whatever else I have around or make up for them.

If you use the search you will find a million threads about pellets!

 

[Ashleigh86]

Indy came from the bird store/rescue loving her "fruity pebbles" which is the zupreem, but I read that the artificial dyes are something you want to avoid for birds and people alike! So, I found a natural brand that I give her now(but now all she wants is her fresh fruit and veggie mix ). I got it from Petco, here is the link: Higgins InTune Natural Food Mix for Conures & Cockatiels at PETCO

Note: What I feed Indy every day: Fresh fruit and veggie mix, fruit pellets, "unpellet" mix from phoenix foraging rolls online and then sunflower seeds for training only and the occasional treat of Nutriberries in her foraging bowl

 

[argylebird]

I feed Harrison's pellets. I order mine off amazon, with free prime shipping. Argyle eats more veggies than anything else though, he loves his morning veggie/fruit buffet! He also gets tiny handfuls of seed, and granola for a treat!

 

[alcmene]

I ordered multiple different foraging toys. I'm thinking since the fresh foods are most appealing to the birds, i'm going to put those in the foragers so they have to work for them. I'm going to leave high quality pellets out all the time in their food bowls. And i'm going to reserve seeds and nuts as treats for our daily training sessions.

Does that sound like a reasonable feeding plan?

It sounds like i need to ween them off the zupreem and on to harrisons. I want to get them whatever the very healthiest food is.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

I ordered multiple different foraging toys. I'm thinking since the fresh foods are most appealing to the birds, i'm going to put those in the foragers so they have to work for them. I'm going to leave high quality pellets out all the time in their food bowls. And i'm going to reserve seeds and nuts as treats for our daily training sessions.

Does that sound like a reasonable feeding plan?

It sounds like i need to ween them off the zupreem and on to harrisons. I want to get them whatever the very healthiest food is.

The only thing with the foraging toys (which are a good idea) is that you have to wash them very good after they've been used and not leave fresh fruit or veggies in them or food cups for a prolonged period of time. I've heard no more than a few hours, which sounds short but Skittles, my sun conure, goes through them in under a half hour and I just wash and refill.

As for diet, I've heard of Zupreem but never used it.

I feed my sun conure a diet of Harrisons' pellets and I give him power treats for rewards/treats and fresh fruits and vegetables in between. Just a suggestion, but be careful what you feed them. Don't go for very 'porous' fruits/veggies like strawberries or broccoli unless you buy organic. It's nearly impossible to wash the pesticides off those foods. I get those and give them to my birds as a treat when the organics are on sale.

Peaches, my cockatiel, is fussy and will only eat broccoli, I don't know why. But Skittles will eat a whole host of things. He loves apples & grapes and those aren't very porous - they have skin. So I peel them and wash them off and then give them to Skittles and he LOVES them. He will actually sit on his playstand eating a grape and I swear to you his body language says 'Ah, this is the life!'

I also give Skittles 100% fresh orange juice daily. Not a whole lot, just a thimble full. (OJ is high in sugar, so you don't want to overdo it - even if it is natural sugar).

Leaving fresh pellets out at all times is a very good idea. They should always have access to fresh food. (In fact, here in Maine it is 'required' that birds in pet stores are supplied clean food and water at ALL times).

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

I feed Harrison's pellets. I order mine off amazon, with free prime shipping. Argyle eats more veggies than anything else though, he loves his morning veggie/fruit buffet! He also gets tiny handfuls of seed, and granola for a treat!

If you don't mind my asking, how are the pellets? The pricing, freshness date and so forth. I buy mine directly from the company and also when I take my birds to the vet I get some from them. The S/H is expensive and I didn't know they were available through other means.

 

[alcmene]

Drs Foster and Smith has Harrisons pellets too. I have ordered from them for years (for various types of animals) and their prices are good and their shipping is fast.

 

[Peeko]

I had my little guy on Zupreem Harvest Feast, but after reading about the potential health problems that artificial dyes can cause in parrots, I switched him to Zupreem Natural (my father will only allow me to feed my pets food that our friend[who owns a pet store]'s supplier carries, or else I would have him on Harrisons) and he likes the Natural A LOT better than he liked the Harvest Feast. I was told to avoid Fruit Blend because of the dyes and added sugars, although opinions on pellets vary a lot depending on who you ask. Overall, though, Harrisons seems to be very recommended by most people. But I have heard that Harrisons and Nutriberries fed together can cause some problems? I think someone on this forum said so, but I don't remember who; it might have been BoomBoom.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

When you think about it, dye's aren't good for us humans either. However, the amount of dye in bird food compared to their relatively small size is quite significantly higher than it is for us humans. If their food has dyes in it then they are being exposed to a much higher potency of it than we normally are.

 

[alcmene]

Skitty's Daddy- I just saw that My Safe Bird Store carries Harrison's too. For the best price I've been able to find online so far. I'm currently awaiting my first order from them (delayed by UPS due to weather) so I can't personally vouch for them. But I've read AMAZING reviews of that store, both on this forum and others.

 

[argylebird]

I feed Harrison's pellets. I order mine off amazon, with free prime shipping. Argyle eats more veggies than anything else though, he loves his morning veggie/fruit buffet! He also gets tiny handfuls of seed, and granola for a treat!

If you don't mind my asking, how are the pellets? The pricing, freshness date and so forth. I buy mine directly from the company and also when I take my birds to the vet I get some from them. The S/H is expensive and I didn't know they were available through other means.

They are quite fresh, and I keep them in the fridge to maintain the freshness. With only one GCC, I only buy a small bag at a time. It costs me around $12 usually, although the price can fluctuate a little. There is a pet store in my town that carries them as well, but its more convenient for me to just order them.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

I didn't know they were in pet stores! I was always told to only get them from the vets office or from the company, but that was several years ago. I'm gonna have to look into this. I was just curious about the freshness, I don't keep the regular pellets in the fridge cause one bag doesn't even last me a month. But I do refrigerate the power treats.

But I'm assuming when you say $12, you mean per 1 pound bag? If so, that's pretty steep - I pay $8 something per bag for mine but I buy them by the case (6 1-lb bags), the vets office sells them too, but for a little over a dollar more per bag.

I have two birds, a sun and a cockatiel and my sun is a little piggy. He NEVER stops eating yet he is very slim IMO though the vet says his weight is ideal.

EDIT: I just checked Amazon, I don't have a 'prime' membership so I couldn't do the free shipping, but they too are charging a dollar more per bag so it pretty much comes out to be the same if you count the S/H charged by the company.