Lovebird Diet

[April0684]

What is a good diet for a lovebird? I have been feeding her a seed mix but after doing some reading on here it seems that really isn't the best option. I live in a small town, we have a PetSense here but I checked today and they only carry a small selection of bird food. The only two brands I saw were Kaytee and Zupreem, is either of those two choices a good option?

[Wolf]

I also live outside of a small town in NC near Boone so I know what you mean about limited local supply of foods. I really don't care for either of these tow brands as both have been known to use what I consider to be inferior ingredients as well as a lot of artificial additives that I don't want to give my birds. But as I keep studying, I am less inclined to go by brands as I take the time to read the ingredients of every food item that I buy for my birds. Due to the fact that I don't have a very good selection of bird foods or product locally, I do most of my shopping for my birds online. I don't have lovebirds, but I do have parrotlets and budgies and when I am looking for a seed mix for them, I look for a seed mix that only contains seeds without an abundance of sunflower seeds and that also does not contain any soy or other additives, just seeds. I do use a broad spectrum avian vitamin/ mineral supplement once a week to insure proper balance of nutrition. I also feed my parrotlets the same gloop that I feed all of my other birds and a variety of fresh produce every morning. My last seed mix that I purchased for my parrotlets is Volkman parrotlet seed mix, but although it is better than many of the other seed mixes, I am not as happy with it as I want to be, so the search for the right seed mix continues. I am very picky when it comes to my birds diets.

[Pajarita]

Are you referring to seed mixes or pellets? In any case, I would not feed them pellets. I fed my lovebirds gloop and produce for breakfast and gave them a cockatiel seed mix for dinner.

[April0684]

Thanks for that information Wolf! I will start trying to pay better attention to the ingredients in her food.

I was referring to pellets but what is gloop? She has always been on a Cockatiel seed mix so I doubt I could switch her to pellets anyways. She is around 15 years old.

[Wolf]

That is a very long time for a bird to be on a mostly or all seed diet as such a diet can result in liver disease, which the only way to know for sure about at least accurately is a bile acids test. For that reason alone, I really hope that seeds are not all that you have been feeding her. If she is 15 years old then you got her back when an all seed diet was pretty commonplace, but there has been a lot of progress since then. Although a good seed mix is still or should still be a part of your birds diet it should also be eating fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Whole grains are like seed but are much lower in fat and provide better nutrition for our birds than seeds.

Pellets were developed with the idea of replacing seeds in a birds diet, but due to the main ingredients being seeds the earlier pellets had the benefit that the bird could not just pick out and eat its favorite seeds, so it did provide better nutrition, but it still had many of the same drawbacks as an all seed diet, that being fatty liver disease, heart disease, and kidney disease.

Although some vet's offices recommend feeding pellets, they do so to help to establish a certain level of nutrition in the birds they see. today pellets or seeds are only recommended to make up about 30% of any parrots diet, despite the feed manufactures claims of providing complete nutrition for our birds.

Gloop is a home cooked food for our birds that is made up of partly cooked whole grains, mixed vegetables and fully cooked white beans and lentils. My basic recipe contains about 40% whole grains, 40% mixed vegetables and 20% white beans and lentils. I also feed fresh raw fruits, vegetables and a leafy green each morning just before I give them their gloop and then I give them their seed mix along with a tree nut or two depending on the species of parrot that I am feeding. I have 5 different species of parrots, ranging from parrotlets up to an amazon.

I must admit that after 15 years, that changing her diet will most likely be a project all in itself, but it is not an impossible task. All of my birds came to me as adults and I am still working on teaching them to eat a better diet. For me and many of us it is just one of those ongoing projects that one does, no different than giving them fresh clean water or cleaning their cages.mostly I spend time with trying to get them to eat a larger variety of fresh raw fruits and vegetables. Swithing them from an all seed diet takes some time but it is not all that hard to do, it is getting them to eat a larger variety of raw produce that takes the most time and for that reason I do that first thing in the mornings before I give them their ration of gloop for breakfast. I also share pieces of fresh fruits or vegetables when I have them out for interaction with me.

I would suggest that you look at the list in this link viewtopic.php?f=8&t=12521 The list begins on the second page of the posting and it contains a lot of useful information about what foods are safe to feed your bird as well as foods to avoid, but this list goes far beyond just foods as you will see. We will be very happy to assist you in any way that we can with your birds diet as well as how to switch their diet toward a more healthy one.

[Pajarita]

I don't know, it might be not that hard to switch her. I have found that, sometimes, birds that have been eating a dry seed mix all their lives are real eager for fresh (and wet) food. But, in any case, unless she has been getting vitamins on the side, she is, most likely, lacking in a lot of nutrients like vit A, calcium, etc. I will be very surprised if she doesn't have fatty liver after such a long time with seeds only so, if nothing else, I would take her to the vet for a bile acids test...

[April0684]

Thank you both! I checked out that food list and even printed it out. Food wise, what would be my best option, to start offering her fresh fruits and veggies from off the safe food list? I'd have to call around for a vet, we have three in my town but I think they all only see cats and dogs.

[Wolf]

I have to drive better than 100 miles one way to find a vet that does birds.

[Pajarita]

All my lovebirds loved gloop (I had more than 40 altogether). They are partial ground foragers and classified as granivores so if you start off with a simple, all whole grains gloop and put it on the bottom of the cage on a white paper plate (mix in a teeny tiny amount of seeds into it), she will eat it -maybe not the first day or the second but she will. And, once she does (you will start finding empty white 'skins') you can gradually start adding veggies (they ADORE corn!).

[April0684]

Thanks for that information! What is your recipe for the gloop? I'd love to give it a try!