My budgie saphy

[Zentg]

I got her a little over 3 months ago, she is still pretty scared of me but we are making good progress. I am currently working on converting her to harrisons pellets and since she is getting a lot less seed now she is more willing to interact with me for millet lol.

I made her a stand with pvc pipe, and have been working on getting her to come to me and stand on her stand. Been making good progress this week, though I think it's mostly because she has been getting less seed and doesn't like pellets lol. but i guess its a good thing because she will be better off on pellets and she will interact with me more since she is hungry for millet and hopefully trust me more too. Also her flight feathers are coming in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2pbXz6bfjA

[Wolf]

Personally, I wouldn't feed my budgies pellets. Sorry about that, I don't feed my budgies pellets. I feed them the same as I feed my other birds with the exception of their dinner which is a budgie seed mix. the other birds get a seed mix as well but it has bigger seeds in it. They all get fresh vegetables, leafy greens and fruit followed by Gloop for breakfast and all day foraging.
In addition to the soy and sugar content in pellets, I don't much care for food dyes or artificial vitamins or preservatives, also with a moisture content of 14% or less I worry about dehydration as the water for digesting such a dry food has to come from somewhere and that is usually from the surrounding tissues. Budgies and other parrots eat foods with an average of 70% moisture or higher for their normal diet and this is where they get most of their water for the day. I think that since budgies live in an arid region that they have evolved some water conserving abilities that eating such a dry diet would interfere with the natural functioning of these abilities.

[Zentg]

Personally, I wouldn't feed my budgies pellets. Sorry about that, I don't feed my budgies pellets. I feed them the same as I feed my other birds with the exception of their dinner which is a budgie seed mix. the other birds get a seed mix as well but it has bigger seeds in it. They all get fresh vegetables, leafy greens and fruit followed by Gloop for breakfast and all day foraging.
In addition to the soy and sugar content in pellets, I don't much care for food dyes or artificial vitamins or preservatives, also with a moisture content of 14% or less I worry about dehydration as the water for digesting such a dry food has to come from somewhere and that is usually from the surrounding tissues. Budgies and other parrots eat foods with an average of 70% moisture or higher for their normal diet and this is where they get most of their water for the day. I think that since budgies live in an arid region that they have evolved some water conserving abilities that eating such a dry diet would interfere with the natural functioning of these abilities.

Oh really? Since I got my bird everyone's been telling me that pellets are the best thing for birds, multiple vets and all my online bird people friends :S I give my budgie harrisons pellets which is usda certified organic and it has no artificial colors, flavors or sugars. I tried all the major brand pellets myself (took the bullets for my bird) and harrisons did seem to taste the best, kinda like indian food.

Since I am still converting her I currently give her dr harvey's seed blend which also has no artificial flavors, sugars or colors - along with that it is also the only seed mix I found for budgies that has real pieces of dry fruit and vegetables. Has 11 different seeds, 9 different nuts, 9 different vegetables and 5 different fruits. It looks and smells good enough for me to want to snack on it lol, kinda like trail mix!

[Wolf]

I am not familiar with Dr. Harvey's seed blend, but I will check it out.
The reason that vets tend to recommend pellets for birds is not because they are the best food to give them it is because many people with birds have neither the time or energy to prepare the proper diets to ensure that their birds get proper nutrition so with that in mind they recommend pellets as a way to ensure at least a minimum level of nutrition. Many people don't take the time to find reputable scientific sources of information to research their birds diet and/ or nutritional requirements for themselves so end up following what other people say or by accepting the claims made by the manufacturer of the food. I am sharing what I have learned, but I strongly recommend that you do your own research and then decide what to do. Both myself and Pajarita can supply you with some of our sources of information regarding parrot nutrition.

