Non-breeders on a breeder's diet?

[PenClem]

Hello everyone!

This is my first post on this forum so please feel free to stop by and say "Hello!" I have two Lovebird sisters who are now 3 y/o. I've had them since they were weaned and even though they are housed together in their flight cage, they love to have my attention and affection. I feel very lucky to have TWO Lovies who are lovable. :18:

My question is:

Can non-breeding adult birds eat a breeders pellet diet? I was given a 40 lb. bag of Zupreem fruit-blend pellets for breeding birds and I'd hate to see it go to waste. My girls eat Zupreem fruit-blend pellets for small parrots so I figured they could eat this food as well, but since it is for "breeding birds" I'm concerned about any consequences from changing their diet to this food.

I'm completely unaware of any problems that may occur, so please advise. Currently, the food is in an airtight storage container. It will likely take about two years to go through it *if* I get the go-ahead from experienced members of this forum.

Thank you for reading!

 

[Laurasea]

Welcome to the forum! I'm not sure. If it was me I'd mix it in 1/4 to 1/2 with the regular. But that's just me, abd I'm not sure what extras are in breeder blend?

 

[ChristaNL]

LOL I thought he same thing.
(great minds think alike?)

The breederformula is probaby a bit 'richer' than the regular -> just compare labels.
So richer in "more calories" but also (hopefully, I am not a big fan of Zupreem in general - my fatty macaw was on one of them, so prejudiced here. ) richer in real nutrients and usefull things (more calcium for eggshells and bones, more vitamins etc.etc.)..

Some people I know insist on feeding breeder-foods during the molt, because that also takes a lot out of a bird.

So I do not think you can go very wrong - just give them a "winter" aka non-breeding season with normal food as well, to dublicate the scarcity they will experience in nature then, just to not overstimulate their systems.
But during the sping-summer-autumn...why not?


(I know parrots are sub/tropical birds and do not have these as such, but everyone needs a break/ holliday sometimes)

 

[SilverSage]

I’m a breeder and I use that exact food... when I want the hormones to kick in the macronutrient balance is different for breeding and they stimulate breeding hormones. Diet changes are a huge part of stimulating or suppressing reproductive behaviors in parrots so no, I ABSOLUTELY do not recommend you giving this to your girls.

A 40lb bag is about $80 (if you buy in bulk; it’s closer to $8/lb in small bags!). Is it worth up to two years of hormonal damage to your girls to not let this food go to waste? Find a breeder to sell it to


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[PenClem]

Thank you for your replies! I appreciate it. I was very confused by the reviews I saw on amazon.com that were stating they feed this food to their non-breeding adult birds on a long-term basis. I certainly do not want this food to impair the health of my girls. I will find it a better home where it will be utilized by the proper population of birds. Thanks so much for the information you have shared!

 

[SilverSage]

A lot of people say they have had no problems with a lot of things, but often they just don’t notice the correlation. I have a flock of over 80 birds, and I rescue, rehab, and rehome on a regular basis. I have the luxury of observing patterns across a large number of birds; most people don’t have that opportunity.


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