Sun conure's diet

[EllenD]

This topic has been creeping-up a lot lately, as it seems that more and more Certified Avian Vets, mine included , are starting to NOT recommend a pellet diet for parrots, but rather a varied seed, grain, nut, and fresh veggie/fruit diet. I've heard different reasoning for this change of mind, from the need of parrots to get the "ruffage" of seeds/grains/nuts throughout their GI Tract, to the processing of most-all pellets, to the manufacturing process and actual ingredients of most pellets not being the best and including preservatives and such...

It's hard to know what is the right thing to do for your bird any more...While it's been scientifically/medically proven that captive/pet parrots who eat a high-fat diet that consists mainly of fatty seeds like sunflower seeds and millet seeds often end-up with Fatty Liver Disease, which makes sense, it's also well-known that these same fatty seeds also provide a much-needed source of nutrition. So just as with everything else, it's all about moderation when it comes to these ingredients. That being said, if you choose a fortified, vitamin/mineral-enriched, and extremely varied seed-mix as your parrot's staple diet, rather than ONLY feeding them a staple diet of pellets, this seems to be perfectly acceptable and nutritious for your bird.

There are several fortified, enriched seed-mixes available that do no contain any sunflower seeds, or if they do contain them, they are not a main constituent of the mix.

My Senegal Parrot is going to be turning 2 years old soon, and he has been on a diet of Zupreem Natural Pellets and SunSeed VitaPrima seed-mix, along with fresh veggies and fruit since I brought him home at 13 weeks old...Recently, after talking with my CAV (who is now NOT recommending that their main staple be only pellets), I decided to try something new, which Kane absolutely loves, and which is making a lot of sense to me as well...I started him eating Tropimix seedmix about 2 months ago, and we both seem very happy with this change. What my CAV likes about the Tropimix seed-mix, besides that it is very varied, contains all kinds of seeds, nuts, grains, legumes, veggies, fruits, etc., it ALSO contains Tropican Granules (their pellet diet). So it's basically a fortified, enriched seed and pellet mix (I believe that Zupreem also makes a seed and pellet mix that contains their Natural Pellets). I like this change because he's getting pellets along with a very healthy, nutritious, and varied seed-grain-veggie mix, and BOTH are making-up his staple diet, it's not just one or the other! And the Tropimix along with his normal fresh veggies and a little fresh fruit is giving him everything he needs all in one. I think I'm going to most-likely switch-over my Green Cheek, Quaker, and Cockatiel to the Tropimix seed and pellet mix as well....

 

[EllenD]

Just to add something...I've seen a lot of people here, when talking about their bird's daily diet, actually consider a seed-mix, even a varied seed-mix that doesn't contain sunflower seeds, as a "Treat", saying that they feed their birds their daily pellets and fresh veggies, and then "as a treat" a few time a week, they get 1 teaspoon or tablespoon of a healthy seed-mix...I mentioned seeing this more and more often to my CAV, and he was kind of shocked to hear it. His response to this was "Seeds, grains, and nuts are not "treats" to birds, they have been the main constituent of their diets for literally millions of years"...something to think about...

 

[BoomBoom]

Yes, definitely something to think about! I loved reading your post because I often see argument only for pellets. My Certified AV has never pushed me towards pellets. In fact he's always approved of the diet I give Boomer. Just recently he said it was 'excellent care.' Maybe he was just buttering me up but I can share if anyone's interested haha. He okay'ed it even with 6 daily almond or pistachio in the list lol! The lab doctor later 'scolded' both of us in a letter talking about heart disease in parrots. Since my AV never pressured me, I never pushed pellets into front and center of the diet. It's been at 5% from 2012 to 2018. Lately I've upped it to about 10-15% because I got a scare when Boomer was diagnosed with 10% negative gram bacteria. I wondered if his diet was not good enough.

Like you, I am very confused what to give my flock. Between my reservations on processed food and fears of fatty liver disease, the various community and vet opinions, I am always scratching my head. One thing I've totally eliminated from Boomer's diet are seeds (my parakeets still get them, 65%). Before my last vet visit, I'd give maybe a small handful of sunflower seeds every 2 or 3 weeks. But my AV said it's too fatty. Reading your post, Ellen, I wonder if I should start to offer it occasionally. I'm just worried Boomer will like it too much and forget everything else.

Ellen, you mentioned SunSeed VitaPrima and Tropimix. These are 2 different seed mixes? Are they available at the bigger pet stores or online only? At the very least, I'd like to read more about it.

 

[Eamderia]

I am new here and haven't figured out how to make a new post so I will ask my question here. I just got a 4mth old green cheek conure, I know some veggies have to be cooked to give them to eat. I have tried to give it(waiting on dna) kale, spinach, carrots, zucchini,asparagus,and sweet bell pepper so far and my gcc will not eat veggies. It does tend to eat the softer sweeter food like grapes, apple, and mango. My question is, is it ok to roast veggies in the oven to soften them up so my gcc will eat them or do they have to be given raw? Another question is I got some quinoa and orzo to also eat, so all grains need to be cooked as well? Thank you in advance for your advice.

