Opinions on Zupreem?

[Hotrod]

Hi guys! How is everybody's feathered buddies doing today?

So, I ordered Hotrod some Zupreem (fruit kind) to try, because he LOVES fruit, and right now I am feeding him a diet that consists of nuts, seeds, pellets all mixed together. He loves everything in it, including the pellets. He loves all food pretty much. I just want to give him healthier food to eat. Anyway, I was just wondering if any of you use Zupreem for your conure and whether or not they really like it and if you believe it's good for them.
Thanks guys.

 

[Birdman666]

I've been using it for around 15 years now. It's the staple pellet.

Sometimes they eat it. Sometimes they throw it. But they eat enough of it, so I keep buying it.

 

[Kiwibird]

I would keep it as a addition to an otherwise varied diet. The *healthiest* thing for him, is of course, fresh fruit an veg. In addition to fresh produce, I think a mix of seeds and pellets is a good thing to offer. My parents feed their birds the fruit zupreem in addition to seed, and what my mom does is put seed in first, then put the zupreem on top of the seed, and a piece of fresh produce on the very top of everything else. That way the birds have the healthiest option as the easiest to access and eat first when they are hungry and get their meals

I personally do not feed pellets. They are the equivalent of vitamin fortified cereal IMO. I don't think they are unhealthy, but I also don't think they should make up a large portion of a birds overall diet. Kind of like it's ok for your kid to eat fruit loops, but you wouldn't want them to eat that 3 meals a day. I personally prefer to feed Kiwi cooked grains, home made birdie breads/treats and of course, lots of fruit and veg! He also gets a little seed to snack on during the day, but he actually prefers the grains mix to the seed. Some seed mixes have pellets mixed in, but Kiwi won't eat them at all. He "sorts" his seed before he eats it, and pellets are the first thing to be flung out.

 

[SilverSage]

I feed Zupreem, but I keep the "fruit" flavors as treats because they have more sugar. I would like to emphasize that variety is key! All of our birds need to be fed a lot of veggies and a healthy amount of fruits. I try to feed at least 3 veggies and 1 fruit per day, and sometimes they get whole grain bread, cereal, and pasta cooked and raw. I also give egg regularly and sometimes small amounts of lean meat.

 

[jenphilly]

If you go with Zupreem, the natural option is a better choice. The fruit flavored type have sugar and obviously the dyes.

You can try different pellets too, we have been feeding TOPs for years, but recently the little conures decided they wanted a change, so giving Roudybush a try, but Victoria found they have salt added. We just picked up Goldenfeast yesterday at Bird Paradise, their Golden Obles, but no feedback on them yet

But, feeding lots of fruit, vegetables, seed, nuts, grains, etc is a great base diet and adding pellets is a great plan.

My bare eyed girl won't touch pellets, no matter what brand, so I just put thru TOPs thru my nutribullet so its a dust and coat all her fruit / veggie / seed / nut / grain mixes with it.

Good luck!! Pellets are like finding the veggies that a kid will eat!

 

[SilverSage]

Oooh, I love the blender idea! My GCC won't eat the natural pellets unless they are the only option, so I generally feed the pellets first and the veggies about half an hour later because I have a fear of not feeding enough of a variety to "cover my bases" and am more comfortable knowing she is eating at least some pellets. I think I am going to try it your way! More fun for her, more confidence for me!

 

[MonicaMc]

All the Zupreem adult diets have sugar in them....


I'm also not a fan of rainbow poop, which doesn't seem to have much consistency to it over non-dyed pellets.

