Are Pellets really Healthy

[Iggy's here]

My Quaker was weaned on seed. But because there seems to be a strong consensus that pellets are nutritionally superior to seeds I have been working to change his diet. I have been mashing up the pellets and adding a small amount of seed to the mix. He is slowly eating more of the pellet mix.

However, when I looked at the ingredients in the pellets (Nutriblend Vetafarm) I was surprised that they are made up of soya, wheat and maize plus synthetic vitamins and colors etc. Soy, wheat and maize cause many health problems in humans...I stopped eating all three long ago. They would for the most part not be a natural part of a parrots diet. Also these three grains frequently come from genetically modified crops and some studies with rats and GMO food have shown some worrisome results.

I know that pellets should just be part of the diet and that fresh vegies and fruit should make up a large portion. But I am just unsure about why the pellets with their sketchy ingredients are touted as a healthy staple. Have I just bought a bad brand? Is there a mix with better quality ingredients ?(I am in Australia).

Thanks

[GreenWing]

You're off to a good start, so kudos to you in taking good care of your bird! As to your question, well, an all seed diet is baaaaaaad for a bird... but some is needed for the crop (at least, according to my Avian vet). Some "good" seeds to give includes safflower. Do not give sunflowers to your bird on a daily basis EXCEPT as a treat, as it's incredibly tasty to them and they may not want to eat anything else. Regarding pellets, I believe in feeding them to your parrot as a supplement.

The majority of parrot folks I have talked to, Avian vets included, have all said that fresh food is best. This means giving your parrot mostly fresh and ALWAYS organic vitamin-A foods, such as carrots and baked sweet potatoes. See the links here:

Vitamin A foods for parrots

Other foods for parrots

IF you're going to give some pellets, go with Harrison's. Harrison's has a good reputation.

[Pajarita]

Pellets are a gimmick. Period. As you noted, they are nothing but animal feed grade grains/pulses, dried up, ground, mixed with man-made vitamins and shaped into little thingies. They are bland, boring, way too dry for a digestive system that was created to process food with an average of 90% moisture.

Harrison made his using a chicken feed recipe and told everybody they were nutritionally complete for parrots -that should give you an idea of how irresponsible pellet manufacturers are! I know of birds that have gotten fatty liver disease, high uric acid and eggbound eating Harrison's so, personally, I don't trust them at all.

Now, TOPs don't use soy or man-made vitamins (they used naturally-derived ones) and they use human grade ingredients so, of all the pellets out there, they are the best. But they are still not as good as fresh food (whole grains, veggies, fruits, greens).

[GreenWing]

True, TOPS is great, I forgot about TOPS. I will probably go with TOPS in the future, personally. But yes, pellets are bad to give to your parrot alone -- I don't give my parrot a lot of them, she probably gets a few Harrison pellets daily. As you say, it's really important to give parrots fresh vitamin A foods... especially those that they can forage, like kale.

Soy is something you do want to avoid... especially females (and this includes female humans) as soy contains estrogen. I am predominately vegetarian and I avoid soy like the plague. I am not sure if soy affects female parrots in the same way hormonally (you mention egg bound) but if so, I believe it.

[Iggy's here]

Thanks for all the replies. I am glad to see I am not alone in thinking the pellets might not be ideal. TOPS sounds good, but I am unsure if it is possible to get in Australia. A quick Google search doesn't look very promising.

Personally I would like to keep the pellets to a minimum. But as Iggy is only 12 weeks his taste are still very limited. I give him fresh organic vegies, but except for the corn he ignores them. I am hoping this will change and he will begin accepting organic quinoa, brown rice and fresh vegies and fruit. We eat very healthy food in our family and I would like this to include our newest addition (Iggy).

UPDATE: I just found out that TOPS are not available in Australia. But I also discovered Freedom Organic-- a new product about to hit the Australian Market:
•No artificial colors or flavors
•No added sugar or artificial sweeteners
•No Animal products or by-products
•No Soy, Wheat or Corn
•No GMO Ingredients
•No Preservatives

Freedom Organics Australia's pellets get just short of all their nutritional value from natural sources.
With 33 Real Food Ingredients, we are at the top of the market for naturally sourced parrot diets.

All Ingredients are human grade. 95% of Ingredients are Certified Organic.

http://www.freedomorganicsaustralia.com.au/formula.html

[Pajarita]

WOW! And they give exact nutritional values, something no American pellet does! Now, I still think that fresh is better but I have to admit that these pellets come pretty close! Kudos to the Australians!

[KimberlyAnn]

I agree, good ingredients! But why does it have salt in it? Some of those ingredients already has sodium in it.

[CSLFiero]

Just throwing this it there, you guys can take it however you wish.


But the last time a bird and a human had anything in common in terms of biochemistry was when we were both reptiles. millions of years ago. Since then we've been on entirely different evolutionary pathways.

Food for thought..

[GreenWing]

But the last time a bird and a human had anything in common in terms of biochemistry was when we were both reptiles. millions of years ago. Since then we've been on entirely different evolutionary pathways.

Food for thought..

Lol

Yes... if the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event didn't occur -- caused by a comet/asteroid -- and that in turn caused mass extinction, mammals may have never evolved to the extent they have, and dinosaurs may be the ones ruling the Earth today.

But some of the flighted dinosaurs, they survived -- as all birds, including parrots -- are indeed dinosaurs.

Still, like us, they have their nutritional needs. ^^

[Nokota]

I agree, good ingredients! But why does it have salt in it? Some of those ingredients already has sodium in it.

Most dry dog and cat foods also contain a good chunk of salt.

It helps the food to keep longer, that's all. As long as there isn't very much it shouldn't be too harmful.