Bird Food Question???

Question

are pellets a MORE COMPLETE or EASY way to provide complete nutrition? I have a friend who feeds her cockatiel named Stormy Beak Apitete and Veggie Heaven(by beak apitete a veggie based cooking diet), Wheat Grass, Kaytee Fiesta, scrambled egg, and chicken on occasion.She always gets positive feedback from her vet about stormy after every checkup. Is it possible to take pellets place by feeding an extensive variety of vitamin rich foods?

My friend also heard sweet potatoes provides nutrition as well. She cant find any sweet potatoes. So she told me she gives Stormy an occasional sweet potatoe fry

Answer 1

A good pelleted diet is specially formulated to meet the bird's dietary and nutritional needs.

If you know all the types of foods that your type of bird would get in the wild, it is technically possible to meet the nutritional requirements without pellets.

I find that a pelleted diet is FAR easier than trying to cook for my bird. I already cook for me, and he gets small amounts of what I eat (depending on what it is), and get gets fruits and veggies quiet often. But I always let him have pellets available and he RARELY gets seeds of any sort and they are ONLY as a treat.

Keep in mind that most pet birds are omnivores and not native to the USA. We do not have access (easily) to all the fruits, veggies, insects and small animals that they would eat in the wild.

A bird should not subsist on just pellets, as even pellets do not match their wild diets. I do think pellets are far superior to seed or puffed "thing" diets. BUT, the birds still need other foods including fruits, veggies, some meats, and minerals found in mineral supplement blocks, and calcium from calcium blocks or cuttlebone.

Answer 2

Pellets provide nutrients that are lacking in seed blends. It is difficult to offer birds a huge variety of foods, especially the kinds it would find in the wild. Pellets help balance the diet more completely. It should be at least 50% of the diet, along with seed and a variety of grains, pastas, vegies, fruits, meats, etc. Sounds like your friend is doing a good job! :)

Answer 3

Pellets always debatable.

99% of the time pellets are an easy way to privide rather than a complete meal however, it also depends a great deal on the parrot. Some parrot species do very porrly from having pellet diets, others, especially the cockatoo & cockatiel do extremely well on pellets diets.

If any change in the tiels diet is to take place it needs to be very gradual as a sudden change in diet can cause digestive problems.

Yes a tiel can live extremely well on a natural food diet. My tiel is on this. Fruits are more of a treat. They're grassy, leafy eaters. Rick & dark coloured vegies are always good. You can have a natural diet as well as a pellet & seed diet to go with this. There are MANY vit enriched foods out there that're easy to get hold of & suitable for tiels.

Chicken is excellent for tiels....

I offer my tiel seed daily. He does not get fatty seeds & doesn't gorge on them. I do not agree tiels should have their seed cut from their diets as this is a natural food source. It is upto us as the owners of these birds to control the seed intake daily, not remove a natural food source.

There are a number of veggies available in shops & markets you can suppliment for the natural foods they eat in the wild as well as cooked foods. It is easier for some people to use pellets. For me pellets are almost impossible to find here, so it's easier for me to use the fresh stuff.

Answer 4

Bravo for you! Mary C. Norma it is a myth that wild birds will become dependent on the food you supply to them. it's also a myth that birds won't migrate if you feed them. The eastern blue bird is a perfect example of how feeding wild birds can help sustain and increase wild bird populations. Mary you should be commended for taking the initiative to feed birds in a healthy and responsible manner. I went and checked out Avian Cuisine Wild Bird Foods like Jeanne B suggested. Looks like good stuff I will be trying it soon.

Answer 5

I've got a simple question for you ... Is EVERYTHING you eat only for nutrition - or is variety important. Silly question I know. Of course variety is important or you'd be bored and a lot of the joy of eating would be gone.

My birds eat at table with wife and I. They are part of our family and take part in a lot of our activities. Some of our foods are great sources of nutrients for the birds too. Very few things that we enjoy are harmful to birds. Avacados and chocolate are two that have some components that are toxic to birds - but a little cheese, a little peanut butter, a little milk, some bone marrow and a little fat from beef or pork is a great source of energy and calcium and vitamin C which are not that available in many pet foods. Learn about your bird's anatomy and digestion and many orf your questions will be answered. There are bird and breeders groups all over the country - I'm sure one is not too far from you. BTW Yahoo has several bird groups you might explore.

Answer 6

Although a fresh diet is always going to be healthier, it's not always going to be practical. Pellets, along with a safflower seed blend (sunflowers are very fatty and unhealthy for the bird) seems to result in a rather healthy bird!

Answer 7

Pellets are a good way to insure they are getting their nutrients .. But you can't just give pellets you need to offer fresh fruits and veggies beans pasta rice I give mine chicken in small amounts defiantly a chicken leg bone every once in awhile... fish .. no chocolate avacado.. I also as a treat once a week give them a very small amount of seeds to eat.. they love seeds but are not a good "diet food" for them also pizza my Ekkie loves pizza but again it is a rare treat for him and veggie pizza only...

Answer 8

Your friend has given her baby a very balanced buffet. Pellets are great and easy. They contain just about every nutrient your bird needs. I would supplement with fresh fruit and veggies.also.

Answer 9

I feed my cockatiels a basic seed mix just for cockatiels, along with fresh vegies. I make birdie cornbread with extra ingredients, and when they are breeding, they get boiled eggs added to the cornbread. Our organic garden helps keep them healthy, and fruit trees.

Answer 10

stick with the pellets and everyday give your bird the fresh fruit and vegetables you mentioned here, i wouldn't swap the pellets for all fresh fruit and veggies, good as a treat or option in my view.