[Zentg]

I am not familiar with Dr. Harvey's seed blend, but I will check it out.
The reason that vets tend to recommend pellets for birds is not because they are the best food to give them it is because many people with birds have neither the time or energy to prepare the proper diets to ensure that their birds get proper nutrition so with that in mind they recommend pellets as a way to ensure at least a minimum level of nutrition. Many people don't take the time to find reputable scientific sources of information to research their birds diet and/ or nutritional requirements for themselves so end up following what other people say or by accepting the claims made by the manufacturer of the food. I am sharing what I have learned, but I strongly recommend that you do your own research and then decide what to do. Both myself and Pajarita can supply you with some of our sources of information regarding parrot nutrition.

Sure I'm open to anything you want to add in. I have done quite a bit of research and I saw that it is best to give them fresh fruits and vegetables and sprouted seeds. Problem here is that budgies are very picky, especially since mine was from a pet store where she had only seeds and millet all her life and getting her to accept ANY vegetable or fruit has been impossible. So my plan for now is to giver he pellets and dr harvey's and I am hoping when she becomes more tame and trusts me more she will eat some brocolli or carrots with me lol.

What all fruits and vegetables do you give your budgies? Also how do you make your gloop, if you leave it in the cage all day doesn't it go bad and make them sick? I thought we're supposed to remove fruits/vegetables after 4 hours.

[liz]

Myrtle lived on bird seed only for her first year of life. She was amazing when she came to me and was willing to try anything that Rambo would eat. The she wanted what I was eating. All of this was before I could even touch her. Of course she then went to trying the dog and cat food. Thankfully she did not like it.

I have had Myrtle for 4 years now. She has her place setting at the end of the table. I have to take food from my plate to put in hers so she knows she is getting what I am eating.

My newest is a cockatiel named Gimpy. I started by letting him have his seed but also giving him gloop. Each day the ratio of gloop to seed changed. He is now tasting at least one piece of every colored fruit and veg.

Rambo does not want gloop. I have been hiding 2 almonds in his gloop. At least this way he may aquire a tast for it.

[Pajarita]

Well, the 'pellets is the best food' and the 'you can't leave fresh food in their cage for more than .... (put whatever number you like in there) hours' is VERY common in birdsites but I do believe it's something that people just repeat without actually taking the time to verify the accuracy of the information - because, if they did, they would realize both are incorrect.

Pellets are, most definitely, the easiest thing! Especially since people tell you to just put them there in the bowl and refill it when it's empty -nothing easier than that, right? But, as Wolf stated, parrots did not evolve to eat anything dry. If you read accounts from reputable scientific sources (like ornithologists, field biologists, etc), you see that they eat nothing dry. Even the seeds and grains they eat are not dry because they are taken straight off the plant and not dried up as we get them in the birdstore. They also did not evolve to eat high protein all the time (there aren't any natural sources of abundant high vegetable protein found all the time in nature) and, if you free-feed pellets, that's exactly what you are doing. Harrison's is not bad but it has feed quality ingredients (not human grade), soy (I don't feed any of my animals soy), and man-made vitamins (which their bodies cannot utilize effectively) and zero phytonutrients (too processed) so, all in all, not really very good for them, are they?

Now, budgies are actually quite good eaters once they get into fresh food. They are not high in fruits but they do love their veggies and adore their greens! I feed mine gloop (which has cooked whole grains and finely chopped veggies and which they finish completely every day) and a different leafy green every day. I also give them a small piece of fruit and a raw veggie everyday but they only eat the pomegranate seeds and the corn on the cob but Wolf reported his eating chopped strawberry recently so I am thinking I am going to start chopping their fruit and mixing it with the gloop to see what happens.

[Zentg]

Well, the 'pellets is the best food' and the 'you can't leave fresh food in their cage for more than .... (put whatever number you like in there) hours' is VERY common in birdsites but I do believe it's something that people just repeat without actually taking the time to verify the accuracy of the information - because, if they did, they would realize both are incorrect.

