by Mona » Mon Feb 01, 2010 12:43 pm
Hi Michael:
I don't know the answer to your question but I do know about Roudybush because Tom Roudybush was a presenter at one of our Northwest Exotc Bird Society meetings.
Roudybush tested their pellets on populations of cockatiels. They fed different pellets to the birds at different stages of their growth. From those tests, they determined levels of protein, etc. that are optimal for the healthy growth of the cockatiels. Roudybush does do scientific studies.
Of course, not all parrots are cockatiels and I think the tests would be difficult for other species if the species are slower to mature and harder to get populations.
I think just like our own diets, the decision will always be personal because it will be dependant on lifestyles, species, personal biases and different goals. When I chose a diet for my birds, I decided to go with pellets (always available), fresh fruits, vegetables and daily sprouts. I decided that sprouts are more nutritious than seeds so it was a better fit for my flock. My flock are all in excellent feather quality and I really don't have health issues so I figure, this works well for us. I also choose to feed so that it fits with my family's current lifestyle and I also like to know that the birds can "play" or "forage" with some of their food because that provides enrichment during the day when they are in their cages. I have a few birds that really like to chew up carrots and broccoli stems. My Senegal, Jack routinely makes a nice "Borscht" mix at the bottom of his cage when I get home. I honestly should find someway to compost it.
There is a lot of current research out questioning the wisdom of nutrient dense food. I'm not sure about it. My bias is not to trust it.....
Just my two cents. I know that others will want to discuss and argue this further....Diet is just one of those topics that constantly evolves. Until we have some way to compare these animals as they age, we just don't have definitive answers. The other issue is that we have a lot of different species in aviculture and different species have different dietary needs.....so, you can't generalize.
We haven't really figured out the best way to optimize human diets.....so, I'm not sure we are even close to figuring it out for our birds.
Thx
Mona in Seattle
Phinneous Fowl (aka Phinney) TAG
Babylon Sengal
Doug (spousal unit)
Jack and Bailey (Gremlins)
Kiri (CAG)
http://www.flyingparrotsinside.comyoutube: Avian Flyers