FRUITBLEND® WITH NATURAL FRUIT FLAVORS

INGREDIENTS

Ground corn, Soybean meal, Ground wheat, Wheat germ meal, Sugar, Vegetable oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Oranges, Apples, Grapes, Bananas, Calcium carbonate, Dicalcium phosphate, Iodized salt, Natural fruit flavors, DL-Methionine, Choline chloride, Vitamins (Vitamin E supplement, Niacin, Calcium pantothenate, Vitamin A supplement, Biotin, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine hydrochloride, Thiamine mononitrate, Menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), Vitamin B12 supplement, Vitamin D3 supplement, Folic acid), L-Lysine monohydrochloride, preserved with Citric acid and Mixed tocopherols, Yellow 5, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (a source of Vitamin C), Red 40, Yellow 6, Minerals (Manganous oxide, Zinc oxide, Copper sulfate, Sodium selenite, Calcium iodate), Color added, Blue 1, Rosemary extract



NATURAL WITH ADDED VITAMINS & MINERALS

INGREDIENTS

Ground corn, Soybean meal, Ground millet, Ground oat groats, Ground barley, Ground wheat, Wheat germ meal, Sugar, Vegetable oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Ground flaxseed, Calcium carbonate, Dicalcium phosphate, Dried carrots, Dried celery, Dried beets, Dried parsley, Dried lettuce, Dried watercress, Dried spinach, Dried cranberries, Dried blueberries, Iodized salt, DL-Methionine, Choline chloride, L-Lysine, Vitamins (Vitamin E supplement, Niacin, Calcium pantothenate, Pyridoxine hydrochloride, Vitamin A supplement, Biotin, Riboflavin, Thiamine mononitrate, Menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), Vitamin B12 supplement, Folic acid, Vitamin D3 supplement), preserved with Mixed tocopherols and Citric acid, Hydrolyzed yeast, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (a source of vitamin C), Minerals (Manganous oxide, Zinc oxide, Copper sulfate, Sodium selenite, Calcium iodate), Rosemary extract



NUTBLEND™ WITH NATURAL NUT FLAVOR

INGREDIENTS

Ground corn, Soybean meal, Ground wheat, Wheat germ meal, Sugar, Vegetable oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Calcium carbonate, Dicalcium phosphate, Iodized salt, Natural nut flavor, DL-Methionine, Choline chloride, Vitamins (Vitamin E supplement, Niacin, Calcium pantothenate, Vitamin A supplement, Biotin, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine hydrochloride, Thiamine mononitrate, Menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), Vitamin B12 supplement, Vitamin D3 supplement, Folic acid), L-Lysine monohydrochloride, preserved with Citric acid and Mixed tocopherols, Caramel color, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (a source of Vitamin C), Minerals (Manganous oxide, Zinc oxide, Copper sulfate, Sodium selenite, Calcium iodate), Rosemary extract



VEGGIEBLEND™ WITH NATURAL CARROT FLAVOR

INGREDIENTS

Ground corn, Soybean meal, Ground wheat, Wheat germ meal, Sugar, Vegetable oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Celery, Green beans, Carrots, Parsley, Beets, Peas, Calcium carbonate, Dicalcium phosphate, Iodized salt, Natural carrot flavor, DL-Methionine, Choline chloride, Vitamins (Vitamin E supplement, Niacin, Calcium pantothenate, Vitamin A supplement, Biotin, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine hydrochloride, Thiamine mononitrate, Menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), Vitamin B12 supplement, Vitamin D3 supplement, Folic acid), L-Lysine monohydrochloride, preserved with Citric acid and Mixed tocopherols, Yellow 5, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (a source of Vitamin C), Yellow 6, Minerals (Manganous oxide, Zinc oxide, Copper sulfate, Sodium selenite, Calcium iodate), Blue 1, Color added, Rosemary extract.

It's an ok brand, although I think there are better ones out there.

