Pellets?

[fangirl]

So I'm just now discovering this whole pellets vs. seeds thing.

I have a cockatiel who's never been fed pellets before, just seeds and veggies/fruit/cooked brown rice.

I was wondering if I should switch him to pellets. What is your experience with giving tiels pellets?

 

[Rio Mom]

I would definately switch him to pellets, and give seed only as a treat. Seed is very fatty. That's great he already eats veggies, fruits, etc.

 

[Remy]

Pellets! A seed diet can drastically shorten your bird's life. I heard it eventually gives them a fatty liver.

I have Puck on Harrison's High Potency, which is organic and highly recommended by vets. I also feed him a lot of my own food, plus I buy him fruit, since I don't eat much fruit myself.

 

[oled]

Back in time it was common to sproute seed and that way transform fat to suger. I still thing that this metod is good but it take som time and work. Today a lot of peoble use pellet, it is simpel and quite good I think.

 

[lene1949]

I sprout seeds and they are my bird's favourite foods... I love them, too... the seeds, and the birds as well, of course... lol

 

[fangirl]

Also, he's gotten kind of pudgy since I got him. I assume this is a result of all the seeds?

 

[andrea.faerie]

Very likely. I just switched my Conure over too a full pellet diet. Safflower seeds are given as rewards and incentive to do tricks like kisses and shaking hands (feet! haha) Both birds are given pumpkin seeds whenever I go to the bag, they love them and are significantly healthier than other seeds, however, they are still given in strict moderation.

 

[gemkitty24]

Pellets take time. You may want to start slowly adding pellets with the seeds and putting a little water in the mix so that the pellets adhere to the seeds so that they get a taste of the pellet and see that it's edible. when you notice that he's eating the pellet slowly remove a little more seed and add a little more pellet till all the seeds are gone and seeds are only used as treats. good luck

 

[JoSweetDreams]

I'm glad I found this, it seems the food I got with my Parrotlet is seed and he mainly picks out the sunflower seeds. Time to go shopping I think!

 

[MonicaMc]

I'm glad I found this, it seems the food I got with my Parrotlet is seed and he mainly picks out the sunflower seeds. Time to go shopping I think!

Please, stop before you go and get pellets!


Is your parrotlet green? Or is your parrotlet a mutation? Do you know if he's normal or split to any mutations?


Parrotlets ideally shouldn't be eating more than 50% pellets, and those with mutations probably should have 25% or less pellets. A high pelleted diet for parrotlets, especially those who are a mutation, can cause kidney failure, and, if not treated, death.

 

[Remy]

I'm glad I found this, it seems the food I got with my Parrotlet is seed and he mainly picks out the sunflower seeds. Time to go shopping I think!

Please, stop before you go and get pellets!


Is your parrotlet green? Or is your parrotlet a mutation? Do you know if he's normal or split to any mutations?


Parrotlets ideally shouldn't be eating more than 50% pellets, and those with mutations probably should have 25% or less pellets. A high pelleted diet for parrotlets, especially those who are a mutation, can cause kidney failure, and, if not treated, death.

I've never heard of anything like this before. Can anybody else confirm?

 

[crimson]

I am currently switching all my birds over from seed to pellets. I use the Tops pellets(Totally Organic Pellets), I was wondering myself how I was going to introduce the pellets to them...
I tried adding the water at first and they wanted nothing to do with it. so I tried grinding it into a powder and adding it and that seemed to work. 2 weeks later they are starting to eat the pellets, but still look for the seeds. It takes time. I also feed them 3/4 veggies and 1/4 fruits. Harrisons mash is already in powder form, so that would make it much easier.

 

[MonicaMc]

Remy...

Pellets & Mutations
Parrotlet Blog: Pellets & Color Mutation Parrotlets

May need to search for "pellet" "kidney" or "renal" on the following pages...
Gout in Bugies
20 Things You Must Know About Nutrition
Small Parrots in Health and Disease / Avian Medicine Today / The Importance of Avian Nutrition
The Challenges of Avian Medicine


Pellets have supposedly been corrected, but sometimes, I still hear of issues caused by a diet too high in pellets and it's been corrected with a diet high in fresh foods.


This typically only applies to small species that shouldn't have more than 50% pellets. Medium and larger parrots are fine on a diet that consists of 75% or more pellets.

 

[ConureLady]

As for seeds, a very well known avian vet says only offer a little at a time. This forces them to eat "a lot of a little" rather than "a little of a lot" ie picking favorites. Give just enough that they can pick their favorites and if they get hungry enough they will eat the less liked ones.

I give my parakeets and tiels 50% high quality pellets mixed with cooked legume, cooked couscous, cooked steel cut oat, finely cut apples and carrots, and high quality finch seed. I feed finch seed because it has less bad seeds and more kinds than any other mix.

 

[JoSweetDreams]

Remy, he isnt' a mutation (sounds like an insult doesn't it, a "mutation"), he's green. I won't feed him purely pellets, I'm trying to get him to eat fruit and veg although not having any luck at the moment! Thanks for the warning though. Something to think about.

 

[sammybird]

our cockatiel is on a pellet diet with a small amount of seed/fruit/veggie. he is very healthy and perky. our cockatoo is on the same diet but with a different size pellet.

 

[sunnyvmx]

I introduced pellets by putting a little seed into a cup of pellets. When the seed was gone they started eating the pellets and eat them everyday. If given a cup of each they prefer the seed so I feed pellets until noon and then seed until bedtime so I guess they are eating 50/50. I discourage my pair from breeding now by withholding fresh food for three months. So far that and longer sleep hours is working. In Feb. I will make "birdie mash" again with lots of greens, carrots, chick peas, whole wheat bread and hard boiled egg in the food processor. They can also feed this to their chicks which will stimulate them to breed (I hope), it will be the first time for the three of us. In the morning I also use millet and nutriberries for hand taming and because they only have pellets they are eager for their lessons and the treat.

 

[JoSweetDreams]

Pellets arrived today so I'm very gradually going to introduce them. He won't eat any of the fruit and veg I've offered him, so he's not getting a very balanced diet at the minute

 

[MonicaMc]

Some birds readily take to a diet change, but most don't! It can take several weeks, months or even years for some birds to eat certain foods! So don't fret it at the moment and just keep trying to be creative in how you present the food to him!

 

[owleyes]

I have read all the comments and I appreciate what everyone means but surely, in the grand scheme of things, seeds, fruits and vegetables are what birds are meant, naturally, to eat. I mean, in the wild there is no such thing as a pellet tree and aren't we as birdkeepers, meant to replicate the birds' natural habitat and therefore feeding behaviour? In a seed the ingredients are entirely natural; there is nothing synthetic. But do you really know whats in a pellet? All a company has to do is add something that smells and tastes nice, to birds, and the birds will eat it. Whereas in a seed everything has to be good for them to eat it, you never see a bird eat a mouldy or "bad" seed. How are they supposed to know if an expensive pellet is bad or not, if its not what they naturally eat. Meaning they would eat any pellet as they don't know the definition of a "bad" one. Do you really trust companies that make pellets? How are you able to define between the few that really care about birds and the ones that only care about profit and greed?
I do not mean to offend anyone and this is just my speculation, I was just curious to why everyone automatically agrees that pellets are notoriously better than seeds.