Seed vs

[Hossinn]

Hello All.

In addition to the many and varied fresh fruit, veggies, nuts, etc. we feed our IRN, we constantly have a bowl of typical seed mix for him. It's difficult to know when the seed needs to be changed, other than feeling it for weight and looking for empty shell, so I'm wondering about using a pellet style feed.

Roudybush California Blend Adult Bird Maintenance Food | Pet Bird Food at Drs. Foster and Smith

Is there pro/com of using pellets vs seed mix?

Thank you,

Hossinn

 

[GaleriaGila]

My two cents...

Harrison's Bird Foods
I feed Harrison's, supplemented by fresh healthy treats. My first, and later, my current avian vet recommended it. 30-ish years ago, Harrison's was still a small company. My vet was actually able to talk to Dr. Harrison about my bird's species and status, and they decided on the High Potency. My bird loves the pellets now, but to get him converted, my avian vet suggested putting pellets out all day, and putting seeds (his old diet) out for two 15-minute periods a day. That would sustain him but leave him hungry enough to try new stuff. I presume the same technique could be used to get him to eat other healthy stuff. My guy was eating pellets in a couple of days, and now I can feed a good variety of other stuff, knowing he has the pellets as a basic. Pellets are out all day... fresh treats a few times a day. Nuts can be so fatty. I understad that almonds are really good. I also like Harrison's via mail because I never have to worry about out-of-date products.

 

[Scott]

There are many opinions, but many agree that pellets are generally better than seeds. I feed a mixture of 90% pellets to 10% seed as dry food. They also receive fresh vegetables and fruits about 5 days per week.

 

[LordTriggs]

a pellet diet is better with seeds as a little snack

but you shouldn't be changing the seed based on if it's empty or not, it should be daily. Both to keep fresh and to make sure there's actually seed in it. I never once filled the bowl all the way because it would just waste the food. Instead I would put just slightly less than his body-weight in there at first then cut back bit by bit until there was only some scraps left

 

[Hossinn]

Thanks very much for the responses!