 

[Kiwibird]

MonicaMC posting those ingredients not only highlights the point that all their product contain sugar, but also dyes and other "mystery" ingredients that may or may not be ok to feed your bird on a daily basis. I like Volkman products personally. They have 2 varieties of cooked parrot food and the ingredients are all identifiable as actual food:

Birdeez Buffet Mix:
Brown Rice, Pearl Barley, Red Lentils, Carrot Dices, Split Green Peas, Red & Green Diced Bell Peppers, Rolled Corn, Oat Groats, Banana Chips, Tree Nuts (Walnuts, Almonds, Pistachios), Hulled Pumpkin, Fruit Medley (Sun-dried Diced Peaches, Nectarines, Pears, Apricots, Golden Raisins, Black Currants, Cranberries), Peanuts, Pineapple Dices, Apple Dices, Papaya Dices, Coconut Chips, Pasta, Dehydrated Green Peas.

Fancy Soak n Simmer:

Soybeans, Brown Paddy Rice, Bean Mix (Trapper Peas, Pinto Beans, White Northern Beans, Small Red Beans, Baby Green Lima Beans, Blackeye Peas, Red Kidney Beans, Black Turtle Beans, Alaskan Green Peas), Wheat, Popcorn, Oat Groats, Pearl Barley, Small Yellow Corn, White Corn, Buckwheat, Red Lentils, Split Green Peas, Split Yellow Peas and Common Lentils.

Again, just my opinion, but I personally would not feed my bird food that I wouldn't feel comfortable eating myself (not that I'm eating Kiwi's food lol, but I have eaten all the ingredients in it at some point). It's not that much trouble to cook up a small batch of the cooked type of parrot food, and it really is better for them. Here's the companies website if you want to check it out or do your own research- Volkman Seed Company

 

[MonicaMc]

I've used Zupreem, but personally I prefer Harrison's, Roudybush or TOP's!


Zupreem also tastes like gritty sand.... >_> Forgot to mention that part!

 

[ruffledfeathers]

Gilbert eats Harrisons plus table food (veggies/grains/etc).
Georgie loved Zupreem and ate it regularly and she was a healthy bird. She was fussier than Gilbert so her diet was more pellet than his is but i did find her poo messier when she ate Zupreem than Harrisons. I think if you fed Zupreem with another bowl of vegetables and maybe brown rice or whole wheat pasta or something, it would be healthy.

 

[getwozzy]

Chili won't eat pellets, so I sneak them in things... Her main diet is fresh fruits/veggies, cooked etc so I'm not overly concerned if she eats them or not. But! I took my entire bag of zupreem and ground it into fine dust- then it gets added to bird bread and then I dust it on the few seeds she does get, so she gets *some* pellets.

 

[labell]

If you look at the first 3 ingredients in most pellets


INGREDIENTS

Ground corn, Soybean meal, Ground wheat

That is what concerns me, most of those ingredients in this country are GMO so for me what small amount of pellets I do feed are either TOP's or Harrison's but to me it comes down to when dog food began to be marketed for peoples convenience, health in dogs declined. Heated enough to make into pellets or kibble tends to kill a lot of the nutrients imo. The other thing is these three ingredients have very little nutritional value as is, I would prefer sprouted seed which changes them into a living food and fresh fruits and veggies than pellets.

I am of the strong opinion that the closer we can not only feed ourselves but our pets to living whole foods the better and healthier it is.

 

[MonicaMc]

One night I got curious and wanted to find out more about our domestic produce... turns out, domestic produce isn't nearly as healthy as the wild counterparts! (no big surprise there!)

If you can provide a fresh food based diet in the right quantities, you don't need to feed pellets at all! That said, not everyone can provide such a diet, so pellets kind of help to "round out" the diet. Heck, some birds may even do better with pellets in their diet than without.

One thing is for sure though, is that since the introduction of pellets into our pet birds diets has helped to increase their lifespan and help to provide a healthier diet! Far too many people still feed only seeds to their birds, which is lacking in vitamins and minerals! Some people feed seed diets and "supplement" it with fresh or cooked foods, but it's not in the right quantities, so the birds are still on a poor diet. These birds would benefit from a pelleted diet with fresh and cooked foods!