 

[BoomBoom]

@Eamderia, Welcome! It's best to give veggies raw (but washed) to preserve the nutrients. The veggies you listed are great. Broccoli is great (my parakeets love this but my sun does not eat it, just shreds it). Red bell pepper is well loved and a great source of vitamin A which captive parrots need the most of. Will make your parrot's poop quiet red, don't be alarmed! Try also chayote, you might fool your parrot into thinking it's apple. Fruits you listed are good but I'd cut down a lot on grapes because of the iron content. Mango trumps apples in vitamins and minerals, but has higher sugar content. Try guavas and pomegranate too. It's some of the more nutrient-packed fruits which my sun of course likes the least of. Grains (and legumes) I serve slightly or fully cooked. I have not served orzo but I've served quinoa (my sun's not a fan of it). Rice is a big hit but middle ground in nutrition. I counter by boiling it with milk thistle powder.

Here's a safe food list by MonicaMc: http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...afe-fresh-foods-toxic-food-lists-sprouts.html I carry around a printed copy whenever I go grocery shopping.

 

[Aratingettar]

WOW! Thanks for the great discussion! It just confirm how incomplete can individual knowledge be. Lots of facts, pro's and con's. An interesting note is the late input from CAVs as ElenD wrote about the AVs and pelleted diet recommendations.



<conspiracy_mode>One of the possibilities of the popular belief that "pellets should be the diet foundation" may originate from the manufacturers themselves. To them, the food is just a product for sale. They know that an effective way of sale would be through AV (not necessarily the clinics, but their opinions), and they may push their marketing there. No doubts "big pharma" does that with our humans' medications and supplements, so why not the vets and "healthy bird food"?</conspiracy_mode>


IMHO the popularity of Pelleted diet is that it's easy to maintain a varied diet which is probably crucial for our friends. It requires knowledge and effort to provide the same effect with individual ingredients. Many uneducated owners just don't have the knowledge how to feed their companion properly (like the case of a CAG being fed with sunflower seeds only, obviously to a bad outcome).


In this thread, there was an opinion that we should provide fruits with care, as their high sugar contents may lead to fatty liver disease. And I've found some sources that do recommend fruits based diet during treatment of the fatty liver. Of course not all fruits are equal (as high sugar fruits like bananas should be limited) but it just confirms that it's not easy to do good educated choices.


I'm also a bit concerned about heavily processed foods, of course a quality one like Harrisons make my reservations smaller but still. One sure thing is, variety is the key. I'll go with Pellets + fruits (+veggies if Cytrynka will open for it) and a bit of seeds (no sunflower). I have to wait for my Harrisons HP Fine as the place I can order from is waiting for a delivery (supposed to be in 2wks or sth). Up to this moment she'll have to eat her HP Coarse pellets, with her daily portion of freshies and bit of seeds.

 

[MonicaMc]

Someone reminded me of these two articles... or rather, an experience, about feeding pellets to breeding parrots.

African Queen Aviaries

African Queen Aviaries


Now, I don't believe that birds should be on an all pellet or all seed diet and that fresh foods are still important to their diet. I've also seen an article, years ago, that completely contradicts the information on African Queen Aviaries. A breeder that fed pellets for years, but after switching to a fresh food based diet, they had higher production and healthier birds.


So diet is quite controversial and the only way to know if you are doing it right is to get annual checkups, including blood work, on your birds.

 

[BoomBoom]

@Monica, Interesting articles! Thanks for the read. I'm getting swayed more and more to incorporate some seed into my sun's diet but I'm worried he will forget his fruit, veggie, grain, pellet diet. Do you currently serve seed mix to your birds?

 

[MonicaMc]

At minimum, everyone gets sprouts!

My conure isn't fed seeds beyond sprouts because he has a hard time eating them due to his beak injury.


I like to do 50/50 seeds and pellets for the littles, pellets one day, seeds the next, then pellets, then seeds, etc.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

My main reason for swearing by Harrisons is what it did for my cockatiel Peaches and the difference I've seen in Skittles. With Peaches, she was getting respiratory infection consistently for over six years. Her diet consisted of commercial pellets (that you buy in stores, the colored ones) as well as complex seed mix and some table foods. The vet advised me of Harrisons, but I scoffed at it believing it just to be a 'selling point', so the vet game me a script for antibiotics for her. About a week later she was no better. The vet told me to try Harrisons (he'd given me samples) and within a week she was better and never got another infection again. Now, with Skittles, the brightness of his feathers, the condition of his feet and beak, I know is his diet. I don't feed him any seeds at all. Just Harrisons HP Fine, Power treats, fresh fruits, veggies and grains and I occasionally give him pizza crust and pasta as 'treats'.

People gotta do what they think is best for their fids. For me, in my experience, its the Harrisons.

 

[Aratingettar]

Do you feed Skittles with HighPotency all the time, or switch between HP (Red Harrisons) and Adult lifetime (Green/Blue Harrisons)?
HighPotency is recommended for juveniles, intensive moulting and breeding periods. Is there any negative impact of feeding High Potency all year round?

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Ordinarily, the HP is used just during the first 6mo of conversion and then you switch to adult lifetime. However, my vet recommended keeping Skittles on the HP, so I did. The HP is also for underweight, overweight, cold climate and very active birds as well, Skittles is free-flighted and gets a LOT of exercise, so the HP is ideal for him.



Skittles has been on the HP since I got him in 2011 and I haven't had any issues with him on it. He is due for his annual in the next month or two, since this is Maine- I wait til July or August when the day temps stay above 65 most days. Though we had 80 degree weather in May this year, lol.