Seed versus pellets

[birdinthehand]

Cany anyone tell me if there is much benefit in a pellet diet over seed diet, does anyone feed pelletted food

[Ira]

I do.

Pellets tend to be lower in calories and are higher in nutrient content than seeds.
Seeds are great in the wild because they're high calorie, low nutrition - the budgies burn off the calories looking for their next feeding spot (flying around 3 kilometres between stops) and by the end of the day have eaten enough that they've met their nutritional needs.

The problem is that they're formulated for 'all birds', which is crazy because bird species are very different. This means they're usually too high in each nutrient for budgies, so you have to feed plenty of vegetables alongside so the water content balances it out.
The other problem depends on where you live. For those of us in the UK, all of the formulated foods are imported, so we frequently have supply issues.

[Hezz]

I certainly would not replace seeds with pellets as was the thinking a few years ago. Pellets are like any food source, you have to find one that your birds will eat, they aren’t cheap but they can fill the nutritional gaps in a pet bird’s diet. If you are happy to feed pellets and can get the budgies converted they will still need and love their seed. I use pellets as a foraging medium mainly and the budgies do eat a certain amount of them, not heaps. Make sure they have plenty of fresh veg, sprouted seeds are wonderful, and if you are able to, fresh grass seed heads are their normal natural food rather than commercially grown grains.

[Azalea]

This is a topic of heated debate among bird owners. I've seen some nasty discussions on other Internet forums!

I live in the USA (several users of this forum are in the UK), where many owners believe that a bird will never be in good health without pellets. And some pet store employees, who only have a bit of "casual" knowledge about birds, tell new owners that pellets "are all the bird needs to eat".

My official answer is: I think pellets are useful for adding extra nutrition, but your birds can absolutely be healthy and happy without them. We feed better-quality seed, plenty of vegetables, and some nuts and fruit. We also add crumbled Nutriberries and Avi-Cakes to the seed quite often. Both of those contain pellets: 20-50%, depending on the specific variety.

We know a husband and wife (here in the USA) who have been keeping birds for more than 25 years. They never feed pellets. I've read similar comments on other forums. Hopefully, the "Feed the birds pellets or else you're abusive!!!" attitude is becoming less prevalent.

Here is a recent video on the "Love of Pets" YouTube channel:

[Hezz]

There is another avian nutritionist- Dr Jason Crean - who also advocates for fresh food diets for birds. The only pellets he recommends is Tops as they are cold-pressed.

To clarify, most members on this forum are UK-based. Interestingly, most USA members who hang around are those who aren’t blinded by the pellets-is-best mantra.

[Ira]

I wonder if because pellets have been more readily available in the US for longer that a lot of people are now coming out the other side of that trend.

I need to get a sprouting jar or something because I never have much luck trying to sprout seeds myself. I was doing reasonably alright with them and then I had a batch that had a bit of white milkiness around them and after that I was reluctant to try.

The only thing I can say is that thus far Roudybush is the only thing that's vaguely gotten my lot's hormones under control.
And I can only say vaguely because a bit of grain in a chop mix is enough to set Gwen off, and she's not cavity seeking but I wonder if that's because she's less familiar with the house.
But a week of having a small amount of seed did see me waking up at 5:30 in the morning to Indie shouting repeatedly, and that's stopped again after being back on the Roudybush.
Then again, nothing stops Yuki singing away flirtatiously. At which point I wonder if it's even worth bothering to try to keep their hormonal levels down.

[Loz]

All my birbs are offered a 40-60 mix of seeds (40) and pellets (60), plus fresh veg & fruit, daily. My only reason for offering pellets is because of the dangerous weight gains I was seeing before the introduction of pellets.
The amount of seeds provided is what I consider to be starvation rations, on their own. Most of my birbs clearly relish veggies, if not all of them and I know there are a few who willingly eat pellets. Perhaps they all do? I can't tell. I know that more seeds than pellets are eaten, overall.
With perhaps three or four exceptions, I am happy with the weights of the budgies in my flock.

[Azalea]

Mar 20, 2024 0:34:34 GMT Hezz said:

There is another avian nutritionist- Dr Jason Crean - who also advocates for fresh food diets for birds. The only pellets he recommends is Tops as they are cold-pressed.

To clarify, most members on this forum are UK-based. Interestingly, most USA members who hang around are those who aren’t blinded by the pellets-is-best mantra.

Yes, this forum is one of the places where I, being a USA member, am not scolded for refusing to accept the pellet diet without question!

I recently posted a similar question in a local Facebook bird owners group: "Does anyone here not feed pellets?"  

I quickly got the answer I was expecting: "You simply can't keep the birds healthy enough without pellets, talk to your avian vet, don't listen to people on the Internet!"

To be brutally honest, I don't always believe anything that a veterinarian says, simply because they are a vet. One told my parents that all dog foods are the same. If you think the dog is overweight, he said, just reduce the amount of food by about one-third. Even if you don't have experience with dogs, you can probably imagine that all dog foods are not the same, just as all bird foods are not.

[Ira]

Well put.

The main trick is getting birds to know that other foods are foods, and then you can get in the variety to cover as many bases, provide enrichment, etc.

My lot and I have just had several hours of disagreement over my lastest chop mix offerings, and after ignoring their protests they've finally caved and decided to eat it.

[Marianne Marlow]

I believe that there are many ways that a bird can be healthy, you just have to find the one that suits you and your birds.

Being abusive to people just because they are not of the same opinion is pointless and makes those people look like small minded idiots.

I go with seed, veggies and a vitamin and mineral regime. Others go for pellets and veggie, some go for seeds, sprouted seeds and veggies. Some have avicakes, nutriberries, seeding grass, bird bread or stuff I have not even heard of!

There are so many ways.

[Azalea]

Mar 20, 2024 22:39:13 GMT Marianne Marlow said:

I believe that there are many ways that a bird can be healthy, you just have to find the one that suits you and your birds.

Being abusive to people just because they are not of the same opinion is pointless and makes those people look like small minded idiots.

I go with seed, veggies and a vitamin and mineral regime. Others go for pellets and veggie, some go for seeds, sprouted seeds and veggies. Some have avicakes, nutriberries, seeding grass, bird bread or stuff I have not even heard of!

There are so many ways.

I agree.

If our Budgies don't all live to age 15, but we feed them a reasonable diet (seeds, enough veggies, maybe pellets) and they are happy for several years*, then I will be happy.

* If I am correct, their life spans became shorter due to people breeding them too young and too often. I hear this is happening with some Conures now...they "could" live to be 25+, but more are dying before age 15 or so.

[Hezz]

I do know many vets did push the pellets-is-king diet for birds, and you were cruel if you didn’t, in US, there for some time, and many people just went along with it. Like Azalea, I don’t believe just anything that I’m told by any vet, avian expert or not, and I can well imagine the vitriol that may have come her way for daring to ask the question. Pellets may have a place as a food source, but certainly not as an only food source. I’m fortunate enough to be able to provide mine with seeding grasses as the main part of their diet, but not everyone has this option.