Nutrition & Diet

[Giannine]

I hope I won't be ripped to shreds for asking this but as a die-hard skeptic, I feel compelled...

 

Do we know that it is better to feed greys a mix of fresh veggies and grains versus pellets? Why do I ask? I wonder if we can do a better job of meeting our birds' requirements than the scientists at the pellet manufacturer. How often is our best effort to do the right thing, in fact, the wrong thing?

 

A lot of lists talk about each veggie/grain/nut and how they contribute to the grey's health. But is a result of research on GREY'S? Or is this information from the effects on humans?

 

Do we have any way of quantitatively evaluating the impact of any of the recommended diets? (As an engineer, I look for statistically significant data, not anecdotal evidence. As compelling as an individual's story can be, it doesn't necessarily tell the whole story...)

 

It is interesting that you raised this question and admittedly, I did not read any of the replies before hitting "reply" myself so I'm not sure if anyone else mentioned this but Jean Pattison wrote an article about her entire flock (hundreds) having to go an entire year feeding 60% pellets, 40% seed due to spending that time with her terminally ill mother. Her husband took over the care of the birds and she worried greatly about the health of her birds not being fed vegetables.

 

To her and her vets surprise, the birds thrived better than they ever had eating vegetables. They did better! One species was always vitamin A deficient eating vegetables and their regular diet but when they stopped eating vegetables and went on that pellet and seed diet, they were no longer vitamin A deficient. A friend of hers had to do the same thing due to a surgery he had and he told her, "Jean, you were right. I never believed they could do better without veggies, but now I know first hand."

 

 

http://www.africanqueenaviaries.com/noveggies.htm

[SRSeedBurners]

I would definitely like to know what pellet. Most are corn based which is cheap filler added as primary ingredient to most pet foods to pad the manufacturers bottom line. Then you get to the 'good' pellets like Harrison's (I feed the high potency as their lifetime is corn based) and my birds gain too much weight and won't eat anything else (veggies fruits etc...). TOPs makes a high quality non-corn based pellet but I've never tried.

[birdhouse]

I guess I'd start w/how I have a kind of hard time thinking that the handful of pellets commercially available are actually as "one size fits all" as "they" would have us believe. There are how many hundred species (not just different breeds) of birds currently being kept in captivity after all? And they all have their own environmental, age & health quirks just for starters.

 

Eclectus as a for instance, have a rather persistent reputation for potential intolerance to artificial vitamins & colors. Yet every other brand except TOP Totally Organics have added vitamins. Also, the vast majority have added colors. Even the supposed breed specific brands. Am I the only one who thinks that seems wrong somehow?

 

Do I think I know more than a good professional dietician? No I do not. I really don't. But "they" would have me believe I should be feeding the same diet to a potentially geriatric wild caught Grey, a 10 yo cyclically egg laying Eclectus & a stunning & supremely healthy 15 yo Quaker Parrot. It does not compute.

 

So I'm just trying to create the best possible quality of life for a very specific handful of birds who I know as intimately as possible (& just happen to love to pieces "). What they eat is customized for age, weight, condition, activity, time of year, etc. The quality control is extreme, because I'm not in it for the money.

 

Where the commercial brands have in the last decade had at least a dozen mass recalls w/lethal consequences. That's only the bad bad behavior that's come to light. Got to think there's plenty that slides under the radar. And of course, there's the whole issue of organic, GMO & self sustainable which I can only control if I feed the flock w/my own hand picked ingredients.

 

Periodically, someone will ask for a survey of who has the oldest fids. It is very rare to see more than a couple of birds in their 30's, an occasional 40-60 something. This is partly because many people don't really have a stinking clue what "forever home" actually means. But also I think, because bird keeping is just about coming out of the Dark Ages now.

 

Somehow people didn't realize that a parrot couldn't live on peanuts & sunflower seeds forever. But now I almost have hope that one day, pellets will eventually be ...a quinoa based mix, maybe? idk But something more nutritionally enlighten than predominantly corn w/lots of peanuts & sunflower seeds. Unfortunately I think that's still a ways off yet.

 

Until then, I'll continue to have a periodic rant like this one & do my best to encourage people to learn about nutrition. Not just for their fids, but for their own quality of life, as well. I've always believed that our eating habits have improved right along w/the fids' because there's no separating what we learn as we go.

 

For the record however, I'm not a full-on purist. I do feed TOP pellets often enough to keep my fids interested in them. If for some reason there's no access to fresh food (natural disasters & really lazy days), they won't balk at eating them. I'm particularly fond of leaving pellets vs perishables in the dish on extremely hot days. And they're really much too convenient when traveling.

 

But truth be told, I think of them as a necessary evil. If one fine day I can find a way to replace them w/homemade, I will be a happy parront.

[SRSeedBurners]

Until then, I'll continue to have a periodic rant like this one & do my best to encourage people to learn about nutrition. Not just for their fids, but for their own quality of life, as well. I've always believed that our eating habits have improved right along w/the fids' because there's no separating what we learn as we go.

 

 

I had to start eating healthier because most days, there's no separating my fids from my dinner plate, especially my Caique. Ever try taking food from a Caique? haaahaaaa

[birdhouse]

lol !oh hell no!! Everyone here gets locked in w/their own din-din, before we sit down to the table. I insist!!

[Giannine]

I would definitely like to know what pellet. Most are corn based which is cheap filler added as primary ingredient to most pet foods to pad the manufacturers bottom line. Then you get to the 'good' pellets like Harrison's (I feed the high potency as their lifetime is corn based) and my birds gain too much weight and won't eat anything else (veggies fruits etc...). TOPs makes a high quality non-corn based pellet but I've never tried.

 

The link to that specific article is included in my post. She said the name (Roudybush) or something like that. Everything in her words can be read. They were fed 60% pellets, 40% seed. They were vet checked after and the vet was shocked but definitely verified they were in better health

[Giannine]

(In response to Birdhouse. I forgot to include her quote)—I agree...I also would find this information difficult to believe because it defies logic as I know it but because it comes from such a reputable breeder of many species and it was many species that were fed this diet, I believe what she said. She has written many articles for magazines and is held in high esteem by many.

I will do my own research as I always do but I don't believe any of us know all there is to know about any one subject. Sometimes we may be surprised to find out something is, in fact true that we were skeptical of. I try to keep an open mind, in general, so that I AM open to learning new things and even accepting things I previously rejected, based on new evidence or information.

Edited April 9, 2016 by Giannine

[Greywings]

Perhaps the saying moderation in all things applies here as well?