I like to make a mash recipe for my birds. It's in addition to the seeds and/or pellets that they eat. I usually do about 45% vegetables (mostly fresh/chopped, sometimes cooked), 15% healthy mixed legumes (usually cooked), 30% mixed grains (usually cooked) and about 10% fresh fruits! (I don't use frozen fruits very often).... although the next batch I make I may try to incorporate some pasta into it to help soak up the extra moister!

When I feed this, sometimes I'll toss in sprouted seeds, some cinnamon, crushed red peppers, cayenne powder, red palm oil, or something else, too.

 

[Hotrod]

Thanks so much for all the feedback, guys!

I am looking into getting Hotrod Harrisons because all of the great reviews I've read on it, but I am not sure if I should get him Adult Lifetime fine or High Potency fine. To my understanding, high potency has more fat in it but it also better for larger birds... so I am just unsure. Any recommendations?
I am also looking into getting Volkman Avian Science Super seed mix for lovebirds and conures, for him to have a healthy variety of choices in his cage at all times when I am away at work.
If it weren't for you guys, I wouldn't know about these products! Thank you so much for the feedback. I want to give my Hotrod the healthiest diet I can. The other day I boiled him some broccoli and he loved it. He eats anything I give him pretty much, lol. He's such a little stinker. :09:

 

[ruffledfeathers]

The Adult Lifetime Coarse was what Georgie was on....until she had a physical exam and her bloodwork revealed she had low blood protein and her weight ran so lean in spite of eating very well. The vet had me switch to High Potency.
Gilbert prefers the fine to the coarse and he does the Adult lifetime fine.

 

[MonicaMc]

Delfin, most pellets are fortified with nutrients to meet the requirements of parrots... hence the list of vitamins and minerals added to pellets!


Hotrod, Harrison's recommends starting out on the HP diet for 6-8 months before switching to the AL diet. Conures can eat the Course or Fine size, so it may depend upon the preferences of your conure. I feed fine, but mostly so there is less waste and no "UFO's" hitting me in the eye!

I've never bought any, but you can also feed the Pepper Lifetime.

 

[jenphilly]

When talking pellets, always remember it is a PART of a well rounded parrot diet. I do not think anyone here would suggest only feeding pellets, its added to grains, nuts, fruits, veggies, healthy seeds; birdie breads; mashes and chop salads.

 

[MonicaMc]

Something that article didn't go over is the different types of pellets.

Harrison's High Potency
Crude Protein 18% - 20%
Crude Fat 12% - 15%
Crude Fiber 5% - 8%

Harrison's Adult Lifetime
Crude Protein 14% - 17%
Crude Fat 5.5% - 6.5%
Crude Fiber 4.5% - 8%



Zupreem Fruitblend
Crude Protein 14%
Crude Fat 4%
Crude Fiber 3.5%

Zupreem Natural
Crude Protein 14%
Crude Fat 4%
Crude Fiber 5%

Zupreem Breeder Fruitblend/Natural
Crude Protein 20%
Crude Fat 10%
Crude Fiber 3.5%



PrettyBird Daily Select
Crude Protein 14%
Crude Fat 5%
Crude Fiber 4%

PrettyBird Breeder Select
Crude Protein 16%
Crude Fat 10%
Crude Fiber 3%

PrettyBird Natural Gold
Crude Protein 15%
Crude Fat 8%
Crude Fiber 5%



Mazuri Maintenance
Crude Protein 14% - 15%
Crude Fat 5%
Crude Fiber 5% - 6%

Mazuri Breeder
Crude Protein 18% - 19%
Crude Fat 6.5%
Crude Fiber 4.5%



etc....



It seems as if you are lumping pellets as all the same and there are no differences when in fact there is. Good breeders would use different pellets throughout the year, depending upon what they are trying to do.... i.e. breed their birds, or give their breeders a rest.

Many birds are fed seeds and fresh foods and they are still lacking in a healthy diet.... but this is more about what the owner knows about nutrition and what they can get their bird to eat.


