Pellets!!!

[BriGuy]

Hello, I have a 4 month old cockatiel , and a 3 year old Greencheek . Currently, they are eating the seed mix that the place i got them from gave me. I want to switch them to pellets, but I dont know what one. I really like zupreem but is the fruitblend even good for them?

[Wolf]

The fruit blend is full of sugar and other chemicals and is not good for them in my opinion. I must also tell you that I am not a fan of pellets regardless of the brand or type, but if you really must feed pellets then you might want to try TOPS as they are totally organic.

[BriGuy]

What do you feed your birds then?

[Wolf]

I feed all of my birds cooked whole grains, Cooked beans, lentils, wild and brown rice, and mixed vegetables for breakfast and some additional fresh raw veggies and fruit for all day munching and then they get a high quality seed mix for dinner which I remove from their cage after they go to sleep.

[Pajarita]

Same here and this is after about 15 years of research on parrots' diets. I feed gloop (cooked whole grains, pulses, veggies with some flax seeds mixed in), one raw veggie (sometimes, as in the case of squashes and pumpkins, it's cooked), one raw fruit, one leafy green or a cruciform for breakfast and a measured amount (enough to fill their crop) of a good quality low protein seed mix for dinner.

[DanaandPod]

Sigh... Well, I thought I was doing good... Infact, I will prob keep doing what i am.... My jardin'es is very picky. After this whole year with him.... I noticed he will only take a few bites of cooked carrot. He likes peas, some beans, rice, a noodle here and there... and fruit like apples, mangos, grapes, bananas.... He eats sunfllower seeds as treats for tricks, almonds in the shell, and i give him peanuts from a jar unsalted when i put him in the cage before i leave... For main food, he gets Dr. D's which I order from Florida. It has no preservatives. When i looked online while back it as well as Zupreem was listed as top good pellets for parrots. Now, of course, I am reading it is not good... but he loves it and I am not going to take it away.... The zupreem I use as a treat in his foraging containber however, he eats it daily.... I mean... I dunno... is there any real perfect parrot owner???? I am starting to feel the way I did when I was vegan... every turn I made even tho I was doing better than most at moral eating... there was someone to tell me that I could be doing a hell of a lot better... organic... don't buy palm oil so the rain forest isnt cut down... After a while... it becomes overwhelming... Sorry to complain but... I thought I was a good parrot mom. Better than most... But now I am sooooo worried about my bird when i am not home....and he is alone. That i am now searching for a companion bird. I hope this is not a big mistake. sigh...

[Wolf]

You are doing as best as you can and this is something that everyone of us who want the best for our birds must come to terms with. All birds do better with another bird to talk to even if it is not one that they get along with well enough to be out together with. There have been no definitive studies done on parrot nutrition, so we are all still learning about it. There is truly not a single one of us that knows enough about these birds to actually provide for them in the right way, we do research and study and share and question and research and try to improve on how we take care of the birds in our care. We know that you may not be in a situation where you can take on another bird and won't ostracize you if you don't get another bird as it would not turn out well for you to get a bird that you are not prepared to take care of or that you don't want.
I have four birds and not one of them has a mate, they do have each other for the times that I can't be with them. The parrotlet will hopefully be getting a mate this year, this was part of the agreement when I took this one in and the others are too big to leave her out with very much so is the one with the greatest need. Also I don't have the room for mates for all of them.

[DanaandPod]

I have done the best that anyone can and more for someone who ignorantly took this little buddy on... I feel decent about his food intake because i saw with my own eyes how healthy looking he and his beak became after removing him from the seed diet he came from and onto one of the top listed pellet foods for parrots. I give him physical and mental stimulation everyday... I really do love him... but am deeply considering and have begun looking for another parrot. I don't see or hear about other Jardine's in this area unfortunately... but possibly a meyers or something... He is so outgoing around everyone that i can only imagine he would love another bird and it would only help the situation tho not ideal. I do live in a small apartment however... and sometimes feel bad about that too... He is always full of energy and moving about seeking and looking... maybe its just the foraging instinct? but, I know deep down he is supposed to be in the wild and it all doesnt feel right... I wonder deeply now if not having a mate is cruel when in the wild they would and deserve to....... Do they know this? Do they feel this???
Well despite others and their homemade food for parrot advise... I recommend Dr. D's to anyone who is going the pellet way... It is all natural and cheap...and they who make and sell it seem to really care about the health of parrots.

[Pajarita]

Well, I don't believe any pellet is the best option in terms of parrots diets BUT, if you are going to go the pellet way, I recommend Tops because they although there are other pellets that are organic, in Tops, all the ingredients are human grade, they contain no soy, and the vitamins are all natural (food derived and not lab made). But, in truth, gloop is not hard to make and it's SOOOO much better for them (and they all love it!). I make a big batch of the cooked grains and pulses, split it in two, freeze one half and prepare the other half into what I call the 'basic recipe' which gets split into baggies that hold one single daily portion and, each afternoon, I take one baggie out of the freezer and leave it out for thawing - in the morning, it's ready for the daily flavorings. I eat regular supermarket crap but I am a maniac when it comes to my animals diets (dogs and cats, too - but they are easier because the better quality commercial foods are really pretty good).

[DanaandPod]

Maybe I will look up Tops. I do not know how I will ween Pod from the Zupreem though.... Now, he doesn't want anything but it lately and will not eat regular pellets. And, seems like all he ever is interested in now as far as real food is blueberries and peas... Is it normal for a parrot to one day want something then the next few they are not interested?