Switching Pellet Brands....Harrisons or Lafeber?

[ToMang07]

For the sake of keeping this thread on track: Willow eats primarily pellets, with a little seed supplement, and fresh fruits and veggies when I can get her to eat them, which is rare outside of grapes and apples. Not looking for any other diet input beyond pellets.

Ok, so Willow seems to waste about 1/2 of her pellets, and I don't think she's overly a fan of how hard the ZuPreem Pellets are. She was on Lafeber Pellets when I got her (which she almost never wasted) but I switched to Zupreem because I thought they would be easier to get as they are sold locally. (Now the local store isn't carrying them, either.)

So, since I'm just going to order them online, I might as well switch to a better, softer pellet. I'm torn between Harrisons (seems to be the parront favorite) or Lafeber (which I know she likes.)

My main hesitation with the Harrisons is the cost and formula choices. Do I need to do the "High Potency" formula for 6 months? Would it hurt her or be bad for her to keep her on it? (Colder climate here) Or should I just buy the "Adult Lifetime" and just stick with that?

I do appreciate the input.

 

[Mimsy01]

You could get small bags of each. I change Foo's up quite often and usually just mix the old one into the new. Her favorite by far is Roudybush. Currently she is on that and the goldenfeast, but she eats the roudybush out first. She also loved Lafebar and that is how I got her off only wanting seeds. Harrisons seems to not be a fave, but neither is goldenfeast which everyone says their birds love...so she may be a weirdo.

 

[OOwl]

I understand your quandary on the pellets. I'm kind of in the same position with my RB2 who has been on the same pellet brand since I got him almost 12 years ago. He just started exhibiting total disgust with them, using them as projectiles that make it 10-20 feet from his cage or powdering them into oblivion and then flapping his wings to send that detritus in a cloud, all over his seed guards and floor, splashing some water just for good measure to make it a gummy, nasty mess. So, needless to say, I'm going to be following your progress to see if you have any great suggestions offered. I tried Roudybush, and my Grey really liked them, the cockatoo, not so much (those hurt when you step on them with bare feet!). I have tried the Harrison's HP before but neither of my guys seemed all that keen on them. I ended up making bird-bread out of them. I guess that's something they have to grow up with to appreciate. Good luck!

 

[Birdman666]

I fed Harrisons to my CAG only when he was a baby, and then switched when he got older. The cost is amazingly high, and frankly, unless you've got plucking or food allergy issues (or initial development in Tusk's case) I'm not sure it's worth it...

My thing with pellets is WILL THEY ACTUALLY EAT IT. I feed my guys the fruitblend because they eat more than they throw. If your bird likes lefeber's then I'd feed that one...

It's only nutritious if it actually gets inside them, and gets digested, right?!

The floor, the bottom of the cage, and the garbage can don't care if it's organic or not... and they're overfed as it is!

 

[ToMang07]

I fed Harrisons to my CAG only when he was a baby, and then switched when he got older. The cost is amazingly high, and frankly, unless you've got plucking or food allergy issues (or initial development in Tusk's case) I'm not sure it's worth it...

My thing with pellets is WILL THEY ACTUALLY EAT IT. I feed my guys the fruitblend because they eat more than they throw. If your bird likes lefeber's then I'd feed that one...

It's only nutritious if it actually gets inside them, and gets digested, right?!

The floor, the bottom of the cage, and the garbage can don't care if it's organic or not... and they're overfed as it is!

Aint that the truth!

That's why I'm asking. I should have titled this thread "convince me it's worth it" but I figured that might come off as too aggressive, lol

Just seems to be the #1 recommended pellet brand wherever I search.

 

[Birdman666]

Aint that the truth!

That's why I'm asking. I should have titled this thread "convince me it's worth it" but I figured that might come off as too aggressive, lol

Just seems to be the #1 recommended pellet brand wherever I search.

Here's the deal on that one...

WHEN YOU ARE MARKETING YOUR PRODUCT IN SMALLER BATCHES THROUGH AVIAN VETS, AND THE AVIAN VETS ARE MAKING A PROFIT ON EVERY BAG THEY SELL... GUESS WHICH PELLET THEY TEND TO RECOMMEND?!

To the surprise of generally no one... AND THE NUMBER ONE AVIAN VET RECOMMENDED BRAND IS...

Not to say that it isn't one of the better pellets on the market, BUT it's hideously expensive! And if your bird tosses more than they eat... ummm...

(Unless you're independently wealthy.)

 

[RavensGryf]

Mark, I have to disagree . Harrison's IS a higher quality brand. How do I know? It's been proven by long term great bloodwork results and brilliant plumage in all my birds over the years.

I've heard Goldenfeast Goldn'Obles is another one which rivals Harrison's. I've never tried it though I intend to.

 

[ToMang07]

Mark, I have to disagree . Harrison's IS a higher quality brand. How do I know? It's been proven by long term great bloodwork results and brilliant plumage in all my birds over the years.

I've heard Goldenfeast Goldn'Obles is another one which rivals Harrison's. I've never tried it though I intend to.

Higher quality than.... all?

