Pellet recommendation

[natv]

I feed Kiwi a chop mix in the AM, and leave some pellets in the cage and also feed him pellets in the evening (he's out of his cage from the moment I get home, I can't feed him chopmix anywhere else)

His current pellets I'm not sure about, they seem good and he likes them but it almost seems that he powders most of them. He must eat some of it but it really seems like most gets wasted as powder. These pellets are from prettyparrot.com. I like them the most because they remind me of the food you feed animals at a petting zoo (the smell), hard to explain but they seem like they have good contents.

Can anyone recommend a quality brand/type that I can try instead that he might digest better? Harrisons?


Thanks

 

[Terry57]

I personally don't feed my ekkie any pellets at all, but I know that some people do.
Have you checked out this site? They have wonderful info about Ekkies

Eclectus Land of Vos Avian Diet

 

[natv]

The Land of Vos site is great. The diet however is pretty much what I already use in his chop mix.

So I'm looking for a quality brand of pellets to supplement with that (the evening feeding)


Thanks

 

[Terry57]

I have heard that some people feed Harrison's High potency formula to their ekkies.

 

[Anansi]

Like Terry, I don't feed my eclectus pellets either. Due to their longer digestive tract, they extract far more vitamin content than do most other parrots. So pellets can often be a little too rich for them, leading to toe-tapping and wing-flipping. (You might already know all of this, but just in case.)

That said, some choose to supplement using pellets... mostly for the vitamin D content. I've heard good things about Harrison's when it comes to ekkys. Just keep in mind, though, that you should be looking to fresh foods for at least 80% of their diet. Veggies, fruits, legumes, grains, sprouts. Pellets should only be five or so %.

 

[labell]

For the dry, leave out stuff, I use Volkmans seed for eclectus and about 8-9 pieces (each bird) of the Harrisons. I do however dehydrate lots of veggies and some fruit which of course can be left out longer. I don't typically like pellets because the major ingredients are corn, soy and wheat all of which are very high GMO in the US but because the Harrison's is organic I feel okay feeding a very small amount.

 

[natv]

thanks guys

 

[natv]

Just checking as Volkman has several products.

Is the recommendation to basically replace his pellets with:
"Volkman Eclectus Diet"

this one?
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Volkman-Eclectus-Diet-4lb/dp/B0002FP3SM]Amazon.com: Volkman Eclectus Diet 4lb: Pet Supplies[/ame]


So I just feed it as-is, no need to cook or soak right?


Thanks

 

[Anansi]

I would say replace or at least greatly reduce the pellet amount by substituting something like that, yes. And that if you are going to lightly supplement with pellets, that you do so with Harrison's.

As for Volkman Eclectus Diet, no, it does not need to be cooked or soaked. I also use Volkmann Fancy Soak and Simmer, which does need to be... soaked and simmered. But it's not really a big deal, as you can prepare a portion and freeze the rest for future use. It's very good for them and provides a lot of the oats, grains and legumes that are sometimes overlooked in the ekky diet.

 

[natv]

Thanks, which Harrison's do you recommend?
I see High Potency, Adult, Course, etc..

 

[Anansi]

I've heard from a number people who've said that High Potency worked well for their ekkys. But remember that I'm not speaking from personal experience, here. Just from what I've heard.

 

[labell]

I don't and wouldn't use the high potency with eclectus. I buy the adult course.

 

[natv]

Thanks, I'm ordering the Pepper Lifetime Course, he loves peppers

 

[JerseyWendy]

If you absolutely feel you must feed your Ekki pellets, have you heard of TOPS? Harrisons makes phenomenal pellets, no doubt about it, but IMHO they are too rich for Ekkis.

 

[labell]

I agree with Wendy, I usually only buy a small bag of the Harrison's because I use so very little, as I posted only a few per bird which they don't eat all of them anyway since they have so many other choices. I just wanted to add some variety.
TOPs is also a very good choice, I have had that here in the past, also organic and very good. It might be nice to mix it up. Eclectus do thrive on variety, just remember that the larger part of their diet really needs to be fresh.

 

[natv]

Thanks, I'll look into TOPS too and give him a variety in the evening

 

[JanMarie]

I wouldn't use the "Harrison's High Potency as that has added vitamins, not good for ekkies...I do however use TOPS Totally Organic Pellets. My ekkie does well with those left in his cage all day and soft food in the am and Volkmann 15 min soak and serve at night and of course I give him a legume mixture with brown rice too. He is 14 and doing well! I have one of those picky ekkies and if he's not going to eat mostly veggies then I am glad I can supplement with the TOP's with by the way is GMO free and Organic.