food issues

[hster]

hope you can help folks,
getting annoyed with info as such as everything i read keeps telling me to put my new senegal on pellets and im in the uk and this just aint possible as we cant get them anywhere, is it then better to do the fruit and veg diet and use a damn good specified parrot mix??

hope you can help

[laducockatiel]

There is actually some sites which sell pellets in the uk: http://www.northernparrots.com/complete-food-dept178_pg1/#filterkey=displayoptions&displayoptions=meyers%20and%20senegals&page=1

From all these pellet brands, for your Senegal, I would recommend Harrison's adult lifetime fine. Normally birds love them and they are extremely healthy.

If you aren't going for pellets then yes, you can find a very good quality seed diet and along with that feed some veggies, bird mash etc.

Hope this helps

[marie83]

I get mine from northern parrots too, it does work out quite expensive cuz of the postage fees, so I've started getting 1 larger bag and freezing it until needed. Midland parrots also sell pellets but the delivery charge works out about the same. Scarletts also sell pellets but I've got no idea about prices etc. If there's a local avian vet near you they might stock them, my vet does but it isn't too local unfortunately.

[Andromeda]

hope you can help folks,
getting annoyed with info as such as everything i read keeps telling me to put my new senegal on pellets and im in the uk and this just aint possible as we cant get them anywhere, is it then better to do the fruit and veg diet and use a damn good specified parrot mix??

hope you can help

If you Google "Harrison's U.K." you can find a few sites that are located in the U.K. that sell Harrison's online. No idea about the cost or shipping but you can check it out yourself if you're interested.

I checked "Where to buy" on Harrison's website and the only place they have listed for the U.K. is a vet in Leicestershire called Meadow’s Animal Healthcare but the vet also has a website and sells Harrison's online: Harrison's Bird Foods. Again, not sure about the cost or shipping.

I don't know if that helps but thought I would try.

[cml]

I get mine from northern parrots too, it does work out quite expensive cuz of the postage fees, so I've started getting 1 larger bag and freezing it until needed.

How does that work?

I did a similar thing last time I ordered pellets, instead of 1kg packages, I ordered 2 * 4kg packages. When you freeze, do you freeze per day or say 1kg a bag?

We use Nutribird pellets. From the packaging it says it should be fine, as long as its sealed after each feeding, but I am thinking about freezing, just need some more info on it first =)!

[ynzon]

just my 2 cents but if it's really expensive to buy pellets I say you should offer a mixed variety of beans/grains mix and some veggies, the darker the better ( collard greens, kale, beets, etc). As far as grains go you should have a good mix of garbanzos, black, black-eyed,green, lentil, limas, maybe some peppers. Keep a few days worth stored in ziploc bags in the fridge and you could freeze the rest. I feed my bird pellets with some occasional veggies and fruit to mix things up but if I had the time I would probably do a strictly bean/grain/veg/fruit diet. Others will disagree but pellets cannot truely fulfill our parrots nutritional needs. Even the organic pellets lose some nutritional value after processing and by providing a mixed bgv diet you are providing a abundance of pytochemicals where pellets typically only have 2-3 grains and added vitamins. Not to mention that most added vitamins are not easily processed much less absorbed by our birds.

whatever you do please do not feed your bird a strictly seed diet, it's the worst you can do. Some seed treats here and there are ok but unless you have a huge free flight avairy where they can burn off all those calories then avoid seeds.

[marie83]

I started off buying the small bags but I had saved all the bags so now when I get a big bag I split it down into the smaller bags so they are about half full and freeze like that. I keep one smaller bag in the fridge until that is used up then get the next one out the freezer. TBH cuz the pellets are so small I could probably get it out the freezer on a day by day basis. It does say on the bag once it's opened then you can store it in the fridge for a few weeks but I wouldn't get through that amount in a few weeks. 1 smaller bag lasts about 1 month but costs about £13/14 with the delivery charges. Doing it this way I save the cost of 1 bag of food + only have to pay the delivery charge once instead of several times per year. I've only just started doing it but it seems to be working well so far and freezing it keeps it better than in the fridge.

I'm not sure about the nutribird pellets but they may have preservatives added to them which keeps them good whereas the harrisons doesn't.

Also agree with previous poster, I don't feel an all pellet or an all seed diet is very balenced. Seed just lacks good nutritional values and pellets are heavily processed which strip the food of natural enzymes. Fruit, Veg, sprouted seeds and the odd bit of brown pasta, brown rice and other suitable human things all add to a good base diet. Mine have harrisons as a base with fresh fruits and veg every day, twice a week they have a small amount of seeds, twice a week they have a sprouting mix with 2-3 days growth on it and twice a week they might have a bit of whatever we are having if it is suitable for them.

[cml]

EDIT:
Actually, its not a problem anymore!

I opened a package and inside they are already in 2lbs bags, which are moistproof and last a year unless you open them. Nutribird solved the problem for me !

[hster]

hi there folks and thanks for all the posts, what concerns me is this seems like a very expensive food indeed and really is it the best option?? at the moment every single morning he gets my Senegal that is a bowl of fresh veg, freshly cut the lot and this consists of,
broccoli, peppers, kale, sweet potato, spinach, rosemary, mint watercress, lettuce diff kinds that are allowed, celery, dill, parsley, butternut squash, cucumber, green beans and split peas, and another 3 or two mixed veg at least and he dives in like mad man and most mornings clears his bowl.

The parrot seed mix i used came specifically from a specialist called rob harvey hes on the internet and was advised the mix to buy but its only after dougal the parrot has had all other items he goes near this he always does the veg first and foremost. For some reason hes not so keen on the fruit side of things at this time but i put again a varied mixture in daily anyways.

My thoughts were that i it not better to spend more money on the fresh materials rather than the pellets as i say i have spent and arm and a leg so far as such as he came to me in a bit of a state.

comment would help a great deal folks

[marie83]

Feeding my 2 birds harrisons at £29.99 + the £3.99 delivery charge works out roughly at around £3 per month as I expect the bag to last me 12 months (ish) I freeze it to keep it fresh. They do get seed mix and a sprout mix twice per week and a bit of suitable human food twice per week which is why the pellets last so long. I'm not sure how much 1 senegal would eat compared to 1 green cheek and 1 cockatiel but I dont expect it to be much more than what my two get combined. Personally I really don't think thats expensive at all for an organic food. If I was feeding a macaw I might feel differently about it being expensive though. My figures may be slightly skewed because I havent tried and tested it as yet but I certainly wouldn't expect it to cost more than £5 per month for the harrisons. For a good seed mix it would be cheaper but seed mixes aren't a very healthy diet in my opinion based on the research I have done. I wouldn't say pellets are the healthiest option either (because they are processed) but out of the two I would go with the pellets as I don't have the knowledge in nutritional needs of a parrot to make my own fresh diet and I dare say that would cost a fortune anyway.