Best Seed Mixes for Evening Meal

[Chai]

Hello,

I am currently feeding my African Greys and Amazon produce and gloop in the morning and seeds and nuts for dinner. For the seeds, I have been giving crushed Nutriberries, but recently saw in another post that they aren't a good mix to use. I thought I saw that Abba seed mixes were good, but when I went to their website all the mixes I saw have animal products in them, which I don't think is good either. Does anyone have any seed mixes that they really like and know are good for their birds? Thank you!

[Pajarita]

It's not that nutriberries are not good, it's that people feed them thinking they are better than seed and not only free-feed them but also think they are providing enough vitamins and minerals when, in reality, they might as well be feeding plain seed. Basically, they are as good as seed -which is OK- but deceptive in that they are not really better and dangerous because they make people believe they are. But, if you only use them for dinner and realize that you are not providing the bird with enough vitamins/minerals, they are OK. The other problem with Nutriberries is that they are all the same in terms of protein, fat, etc and Grays and Amazons have different needs. Amazons need lower protein than Grays. PLUS nuts are healthier than seeds.

As to the animal products in ABBA seed mixes (which is what I have been using for the last... what? 25 years?), yes, you are 100% correct, they are in the list of ingredients (I use ABBA 1600 and ABBA 1600C) but, if you look closely, you will see that they are the ingredients of what they call 'kibbled biscuits' which are very little in terms of percentage (they are the teeny, tiny yellow crumb thingies in the mix) and, given the place they are on the list of the biscuits ingredients, the percentage they represent in the entire mix is almost non-existent because they are the last ingredient. See this:

"kibbled biscuit made with meals: wheat, corn, oat, rice, barley, soy bean, buckwheat, bean, ground: peas, brazil nuts, cashews, filberts, pecans, walnuts, almonds, shelled pumpkin seed, egg shell, water, shredded coconut, whole eggs, precooked: pork, chicken, fish meat,( USDA inspected and approved) "

PLUS, the birds don't eat them! They all end up eating the nuts and bigger seeds, leaving most of the little ones and the yellow kibble in the bowl - at least, that's what my gray and amazons do -as well as all the other birds, I might add.

[Chai]

Oh ok, that makes sense. I give nuts with the crushed nutriberries and they also get the ABBA vitamin supplement you recommended to me before. I'm sure they would probably leave the kibbled biscuits in the bowl as well. I feel ok with finishing this bag of nutriberries before switching over now.

Thank you once again for your guidance!

[Pajarita]

Then you are good and the only thing I would add is that I would not crush the nutriberries, I would offer them whole. I always try to give them their food in a size large enough that they have to hold it to eat it because that is the way it is in nature. I mean, grass seed is really small but it's eaten by the smaller, partial ground foraging species - the larger ones eat things like nuts or the seeds inside the fruits which, again, they have to hold in their 'hands'. It also takes them longer to eat something they have to 'hold' and anything that keeps them entertained longer is a plus in my book AND they have to keep their balance standing on one foot - another good thing in my book because it strengthens their toes, feet and leg muscles. The harder you can make things for them, the better off they are.

[Piyu2356]

Cashew nut can be a great good energy and protein rich food.It also rich in vitamins and minerals so can be good for birds health.

[Pajarita]

Yes, cashews are good - as a matter of fact, they are the high value of my two senegals. In reality, all nuts are good but they cannot be free-fed.