Switching seed?

[CheekyMama]

Cheeky is a few months old, and I have had him for about 4 weeks now. When I got him, I was told he had been weaned 2 weeks previous, and to keep him on the finch food they had been feeding him for a while longer, along with some small colorful pellets. I have been giving him all sorts of fruits and veggies--about as often as the seeds and "pellets." He has been eating from his foot lately, and doesn't seem to eat the seeds unless I feed them separately. I have been thinking about switching to larger seeds, but I wanted to get some advice about which size and brand to go with.
I was also thinking about maybe adding some regular pellets, as well. Is that an okay thing to do? Is it difficult to feed both, or does it just take some training/patience?
We had blue fronts when I was a kid, and my parents gave them Nutri-berries. Thoughts on those for a conure (appropriately sized, of course)?

 

[HalfInsane]

Really, pellets are a much better diet staple than seeds. I think seed should be fed, but in moderation. Generally, you want a seed mix that has a wide variety of seeds, and not too many sunflowers. A quality seed mix is one you are able to sprout. However, if your bird does not eat seed I wouldn't fret! They do need some fat, but you can also feed things like nuts and egg. As for pellets I avoid the dyed ones myself. Most people prefer Harrison's, Roudybush or TOPS. I feed Zupreem naturals, it's not the best of the four but if you live in a smaller city it seems to be the easiest to find. And keep up with the fruits and veggies, but also try to feed a variety of cooked beans and legumes and healthy grains/breads. The more variety the better

 

[CheekyMama]

Really, pellets are a much better diet staple than seeds.

That seems to be the general consensus. He does eat seed, but he much prefers the weird little colored pellets that were recommended to me. He picks out all the yellow ones and eats them first. I think it's because they are shaped like bananas, and are therefore easier to grasp (all the other colors are round). I want to avoid the coloring in the future.. It's just another chemical to process, right?

They do need some fat, but you can also feed things like nuts and egg.

He does okay with eggs. I have only given him hard-boiled whites, and not very much. I read on here that scrambled eggs are better? Of course, this was after the fact...
I was thinking about keeping nuts out of his regular diet and using them for treats/rewards.
What about certain kinds of meat? Chicken, for example?

also try to feed a variety of cooked beans and legumes and healthy grains/breads.

Are all beans fair game, or are there some that I should avoid? I know there are definitely things I shouldn't feed (avocado is a big no-no, chocolate, coffee, etc).

Thanks for all your help and suggestions!

 

[HalfInsane]

I personally feel that food colouring is not something that should be ingested daily by our birds (or us for that matter!).

I've not heard anything pertaining to scrambled eggs being better than hard boiled... I tend to hard boil eggs for Pixel since its just easier. Maybe someone else can weigh in on that one . And yes, chicken is fine; however it is recommended to feed low fat chicken, and in chicken breast there's only 6 grams of fat per 100 grams so its quite low in fat. Have you tried spray millet? Most birds love it. You can also cook millet and some other seeds along with grains such as quinoa, add a little cinnamon and/or cayenne for flavour to make it more appealing.

For beans I buy the 15 bean soup mix you can get in bulk. I then soak them over night and cook them VERY well which is key. Some varieties of uncooked beans contain an enzyme that is bad for birds; the cooking process destroys it. Some sources say all beans are safe IF cooked. Others say to avoid lima, kidney, fava and pinto beans altogether (there's probably a few other more uncommon ones that you'll see recommended not to feed that I'm not thinking of). It's sort of a grey area and something you may want to do your own reading up on and make your own call

 

[HalfInsane]

Here's an excerpt I found from Good Bird Magazine for an article dealing with sprouting beans/varieties you shouldn't sprout:

"CAUTION:Large beans: Anasazi, Black, Fava, Kidney, Lima, Navy, Pinto, Soy, are not suggested for sprouting. These legumes can cause toxicity and remain difficult to digest. Their raw flavor is also very bad. If you choose to serve these to your bird they MUST be soaked for a minimum of 8 hours, water drained and beans rinsed well, and then cooked by bringing them to a full boil, boiling uncovered for 10 minutes, covered and simmered for another 20 minutes."

 

[MikeyTN]

Here's the thing, as long as he is eating the pellets, it is better as part of his diet period! As long as your offering fresh fruits and veggies, that should be the other part of his diet. Along with stuffs you can cook for him or sprout for him, it's all good. If he's eating his pellets, you can get rid of the seeds all together and use some seeds as treats. IF you want to feed seeds, less sunflower is better like it was mentioned already. Don't get feed into some of the seed brands. A family was coming from out of town to get a baby from me and they brought the food there going to use, organic expensive stuff. But they mix way too much junk in there some of the smaller parrots does not eat. Be careful on your selection, don't just see organic and think it's all good. You'll find out later on how they will just toss them out or leave them in the bowl and not even bother with them. I've tried all kinds of food throughout the years to know that a lot of those mixes are junk. I used to buy mine in bulk through the seed mills and mix them myself.

 

[MonicaMc]

This thread may help.....
http://www.parrotforums.com/general...afe-fresh-foods-toxic-food-lists-sprouts.html

BTW, if you want to look into a better seed mix, then by all means, go for it! Seed can be a part of a healthy diet as long as it's not the main portion of the diet. That, or feeding sprouted seeds instead!