Food options?

[Feu]

Hey everyone,
I just got a baby caique last week and when I took it to the vet (still waiting for the sex results, so still an it), I was told to feed it a strictly pellet based diet. No fruits, veggies or seeds. She said 10% of his diet can be among those for treat purposes, but otherwise to avoid them.

I was wondering what you all think seeing as how everywhere else I've read discussions on the subject insist this is unhealthy. What do you feed your birds?

 

[suebee]

aww your baby is way too cute

did vet say for how long?? and was it an avian vet??

 

[Abzeez]

I was told to feed it a strictly pellet based diet. No fruits, veggies or seeds. She said 10% of his diet can be among those for treat purposes, but otherwise to avoid them.

Whoever told you that should not be breeding birds!!!! Fruits and veggies should be a huge part of your parrots diet. Mine get pellets only in the morning and then in late evening. All day they have fruits and veggies in front of them. Seeds are used as treats.

 

[melinda]

My birds eat Zumpreen pellets with baby carrots a green seedless grape a little bit of apple broccoli and green beans for breakfast. they do get seeds during the day for training rewards then eat supper with the family at the table. They have a plate so they don't steal from everyone lol. Then before bed they get another grape. They eat a lot of the pellets so i would say it makes up at least 70% of their diet. I think they would go on the war path if they didn't get the other stuff. I just make sure what i feed them is healthy and it has helped the family eat better too. But i do give them a bite of pizza once a month or some other junk food. maybe your vet just wants you to make sure yor baby is eatting pellets good before you start giveing her/him other things.

 

[suebee]

lol melinda, nut would go on the war path if not allowed other foods, but i think what the vet maybe doing is avoiding the bird becoming picky over its food, like melinda said, as i have a major problem with nut eating her pellets

but i would keep diet as varied as you can, leaving pellets as main source of food and avoid seeds other then as a odd treat/nibble

as nut has litterally refused pellets, i've increased her fruit an veg intake, some seed, not even a hand full a day and some lafebers as there enriched and have pellets in them

when my brother had her she was on a strict diet of pellets (harrisons) a a grape, bit of apple every now an again

when she came to me, i continued with pellets, but increased her fruit an veg etc an then she just stopped with the pellets, i tried every trick in the book so to speak to get her to eat them again, even stopping with the other stuff. she knows there food, but the other stuff must taste better lol

and like melinda nut eats with us at the main meal times the healthy selection lol

as the saying goes variety is the spice of life, but the vet might have a reason for saying what they did, and i feel its mainly to prevent having a faddy eater like my nut, nuts doing fine and near 50% of her diet is fresh now

 

[Feu]

This was an avian vet that told me this, but I've been feeding the little guy fruits and vegetables anyway. I'm wondering if the vet is used to something smaller that might eat an all seed diet? But then, that just seems like someone not keeping up with their field. Anyway, there's a second avian vet at the same place, so I'll ask a second opinion from him as he comes highly recommended.

 

[Pedro]

Feu, Caiques in the wild live on fruits, berries & seed. I would think a more varied diet should have been recommended by the Vet. However most Avian Vets get their information & recommendations for pelleted foods from the manufacturer & breeders also have some input as well. My experience tells me everything we give our parrots should be in moderation & balanced.

I still don't think a pellets only diet is the way to go. Even our Avian Vets here in OZ recommend fresh fruit, veg & sprouted/soaked seed mixes.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

If its a good pellet it would be fine to have it be 90% of their diet - but certainly not *required*.

The more fresh fruits and veggies the better ... to a point, but that point is not one that any person would be at risk of reaching. If you fed so much fresh food that your bird didn't eat the pellet food then you'd have to be sure that you were providing a well balanced diet and not lacking any essential nutrients.

*PERHAPS* - being generous - this is what the vet hoped to avoid. Having a quality pellet food as a substantial portion of your birds diet will prevent any deficiencies of essential nutrients as good food makers work to make a well balanced pellet. But again, I can't imagine that any of us are giving so many fresh foods that our birds are not eating their pellets at all.

Long story short - a quality pellet is the best base (for an average owner) of a parrot's diet. But by all means supplement with as many appropriate fresh foods as you are able/willing to do.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

BTW, be sure to check out the safe/unsafe food lists as some foods that are fine for us can be very dangerous for birds - avocado being a notable example.

But aside from such exceptions, if it's good for us it's most likely good for them.

 

[Pinkbullets]

I hate to sound insulting, but I would never take the opinion of that individual ever again.

Fresh foods are best for our birds.

Sure, certain supplements or pellets might be able to fill some nutritional "gaps", but fresh fruits, veggies and grains provide the best sources of natural proteins, nutrients and fibers.

Consider what wild parrots eat.

They certainly don't go shopping at Petsmart for their food. Haha.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

They don't go shopping at a grocery store either.

When we choose their food they don't have the option to tell us if we are not getting them what they need.

 

[Pinkbullets]

They don't go shopping at a grocery store either.

When we choose their food they don't have the option to tell us if we are not getting them what they need.

Well of course not.

But I would choose to feed my birds organic fruit, veggies, grains and nuts before any of the processed, nutrient-deficient, additive-laden colored nonsense that the typical pet stores sell.

In regards to my parrot, I try to mimic the things that she would be eating in the wild according to what is available at the store.

This is from the Land of Vos website and it is something that I try to base Luna's diet off of:

Q: What are the fruits or veggies that are common there? How do they grow - in trees, on the ground?
A: Tree fruits include mango, star fruit (sour sap), pomelo (like a grapefruit, more or less), paupau, a thing called a Papuan peach, which doesn't taste at all like a peach, but does look a bit like one and has a large central pit or stone like a peach, there are also small radish-looking things (round, red on the outside, white on the inside) which are a bit sour and a bit sweet, but mostly watery (called laulau in Tok Pisin, makoikoi in Minaveha) and approximately 50 varieties of bananas, about half of which are ripe (eating) bananas and about half of which are cooking bananas (which cannot be eaten raw — they must be cooked — but only one of them resembles the South American plantains); ground fruits: pineapple; vine fruits include raspberries, passion fruit, and several smaller kinds of berries which I don't think even have English names; bush fruits include guavas and cherry guavas.

 

[Abzeez]

If I could afford to feed my parrots all the fine organic foods I would, but I can't. They get frozen veggies more than fresh some weeks, but they at least get veggies. I have a budget, as I am sure most people do. I do what I can, and they are happy and healthy.

 

[Remy]

I was told to leave pellets out all the time, but that most of their diets should be fruits and veggies (mostly fruit). I do this, and give him some of my dinner if it's bird safe. I try to give him as much variety as I can.