Drab Appearance

[CheekyandMalolo]

Is there anything I can feed to improve the overall appearance of Timmy and Prince?? They look like they're mid way thru a mould, but they've been sporting this look for 3-4 months now. They're just s scruffy and dull looking.
They're currently on a seed mix, with plenty of fruit, veg, wholemeal rice, flowers etc. I know the seed mix isn't ideal but I'm working on dad to change to pellets, it'd help if they weren't so expensive compared to $10 for 25kgs!
What do you guys think of vitamins in their water? They get used every few days, and I can't say that the water doesn't get drunk on the days it's given, Timmy quite happily bathed in it today
Mali has just come home from OH's, where she was on a seed/pellet(vetafarm maintenence) mix, as is looking pretty good, albeit a little bit porky.

If they were horses I'd just add oil or sunflower seeds to their diet!

[zazanomore]

I've only recently put my birds on a pellet and seed diet. They used to only eat a seed mix (supplemented with fresh food).

The seed mix I gave them was Hagen premium seed mix.

I give the budgies: http://www.hagen.com/canada/english/bir ... 3400010101

And I give Einstein: http://www.hagen.com/canada/english/bir ... 4000010101

My birds all have the brightest, healthiest feathers.

You could also try spraying them with bird safe Aloe Vera spray, as it is really great for their skin.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

Regular baths might help if they aren't getting them daily-ish. The main argument against vitamins, as far as I know, is that on the one hand it does nothing if there is no deficiency and on the other it causes the water to go "off" much faster.

[mrstweet]

I wouldn't put vitamins in the water. Chances are you could cause some kind of infection if it isn't perfectly fresh, and you can't guarantee it will help. I scrape the mineral blocks onto whatever they are eating and then they get some and it doesn't go bad. As far as their appearance, molts can be really crappy, but it might be taking longer because of the seed diet. IDK. It sounds like your supplementing with lots of good foods! Have you tried buying food online? I buy my roudybush on foryourbird.com for $1-2 per lb. in bulk.

Spritzing daily is your best bet.

[CheekyandMalolo]

No need to spritz as Both the boys bathe themselves daily(in the water bowl the little pests).
Dad has said we can convert them to pellets and give it a try, so I'll pick up some Vatefarm Maintenance pellets over the weekend.

[captwest]

If you get them on a pellet diet than no added vitamins should be needed, and will only cause issues later in life, unless a vet thinks that something is needed.Spraying or misting your birds is better than the water dish and will cause them to preen more of their feathers than just the breast feather that bathing in the dish results in. Sunshine will also help as the dander from their skin is spread on their feathers to aid in vit D absorption after reacting with sunshine and then being ingested by feather preening.Also birds that lead happy /fulfilling lives will look much better than neglected birds with no toys or human interaction. Of course young out going birds that are very playful will look rattier than an older more subdued bird. just my 2 cents worth.

[Grey_Moon]

Correct me if I'm wrong but they're both small australian groundfeeders right? Like a cockatiel?

Then missing fat maaay be the issue. Seeds are 'fatty' and pellets often really aren't at all. So maybe adding some palm oil would help?

I have a tiel and a grey and they're both higher-fat ground-feeding species and if I want them to look absolutely flawless a little Harrison's High-potency, some palm oil daily and aloe vera baths do the trick nicely

[CheekyandMalolo]

They are all Australian birds, the Tiels and Princess Parrot are ground feeders, but Red-Wings are canopy dwellers. The Princess is around the same size at the Tiels, but has a much longer tail, its a bit longer than the length of his body, and the Red-Wing is a bit smaller than a female King Parrot.