Feeding quakers

[Stevechi]

Anybody have any input or opinions on the brand vitacraft? I'm currently feeding my quaker vita smart complete conure and Parrot food......from vitacraft....
Ordered it at chewy. Com.

 

[Allee]

I've never used vitacraft's products. There are higher quality foods available, I stay away from added coloring and I offer my quakers very little seed. I feed my parrots Zupreem natural pellets, a large variety of fresh vegetables, cooked grains, tree nuts, fresh fruit, and a little Mayan Harvest seed mix. You may want to browse the food and diet section, there's a wealth of information and great recipes. Your quaker will love you for it.

Parrot Food, Recipes and Diet - Parrot Forum - Parrot Owner's Community

I love Chewy's for dog supplies but their line of bird food is limited.

 

[EllenD]

I too feed my Quaker Zupreem Natural pellets, that's what he was weaned onto by his breeder, and my other birds are also on the same staple food. Vitacraft isn't a great food, first it's a seed diet, which should only be a very small portion of a bird's diet, and second vitacraft, when compared to other seed mix brands for conures/Quaker's/parrots doesn't compare well as far as nutritional analysis and ingredients. I'd try to slowly introduce a high quality pellet staple diet plus fresh veggies, whole grains, and a little fruit, and phase out the seed mix.

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[EllenD]

I thought of something else that all of my birds love, but that my Quaker is absolutely addicted to and he would eat an entire pouch by himself if I let him! It's supposed to be a "treat" I think, but actually it could easily be given as a diet staple, it's healthy, it's high protein, low fat, full of whole grains, veggies, and fruits, comes in a bunch of different flavors, is easy to make, and all of my birds can eat it and love it regardless of the bird's size.

It's made by Higgins, they are called "Higgins Worldly Cuisines", and they come in single-serve pouches. I accidentally found these at Petco while looking for a new treat for my birds, it comes in a little pouch and is hanging with the bags of bird treats like fruit and nut mixes.

Petco only has the Tuscan flavor in the stores, so I bought one pouch to try it. Quinoa is the main ingredient of all of the flavors (I found out that there are like 12 different flavors that you can buy online and they are of course cheaper online than at Petco). You just open the zip lock pouch, add water, close the zip lock pouch half way, and then microwave. After it's done you take it out, open the pouch and empty it all into a bowl or bowls, and let it cool a bit....Then let your bird go to town! The pouches actually make a ton of food, which actually reminds me of an oatmeal that has lots of nuts and fruits in it. The first time I made it for my birds I was blown away by how much food it makes, AND THE SMELL!!! It smells heavenly! I won't lie, I've shared a pouch with my Quaker , I'm not ashamed at all, it's a healthy snack and it's good! I love Quinoa and oatmeal both, so this stuff is the best of both worlds.

I order different flavors online from Drs. Foster & Smith, they are $2.50 a pouch, but $2.19 a pouch if you buy 3 or more. I usually order a bunch and mix up the flavors. And if I run out I absolutely have to run to Petco and buy a few emergency pouches for the Quaker until my internet order arrives, he actually looks for it at night!

Again all my birds love this stuff, the Quaker gets his own bowl and then my green cheek and cockatiel share a bowl, the Senegal gets his own bowl. They all eat it right up and rarely leave any left in the bowl. They all contain fruits, veggies, whole grains, nuts, whole wheat pastas and couscous, rices, oats, spices, etc. I just looked online to see how Higgins classifies it, it's not a treat but rather "is to be fed alongside your bird's regular daily staple diet". So it's actually a meal in and of itself.

All I know is that my Quaker finishes it all, every day, and if he ever needs to take medication it is not a problem at all!

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[flyingron]

The avian vet told us if we give her a primary diet of Roddybush pellets she can snag people food or whatever she wants otherwise. Bacca gets some seed and a slide of apple in the morning (along with a nip at my toast). She actually will stop eating the seed even if it is offered and demand pellets for the bulk of the day. She's a sneaky litlte girl. She'll reach down from my shoulder and grab a nut or a piece of turkey out of my sandwich if she thinks she can get away with it.