Natural Food availablility

[smartDancer]

I have been trying to find a parrot food that does not have pellets in it. I just want seeds (which is more natural). It could maybe have some beans, nuts, and legumes in it too, but that's not too necessary because I can get those things separately. I would supplement the rest of her nutrition with real food like fresh veggies. But back to the seeds- does anyone know of anything? Buying each kind of seed separately and putting them together is also easier said than done (can't find most of the seeds at reasonable cost or availability). <br><br>Post edited by: Talon, at: 2008/07/11 04:05

[lovemyGreys]

Sorry i am in the UK so my suppliers & recommendations will be of no use to you,hopefully our members may have some suggestions for you..If it helps any here is a list of the ingredient's in the seed mix i use...

 

Ingredients: - 27 - Medium Striped Sunflower Seeds, Buckwheat, Paddy Rice, Peanuts, Chillies, Micronised Barley, Yellow Maize, Red Maize, Safflower Seeds, Groats, Walnut Pieces, White Pumpkin Seeds, Sultanas, Diced Pineapple, Coconut Pieces, Micronised Peas, Diced Carrots, Almond Nut Pieces, Hazel Nut Pieces, Clipped Oats, Red Dari, White Dari, Hemp seed, Diced Papaya, Banana Chips, Cedar Nuts, & White Sunflower Seeds.

[smartDancer]

Sorry the title is supposed to say "Natural food"

[Talon]

All fixed! B)

[Laurie]

I'm just curious as to why you wouldn't want the pellets. My browsings through posts on grey diet lead me to believe most grey owners really want their birds to eat the pellets. I understand they are awesome for the bird, if you can get them to eat them.

[lovemyGreys]

Laurie it is a matter of personal choice, a good quality seed mix feed alongside fruit,veggies pulses etc.. offers a good nutritional diet to our greys. Some babies are not weaned onto pellets & will not willingly take to pellets.my 4 greys do not eat pellets but im pretty convinced they are as healthy as any grey on a pelleted diet.

[siobha9]

Its funny, but the latest advice for humans is to eat less processed food, and go back to the natural stuff like vegetables, fruit, seeds and nuts. But for parrots it's to eat less seed and more processed pellets:unsure:

 

My birds eat mostly fruit, veg, seeds and people food too and I think that has to be better for them. And at least I know its fresh and not full of preservatives and chemicals to make it palatable.

[M2MM]

I think the point of more pellets, less seed is that the pellets (good ones like Harrison's) are well balanced and contain vitamins and trace minerals that we would have great difficulty supplying through the use of fresh foods and seeds. Parrots can be very stubborn about eating what's good for them, resulting in "junk food" addicts eating only what they like and not getting balanced nutrition. Pellets should not be fed indiscriminately, but as a basis for a good varied diet.

 

My crowd gets about 75% fresh foods and 25% pellets. They only get seeds as treats, or in sprouted form.<br><br>Post edited by: M2MM, at: 2008/07/13 23:57

[smartDancer]

I'm thinking along the lines of siobha9. I think the natural state of food is the healthiest. Also, this grey we just adopted is about 20 years old and has had fairly poor living conditions. I was really surprised and thrilled when she took a liking to fresh foods. Anyway, there are some pellets in the food she has now and I don't even think she's intereted. She's a bit old to make any major changes.

[Laurie]

Ah, that all makes sense now!

I must admit I've been a little lazy with Klaus. I give him parrot food from the pet store plus a bit of whatever fruits & veggies we have that day. I don't pay much attention to what he's eating out of his bowl - I just dump the left over "old" food out of his dish every day and give him a fresh bowl. Also oatmeal for a treat now & then and baby food.

He seems to be doing well with very little fuss on my part...I'm lucky!

[kittykittykitty]

You could try Parrots Naturally.com. They have New Millenium food as well as the popular pet store foods. Their name states their philosophy: to raise parrots as naturally as possible.