One person was actually creating a species specific diet, although I don't know if she's still in business or not. PrettyBird already has some species specific diets (cockatiel diets, eclectus diets, african grey, macaw, lory, softbill....) as well as diets meant for any species.


Small species (budgies, cockatiels, parrotlets, lovebirds, grass parakeets, etc) shouldn't eat more than 50% pellets in their diet anyways. Perhaps even less than that! I would never recommend a high pelleted diet for small species unless recommended by an avian vet. My bourke parakeet is on a pellet based diet currently without seeds. She still eats vegetables, some fruits, grains and legumes from my mash diet. However, she's proven to do better, health wise, on a pellet based diet instead of a seed based diet. Saying that, I am considering trying a sprout based diet for her, if she can't eat dry seeds. (bourke parakeets have an expected lifespan of 11-15 years... my hen is 17-19 years old and I've only heard of two older than her - I've only had her for 12 years as well)


This article does make a point that people "got lazy" and fed seed only diets... hence the push for pellets. I don't think it has much to do with laziness but education and what people are able to do. As far as many people are aware, birds eat seeds! When you feed the wild birds, you buy crap seed for them from the stores... except when you go to a pond or lake where geese and ducks are at, in which case these birds eat bread! So as far as these people are concerned, pet birds don't need much food in their diet to live a healthy and happy life.


As far as supplements go... well, a lot of owners here in America that give supplements may be over-supplementing their birds, causing health problems because of that.



And many owners feed vegetables and fruits, but don't even think about feeding grains and legumes.


Is a fresh food based diet the healthiest diet out there? Well, yes it is, if fed correctly! Fresh food is *living* food! It's alive with nutrients! Pellets on the other hand (and possibly seeds as well) are "dead" food. It can't be grown. However, a fresh food diet can be just as bad as a seed or pellet based diet when done incorrectly. I recall one quaker parrot that ate a diet of cucumbers. No water provided. The bird may have had one other thing in their diet. How this bird survived is beyond me!


I do find a 'study' performed on toe tapping and wing flipping eclectus to be interesting, due to the results found. Not only are pellets considered to be one of the causes of the toe tapping and wing flipping, but so is vitamin and mineral supplements and fortified seeds. (saying that, eclectus are known to be potentially sensitive to their diets! - I do know of some ekkie owners who feed pellets as part of their birds diets without any ill effects!)
Toe Tapping and Wing Flipping



Most people who come to bird forums realize that a seed only diet isn't very healthy... and hopefully they also learn that an all pellet diet, although better than an all seed diet, isn't that great either. Birds still require fresh and cooked foods! Not everyone has the time or resources to feed a fresh food based diet. Heck, when I first got into bird keeping (when I was a kid), the fresh and cooked foods was severely limited because what food that was in the house was meant for human consumption. You might be thinking "what's the problem with that?", but back then my family lived off of a lot of canned and boxed foods. We didn't have a lot of fresh foods, and what fresh foods we did have weren't very healthy, per-say. (carrots probably being the healthiest thing available) Grains consisted of white rice. (or a boxed variety with spices and flavorings) Legumes would be one of those 13/15 bean soup mixes or split peas. Back then, information on a healthy diet was severely lacking on the internet, and there were no *knowledgeable* bird people to guide me. My birds back then did not eat healthy.

My birds diet didn't improve until my family was more financially stable... and it improved again when I was old enough and capable enough to get a job and no longer had to rely on my family. I try to feed as varied diet as possible to try and cover as many basis as I can.



Coming from the situation that I have, I can understand when people can't (not won't, but can't) provide a healthy, fresh food based diet. This is where pellets are the lesser of two evils. Pellets *are* healthier than seeds. Even though they are healthier, neither one should make up the total diet of any bird, and I hope that everyone on this forum realizes that.

