Pelleted food?

[toffee]

Does anyone feed their budgie(s) Harrison`s Adult Lifetime Super Fine? www.northernparrots.com/harrisons-adult-lifetime-super-fine-1lb-organic-bird-food-prod58115/ 

I've read that it's good and also I know that my vet prescribes the recovery version to a parrot that visits the practice. I'm currently feeding Trill and a small amount of veg.

With my rabbits and guinea pigs I always prefer to feed a pelleted food rather than a mix because it means they definitely get the right quantity of everything. Is this the same for budgies? If I was to feed this to Daley I would also offer some seed because he enjoys eating it.


What's your opinion of pelleted food?

[toffee]

Just read some other threads re this - there seems to be a lot of opposition.

I dunno, I think Daley would eat them because he picks at the guinea pig pellets. Seeds are more natural I know. But I wonder if budgies would live into their teens in the wild? I guess it's the same as rabbits, they live much longer in captivity because there aren't any predators and the environment is controlled. (Rabbits live approx 2 years in the wild, my oldest pet rabbit was 11 and I have three at the moment over 7 years old).

I don't want to feed any artificial chemicals though and I don't know how "natural" these pellets actually are.

I guess it's personal choice in the end, but I'd still appreciate some opinions. Thanks.

[stace]

As you've probably read, pellets for budgies is a bit controversial. If you can get Daley to eat them, I think it's okay to feed them as a supplement to a good seed and veggie diet. I would never replace seed with pellets though.

[Hezz]

Pellets are very popular in the States. Whether this is from vets pushing them because they genuinely believe them to be the best, or whether (cynic that I am) they get huge commissions from selling pelleted foods, I don't know. For myself, I can't see why pellets are necessary, but as you say, it's a personal choice in the end.

[birdguhl]

As the forum's only (i think) regular pellet feeder I have a few thoughts but I have hurt my neck and am having difficulty sitting and typing. Back later when brufen kicks in!

[sweetpea]

My lot eat Harrisons super fine pellets but only as a treat. I have the pellets in a couple of dishes outside the cage & all of them will choose to eat some at some point when they are out. In fact, for a while that was the first thing Bezukhov would go for when I let them out.

[birdguhl]

Toffee, have you seen the video on www.hbf-uk.co.uk/ and other info on www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/ ?

I started with Harrisons when my 8 month old budgie was diagnosed with fatty liver disease due to a mainly seed diet. He very nearly died.

Now I give them a small amount of germinated seeds everyday, but there are mainly eating Harrisons superfine.

My take on this is that whilst a seed diet is 'natural', so is a budgie flying many miles a day to find seed and also keeping warm in low temps at night. The two elements of diet and lifestyle have to be balanced.

As well as a the fat issue, there is the unspecified chemicals which are part of the production process for seed. If the info is trustworthy, Harrisons is 'certified organic' and is complete and balanced.

You (and others) may think of me as a evangelist for this, but I paid the best part of £1000 getting Woody through his illness, and I can't afford that for any of the others.

Berry who has Beak and Feather Disease is also looking better these days and I wonder if that is due to the enhanced diet.

Oh, I and don't miss husks flying about everywhere!

[toffee]

Thanks for that birdguhl. I have seen the video which is why I'd considered putting him on pellets. I also have a massive outstanding vet bill due to having a very unlucky year last year and losing 4 rabbits and 3 guinea pigs to pneumonia and heart disease so anything I can do to prevent Daley from needing the vet I'll do.

My vet is not specifically an avian vet but I trust him implicitly because of the way he's dealt with my other pets for the past 9 years. I also know that caring for animals is his priority and not money-making as he's let me build up such a big bill without demanding payment and he always tries to keep costs down for me (unless the insurance is paying in which case I tell him to charge as much as he likes).

He was treating a parrot who spent two weeks living in the vet's hospital, most of which he spent free flying - he used to perch on top of the door and the vet encouraged this saying that he needed to be happy and stimulated if he was to recover well. The parrot apparently liked talking to the vet nurses. If my vet prescribed Harrisons for that parrot, I reason that he must think they're beneficial.

[Hezz]

Seeding grasses are actually a budgie's natural diet, so you simply have to do the best that you can with what you have available to you. I feel the larger variety of everything that you can get your bird to eat is more important than any restrictive diet. Plus plenty of exercise! Someone a while back put up a tread called something like "do you still think pellets are good?" which went into the pros and cons of how pellets are manufactured, and caused some comments to arise.

Why don't you ask the vet?

[skysmum]

Jul 5, 2013 9:42:51 GMT birdguhl said:

Toffee, have you seen the video on www.hbf-uk.co.uk/ and other info on www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/ ?

I started with Harrisons when my 8 month old budgie was diagnosed with fatty liver disease due to a mainly seed diet. He very nearly died.

Now I give them a small amount of germinated seeds everyday, but there are mainly eating Harrisons superfine.

My take on this is that whilst a seed diet is 'natural', so is a budgie flying many miles a day to find seed and also keeping warm in low temps at night. The two elements of diet and lifestyle have to be balanced.

As well as a the fat issue, there is the unspecified chemicals which are part of the production process for seed. If the info is trustworthy, Harrisons is 'certified organic' and is complete and balanced.

You (and others) may think of me as a evangelist for this, but I paid the best part of £1000 getting Woody through his illness, and I can't afford that for any of the others.

Berry who has Beak and Feather Disease is also looking better these days and I wonder if that is due to the enhanced diet.

Oh, I and don't miss husks flying about everywhere!

Ive been doing as much reading as possible about Pellets and came across this thread. £1000 Birdguhl , WOW, that is indeed dedication and i am soooo pleased he has come through well for you .