cucumber seed? pumpkin seed?

[jenb416]

I was looking at the differences between Volkman Avian Science Super Hookbill seed mix and the Vita Prima Hookbill Formula and I noticed the volkmans has cucumber seed, pumpkin seed and cracked corn, is all of this ok? I thought they couldn't have seeds from fruits or vegetables? Which of these is the better seed mix? Or is there another seed mix that's better? I've listed the ingredients for both below.

 

Volkman: Ingredients: Safflower Seed, Whole Wheat, Oat Groats, Buckwheat, White Proso Millet, Small Yellow Corn, Banana Chips, Peanuts, Red Proso Millet, Kibbled Corn, Small Crack Corn, Carrot Dices, Cantaloupe or cucumber Seed, White Pumpkin Seed, Vitamized Oat Groats, Dehydrated Green Peas, Pineapple Dices, Papaya Dices, Peppers, Pinenuts, and Orange Oil.

 

Vita Prima: Ingredients: Wheat, Safflower Seed, Peanuts, Buckwheat, Oat Groats, White Millet, Flaked Corn, Red Millet, Ground Corn, Pumpkin Seed, Corn Gluten Meal, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Ground Wheat, Calcium Carbonate, Wheat Middlings, Dried Egg Product, Dehydrated Sweet Potato, Ground Oat Groats, Dehydrated Pineapple, Dicalcium Phosphate, Dehydrated Papaya, Dehydrated Banana, Dehydrated Coconut, Orange Extract, Raisins, Vegetable Oil, Salt, L-Lysine, Dehydrated Carrot, Dehydrated Apple, Potassium Chloride, Spirulina, Choline Chloride, DL-Methionine, Vitamin A Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Magnesium Oxide, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Folic Acid, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K Activity), Thiamine Supplement, Biotin, Manganese Sulfate, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Copper Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Manganous Oxide, Torula Dried Yeast, Cobalt Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Yucca schidigera Extract, Ascorbic Acid, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Bifidobacterium bifidum Fermentation Product, and Dried Aspergillus oryzae Fermentation Product. Color added.

[SRSeedBurners]

The Volkman ingredients look cleaner to me. Vita Prim 'color added' <boo - hisss>.

 

Cucumber, pumpkin and corn are ok. The seeds you need to steer clear of are pit type seeds. Apricot, cherry, apple etc...

[BaileysPapa]

I have often fed my birds seeds from cucumbers, squash, peppers, tomatoes, melons, apples, pears, and so many other fruits & vegetables. People worry about apple seeds because they make cyanide from them. You, or your bird, would have to eat many pounds of apple seeds at one sitting to have any effects. Me & my birds have eaten slices of apple (seeds & all) without problems. In the jungle/forest birds eat fruits & vegetables, seeds and all. Of course, if you question any food, for any reason, do not feed it to your birds, or yourself!

[Muse]

I have often fed my birds seeds from cucumbers, squash, peppers, tomatoes, melons, apples, pears, and so many other fruits & vegetables. People worry about apple seeds because they make cyanide from them. You, or your bird, would have to eat many pounds of apple seeds at one sitting to have any effects. Me & my birds have eaten slices of apple (seeds & all) without problems. In the jungle/forest birds eat fruits & vegetables, seeds and all. Of course, if you question any food, for any reason, do not feed it to your birds, or yourself!

 

As a child, I used to eat whole apples, core, seeds and all. The lack of effect may be due to seeds passing intact. I don't know how much cyanide is in each apple seed, but I do core the apples for the birds just to be overly cautious.

[Muse]

The Volkman ingredients look cleaner to me. Vita Prim 'color added' <boo - hisss>.

 

Cucumber, pumpkin and corn are ok. The seeds you need to steer clear of are pit type seeds. Apricot, cherry, apple etc...

 

I also avoid 'color added' including 'human-grade' food colorings. Why put something in that isn't needed?