 

[Kiwibird]

@Delfin-I agree with you for the most part in regards to pellets. They are the farthest thing from natural, especially since no parrot eats corn or soy in nature (and thats what they're based from). Plus, who knows if the vitamins and minerals are absorbed by the bird in the quantities needed. Humans who take vitamins absorb very little of them and excrete the rest out because they are synthetic and in a form the body does not recognize. I kind of view pellets like energy bars or vitamin fortified cereal- "healthy" in the sense of "ok every once in a while", but certainly shouldn't be a dietary staple for long periods of time.

Honestly, there is no "perfect" diet for a domestic parrot no matter what you feed them. No supermarket or petstore carries the natural diet of a parrot, period. Unless of course you live in their natural range and can go out in the jungle everyday and bring them back the natural fruit and nuts and seeds they eat, which is ridiculous to think anyone could do. Then theres the fact new world and old world parrots have totally different dietary needs, and even birds of the same species from different regions can have variances (think about amazons, they are all over central and south america, and different subspecies have different ranges which all have different food options available).

Thankfully, they are all pretty omnivorous and can thrive on locally available foods all over the world, even if it isn't ideal. About the *best* we can do for them is do our research into their individual species natural habitat and natural diets and try to simulate it as closely as possible. Research and understanding of natural diet helps simulate a more natural intake of nutrients than flooding them with synthetic versions of vitamins in pellets that are formulated to be "generally" nutritious across multiple species. Same thing with supplements. Unless a VET is advising you to give your bird vitamins in their water or food- don't. They should be getting a varied enough diet to get their nutrients the natural way- out of food. And so long as they are getting fresh produce, fresh grains, healthy table food and some seeds, you can't beat yourself up too much over their diet. It's not as though us humans eat a 100% healthy diet either:20:

Seeing as pellets have only been around since the 1990s and haven't been as widely used up until maybe the past decade or so, we actually have very little knowledge of long term health benefits or negatives they cause. I don't actually know of any lifetime studies anyone is doing on pellets. We DO know lifetime diets of primarily seeds cause diseases after many years, so that is a dietary option that is clearly unhealthy and should be avoided. Last, but not least, we ALSO know these parrots you hear of who have lived 80/90/100 had a varied diet of primarily fresh foods, healthy table foods and some seed. Just my *personal* opinion, but I'm most willing to base my birds lifetime health on what birds who actually lived 60/70/80 years ate than what some company out to make a profit tells me is "healthy".

 

[MonicaMc]

In fact Pellets are not part of a bird's natural diet.
I could counter this and say that a lot of the fresh and cooked foods that we feed our parrots are not part of their natural diet, either!

It's very easy for a manufacturer to use poor quality ingredients, including those that are old, rotten, moldy, dirty, and insect infested, into a pellet mix. Once everything is ground up, pressed together and cooked at extreme temperatures, who would know? Certainly not the customer and there's no way of telling what they contain.
Likewise, you may not know what plants or grains have been genetically modified, selectively bred, nor what fertilizer or pest control that farmers have used on plants.... unless you grow the stuff on your own. Not something that everyone can do.

The fat in a pellet mix is more likely to be rancid than the fat contained in fresh unhulled seeds.
Keyword - fresh! Many seeds come prepackaged and who knows how old they are once you buy them!


I was implying that *good breeders who use pellets* would know how to control their breeders diets.... not that all good breeders use pellets. Sorry for the confusion there!

I was told by the previous owners that the bourke was 5-7 years old... So I really don't know her exact age, only that she was an adult when I got her. I've heard of one bourke that died at the age of 21 years old, and another that's still alive at 23 years old last year! But again, the owner may not know that for sure since they were told their bourke was 6 years old when they got him.

I based the expected lifespan on information from the web. I consider birds to have three "lifespans". The average lifespan, the expected lifespan, and the potential lifespan. Like for budgies, the average lifespan might be 3-6 years, the expected lifespan 8-12 years, and potential lifespan of 15-18+ years in age. Therefore, I feel as if my bourke has passed her expected lifespan, but has not quite reached her potential lifespan.