I'll be honest, I'm leaning towards Lafeber, as I know she'll eat it, and it's a bit cheaper than Harrisons.

 

[Scott]

Since we can't provide our parrots the same diet they forage in the wild, parronts must become creative to supply healthy and varied nutrition.

I give a trifecta of fresh fruits and vegetables, Zupreem pellets, and a quality seed mix in descending quantities as ranked.

Since Tom wishes to focus exclusively on pellets, my experience is that Zupreem fruit pellets satisfies the widest palate variety for my flock of 10. I've tried virtually all commercially available varieties, with money NOT the primary consideration. They all consume pellets to some degree, a few greatly prefer them to seeds, while just one would be happy with pellets and fresh food. While I concede Zupreem may not objectively be the very best source, work takes me away from home roughly half the month, and I rely on trusted family members for support. During my days "off" they primarily receive fresh foods with pellets to supplement them at night/early morning. It is the best compromise I can offer until retirement!

 

[Mimsy01]

This made me remember how I added cinnamon and cayenne to her pellets to get her to try them in the past. I just shook a bunch of goldenfeast with cayenne and cinnamon and now Foo is happily eating them.

 

[Birdman666]

Mark, I have to disagree . Harrison's IS a higher quality brand. How do I know? It's been proven by long term great bloodwork results and brilliant plumage in all my birds over the years.

I've heard Goldenfeast Goldn'Obles is another one which rivals Harrison's. I've never tried it though I intend to.

First of all, I'm not putting down Harrison's. I've used it myself. It's one of the best pellet's on the market. It's also about 3000 times more expensive...

BUT their marketing campaign/strategy is exactly that... they marketed through vets, and vets earned a commission for selling it. THAT'S FACT!

It is what they say it is. I'm not saying it isn't.

 

[RavensGryf]

I know about the marketing through vets, but I don't care about that . The birds all love it, and it lasts quite a while. I use it for the quality, but I agree, I wish it wasn't so pricey. Last time I drove down to San Diego the 1 lb bag which is around $13 here, was around $8. I bought several bags.

 

[ToMang07]

Well...ordered a pound of Harrisons.

 

[ToMang07]

Quick update, it took a week of fighting, but I finally got Willow switched to Harrisons. She wouldn't touch it for the first few days, and I had to wean her off the old ones, using Sunflower seeds as a supplement/coaxing tool. First couple days she was borderline making herself sick. She seems to drown more than she eats, but she's not tossing them all over like she did with the others, either.

 

[MikeyTN]

I don't think I've said it enough times prior, I drive by their office almost daily going to work....I don't use Harrisons......They're local here but I won't use them, I deal with A LOT of major pet food makers here locally as they are my customers, it's ALL about marketing and how to skyrocket the price. They tell me so themselves......

 

[ToMang07]

I don't think I've said it enough times prior, I drive by their office almost daily going to work....I don't use Harrisons......They're local here but I won't use them, I deal with A LOT of major pet food makers here locally as they are my customers, it's ALL about marketing and how to skyrocket the price. They tell me so themselves......

Well that's helpful.

 

[Siobhan]

I think the suggestion to buy small quantities of each and ask your bird to choose is a good one. When we got Rocky 'Too, he was on the most appalling seed mix I've ever seen, and a friend told me it's "waste" from various wild bird and squirrel mixes they sell at a local feed store, which they pitch into a barrel and then sell by the pound. I bought him Zupreem fruity pellets, which the Quakers like, only of course in his size, and he took to them instantly and never looked back. No switchover angst whatsoever. His feather condition and weight are both much improved, so I don't mess with what works. The Quakers have been eating Zupreem for several years and turn their beaks up at any other brand. So let your bird try both the other brands and see which one is the hit. If you buy small bags, you can always offer the rejected brand to outdoor birds. That's where all the rejected treats and things end up at my house. Wild birds are not so picky.

 

[Allee]

Tom, Poppy's tried several pellet brands, her favorites are Goldenfeast and Zupreem Naturals in that order. No matter how healthy the pellets are, if you can't get them past your bird's beak, it's a waste of money. Poppy was the only one of my flock that consistently ate Harrison's. I was really hoping they would all like Harrison's but the little guys prefer Goldenfeast or Zupreem.

I admit, I've never driven by any of the pellet companies or their offices.

 

[RavensGryf]

I don't think I've said it enough times prior, I drive by their office almost daily going to work....I don't use Harrisons......They're local here but I won't use them, I deal with A LOT of major pet food makers here locally as they are my customers, it's ALL about marketing and how to skyrocket the price. They tell me so themselves......

Well that's helpful.

But remember also Tom, I have witnessed many years of perfect blood work in a bird who had eaten little else (such as you say Willow does). Also birds of owned by others who eat nothing but Harrison's. I hate to get into these discussions, and I'm not saying that anyone should aspire to feeding nothing else, but given this situation you're asking about, I do believe it's a pellet which has better nutrition than many others out there, as backed up by periodic blood work, but any brand is better for a picky bird than all seed.

 

[MikeyTN]

Of course variety and natural is the key! Any pellet is better then just seeds alone. Fresh foods beat all!