Pellets are, most definitely, the easiest thing! Especially since people tell you to just put them there in the bowl and refill it when it's empty -nothing easier than that, right? But, as Wolf stated, parrots did not evolve to eat anything dry. If you read accounts from reputable scientific sources (like ornithologists, field biologists, etc), you see that they eat nothing dry. Even the seeds and grains they eat are not dry because they are taken straight off the plant and not dried up as we get them in the birdstore. They also did not evolve to eat high protein all the time (there aren't any natural sources of abundant high vegetable protein found all the time in nature) and, if you free-feed pellets, that's exactly what you are doing. Harrison's is not bad but it has feed quality ingredients (not human grade), soy (I don't feed any of my animals soy), and man-made vitamins (which their bodies cannot utilize effectively) and zero phytonutrients (too processed) so, all in all, not really very good for them, are they?

Now, budgies are actually quite good eaters once they get into fresh food. They are not high in fruits but they do love their veggies and adore their greens! I feed mine gloop (which has cooked whole grains and finely chopped veggies and which they finish completely every day) and a different leafy green every day. I also give them a small piece of fruit and a raw veggie everyday but they only eat the pomegranate seeds and the corn on the cob but Wolf reported his eating chopped strawberry recently so I am thinking I am going to start chopping their fruit and mixing it with the gloop to see what happens.

I see, wow I don't even cook like that for myself lol! I'm kitchenally challenged, I get sick trying to make/eat hard boiled eggs and ramen noodles, mostly live off milk/cereal, peanutbutter/bread and microwave dinners (even with microwave dinners i end up burning my mouth ) - yeah i know i wont live long but I'm more likely to kill myself from frustration if i try to cook again. (seriously!) What do you think of dr harveys? do you think dr harvey's is better than harrisons? or are you guys against pellets cus it got too frustrating trying to get the budgies to convert? (lol jk) - my budgie eats healthier than i do, but hoping if we both die in 15 years it should work out lol.

i can tell my budgie is crazy for dr harveys, even when i try using another bag of seed or the harrison pellets for a day and give her harveys the next day she literally nose dives into the food cup!! and i really like how the harveys smells and it looks like trail mix!



https://www.drharveys.com/products/bird ... -parakeets

[Pajarita]

Yes, I am sure she dives for her seed like there is no tomorrow! Grass seed is what makes the bulk of their natural diet so they love it. As to Dr. Harvey's... well, I wouldn't use it for my birds. I am VERY picky and do not like to feed them regular produce that needs to be organic (this blend has quite a number of them, apples, peppers, etc), dehydrated produce (all the fruits and veggies in this blend are dehydrated) or soy (and I don't know why they added it to this mix because it has lots of good seeds and nuts in there and they had to go and mess it up with the soy).

As to cooking gloop for them... it's not hard at all. I do huge batches and cook the grains separately but you can do everything in the microwave if you get Kashi's 7 whole grains pilaf and just add small boxes of frozen veggies to it. There is a recipe called gloop for dummies or something like that in the diet section and it's super easy to follow. Why don't you try it? It would be so much healthier for your birds...

[Zentg]

Yes, I am sure she dives for her seed like there is no tomorrow! Grass seed is what makes the bulk of their natural diet so they love it. As to Dr. Harvey's... well, I wouldn't use it for my birds. I am VERY picky and do not like to feed them regular produce that needs to be organic (this blend has quite a number of them, apples, peppers, etc), dehydrated produce (all the fruits and veggies in this blend are dehydrated) or soy (and I don't know why they added it to this mix because it has lots of good seeds and nuts in there and they had to go and mess it up with the soy).

As to cooking gloop for them... it's not hard at all. I do huge batches and cook the grains separately but you can do everything in the microwave if you get Kashi's 7 whole grains pilaf and just add small boxes of frozen veggies to it. There is a recipe called gloop for dummies or something like that in the diet section and it's super easy to follow. Why don't you try it? It would be so much healthier for your birds...

Cool thanks, I will look it up - so can you take that gloop recipe and use it for all birds? (I am thinking of buying another parrot) - Also will I have to convert my budgie to gloop or will she eat it right away? Any tips to converting budgie to gloop? Also can you cook it in the morning and leave it in the cage all day or do you need to throw it away and cook a fresh batch every 4 hours?