Fact: Any diet can be bad when implemented incorrectly.
Fact: Feeding a limited diet over time will always result in malnutrition.
Fact: Feed a varied diet and rotating fresh natural foods is the best chance at covering the nutritional requirements for your bird.
Fact: Seeds contain good nutrition but are not by themselves a complete diet. They should be included in any balanced diet regimen.

Agreed on all accounts.

Many of the pellet manufacturers claim that use of a pelleted diet results in longer lived parrots. I was not aware that a independent study into the benefits of pellets had been conducted to gather the statistical data that would support and substantiate that claim.
You don't need studies to show that a pellet diet is better than a seed diet... avian vets can tell that from the improvement of their clients once the birds are taken off a seed diet! However, this is coming from a poor diet that is severely lacking in proper nutrition to begin with... so of course the pellets are going to be better!

I think there have been some studies done with the smaller species, but I'm not too sure about the larger species. I know a study has been done with eclectus parrots, but many eclectus owners are often against this study. It was more about behavior rather than nutrition, though.

Birds that eat at the table with their owners are much loved birds who spent more than average time out of their cages and as a consequence probably led more interesting lives in a "interesting environment" and resulting in the "emotional well-being" of the bird. which means a healthy bird. These birds were fed table food, not pellets.
I do know birds who eat with their humans and they still have pellets as part of their diet.

If you feed fresh foods to your bird. You will need to make sure your bird consumes the appropriate amount from each food group. It means more work on the part of the bird owner. If your'e making your meal than how hard can it be to make the birds meal.
To be honest, I cook far more for my birds than I do for myself! LOL I hate cooking!

If you feed a parrot a seed only diet it's not as healthy as a varied diet.
If you feed a parrot a pellet only diet it's not as healthy as a varied diet.
Agreed.


I agree with a lot of what you say Delfin, however I don't feel as if pellets are a bad thing to be included in a varied diet! A *LOT* of birds here in America though are fed the crappiest diet possible with owners who can't or wont feed a proper diet... or they are severely uneducated because they "refuse" to learn how to properly care for their birds. (more like they don't even think to) These birds would greatly benefit from pellets in their diets due to their ignorant owners.

I don't know what it's like in the UK, but here in America, we have *thousands* of rescues with birds coming in on terrible diets! And thousands more birds still in their homes with ignorant owners. It's horrible and sad what the situation is here. Six of my seven current birds are rehomes. Of those six, at least four of them, came to me on a poor diet... and this isn't counting the other rehomes I've taken in in the past and have converted them to healthier diets because all they ate was seeds!

Honestly, there is no "perfect" diet for a domestic parrot no matter what you feed them. No supermarket or petstore carries the natural diet of a parrot, period. Unless of course you live in their natural range and can go out in the jungle everyday and bring them back the natural fruit and nuts and seeds they eat, which is ridiculous to think anyone could do. Then theres the fact new world and old world parrots have totally different dietary needs, and even birds of the same species from different regions can have variances (think about amazons, they are all over central and south america, and different subspecies have different ranges which all have different food options available).

I wholeheartedly agree with this!!!!!! I feel it's up to each owner to try and decide what the best diet is that they can provide.... and hopefully, a varied diet at that!

If an owner can provide an entirely fresh food/cooked food diet, that's amazing! If not, then the owner should strive to provide the best possible diet they can given their circumstances! Some people fall back on pellets as more of a "supplement" rather than a main diet.... used in a way to hopefully make sure they cover all bases because they aren't sure that their birds are getting enough nutrition from the fresh and cooked foods, and that's ok, too!

People have different lifestyles. People who work part time with varying hours throughout the day may not be able to provide fresh foods at the same time every single day! Although they may still be able to provide fresh foods in either the morning or evenings. They may use seeds and/or pellets for the times they can't provide fresh foods.