Best pellet brand for Green Cheeks?

[JMO]

Hey guys, I'm new to conures. I just acquired a six week old cinnamon green cheek and I'm currently hand feeding it the baby formula. (For those of you who already see a red flag, I have hand fed many different animals, both "feral" and domesticated. I was a student at a veterinary assisting academy and I am a certified vet assistant.)

The baby is starting to show some interest in millet, seeds and broccoli up to now, though I have offered different fruits.

My question is, what brand of pellets have worked best for you guys? Some folks have told me that Zupreem works great, others have told me that they buy parakeet (budgie) sized as it works better for them.

What is your take on this? Thanks for the input guys!

 

[Doris48]

my greenie eats Zupreem natural, conure size pellets.But he is a dipper and has to soak each piece in his water bowl as he eats them.Dont know if a smaller size would stop this or not.I know there are better brands out there and if your going to start him off you might as well go with the organic brands like Harrisons..

 

[Rio Mom]

I feed Harrisons High Potency Fine to my GCC

 

[roxynoodle]

For conures, any pellet they like is probably fine. Mine has eaten Zupreem for at least 10 years now and she is extremely healthy. Harrison's is all organic, but Zupreem can be bought in pet stores. I tried putting her back on Harrison's as the other 2 birds eat that, but she doesn't want it anymore. She also dunks her pellets and makes a mess of her water, but oh well, lol!

But, 12 years of healthy vet checks and blood work tell me she is fine with the diet she's on. There are a lot of people here who are anti-Zupreem but I think if you ask a vet they will tell you it's a perfectly good food.

My feeling is whatever the bird like and will eat well is always going to be better than an all seed diet. And I'm sure most if not all of us also supplement with veggies, fruits and other healthy human foods.

 

[Spiritbird]

In my opinion Harrisons HP fine is the best.
They are so fine it is very easy for the young bird to eat. This food will keep your bird healthy and in beautiful feather.

 

[jewels04]

Well i don't have a gcc I have a sun and she eats roudybush small and loves it. She used to eat Pretty Bird and than refused the pretty bird after I gave her roudybush.

However the best pellet for your bird is the one they will eat and do well on. You can buy the most expensive pellet on the planet but if your bird won't eat it or doesn't do well on it it's no good for your bird is it. Maybe try contacting the companies for samples I contacted 3 companies only roudybush was nice enough to send me 2 different packages of samples (2 different sizes of pellets).

 

[roxynoodle]

Your vet may have samples as well depending on what brand(s) they sell, and what has been sent to them.

 

[Kokihi]

My little birdy-bird eats Zupreem.
he's also a dunker. ^_^;;

 

[KatherineI]

My GCC eats the Small sized Zupreem Naturals (the second smallest they offer, looks like teeny brown bee-bees, lol). I'm transitioning my Goffin to Zupreem Natural medium.

My personal viewpoint is this; any natural-colored pellet as a diet staple is a good pellet. I avoid colors because birds see color and some can decide they will only eat red and refuse green, etc. I don't believe in feeding seeds at all as a diet staple, those are treats and can go into foraging toys. But as far as pellets, Harrison's, Zupreem, LaFebers, they're all good pellets. One brand might work better for some birds than others.

 

[MollyGreenCheeks]

Roudybush small for my GCC. If unable to find that then I go with Harrisions.

 

[Doris48]

I agree with Katherine1, our amazon will only eat certain colors of the zupreem.One day its only the greens and the next its only the reds.He wont touch the orange pieces ever..The purple seems to be selective too.
Ive been putting the naturals in with the colors hoping to start converting him over.

 

[roxynoodle]

At least Rowdy eats all the colors, but sometimes there are a few leftovers at the end of the day that are mostly one color. One night it is mostly green ones, another mostly yellow ones. And she always eats the orange and purple ones first.

 

[JMO]

Birds are really one of a kind!:32:

I ended up getting Roudybush maintenance mini to test waters with this. The "small" ones were a little too big for my baby which brings another question to mind. Do green cheeks come in slightly different size ranges because I swear I have a very small fellow.

My 25 year old cockatiel although already skinny because of age seemed to be larger. Maybe its my mind telling me that conures are supposed to be more "big-parrot like" or something.

Thanks for your input guys, I really appreciate it!

 

[roxynoodle]

I am sure that like anything, there can be size differences. I once saw this huge Nanday in a pet store that was much larger than any other I've ever seen. It was like a monster compared to Rowdy.

 

[Customcasket]

My conures were all on seed diets when we got them. I tried natural pellets with both Kayak and Carlisle and neither one of them would touch them. I ended up trying Zupreem FruitBlend. While I'd rather them not have the colors it's the only thing they'll eat :/ Carlisle prefers the Medium size and Kayak loves the Medium Large. I've tried giving Kayak the smaller ones and Carlisle the bigger ones hoping to get them on the same size... no luck with that.

I totally agree with the eating of only certain colors!!! Kayak is so guilty of that!

What it looks like before she picks which colors she wants.

Looks like today was a purple and orange kind of day.

Carlisle eats all of his. He's not picky, but this shows you just the size difference between the medium and medium large. (yes, that's poop on the sides of his bowl. I have to wash them in the morning when I change food. I honestly have no idea how he does it. As I'm typing this I'm dreading the task of scrubbing poop bowls.)

They're both dunkers. For as large as Carlisle is he holds those little itty bitty pellets in his foot and eats them like Kayak does the larger ones.

 

[JMO]

That is so interesting! These little guys certainly have quite the personalities. As I stated before, my conure is probably about the size of a small cockatiel. It's still a baby so there is some growing and filling in to happen but I hope that it takes to those pellets wonderfully. It is still on 3 feedings a day, I'm going to let him "push" me away when it wants to explore and start eating on his own. Until then though, I'm going to hope that everything goes well.

 

[JMO]

OMG! I just realized you have a Youtube channel!! How great is that!

 

[Bobioden]

Maxx love Roudybush Crumbles, and recently I tried the Mini and he has taken to them too. I mix the 2. He has tried Zupreem FruitBlends and absolutely hates them. The bag I got I mix in his Birdy Muffins and foraging toys.

 

[amysaviary]

I give all my babies Zupreem fruitblend cockatiel size. It is a good size for babies, u can move up a size later if they like it better but the small size is what I feed my breeders also. But like others said the best pellet is the 1 he/she will eat. I have nothing aganist other pellets but u can't find most of them in a "Petsmart" "Petco" pet store. If I sell babies I want people to keep feeding them pellets so Zupreem is found almost everywhere and I hope they will keep feeding it. If I tell people they have to order it some will just go buy cheap seed instead. I hate that this happens but we all know not every bird own is bird crazy like all of us!!!!! lol

 

[JMO]

Guys, this little guy is growing rapidly. He/she now flies and has taken really long flights at that.

Now that he is more active, he seems to be begging for more formula. His crop empties fast and the little guy just wont stop. He is full of energy, loves my dog, and loves to cuddle.

I want him/her to push me away in regards to hand feeding when its the right time. There is very little interest in seeds, millet and the pellets. Sometimes it eats a bit but nothing much. He/she is just begging for food. Should I be worried? Or is this what's supposed to be happening?