The Truth About ORGANIC Pellets

[MonicaMc]

I've always wondered what people thought about Vetafarm and how it compares to other pellets...

 

[wicket]

What are you credentials?

 

[fjordandforest]

Jake, if I could give you 10 thank you markers for that post, I would.....

I fully understand the power of advertising and glitzy/flashy pictures can do for products.....I always say that we in the United States are a society of advertising junkies...we believe everything the spin merchants tell us.....

If you want a good example of the junk that is sold to the blind followers/believers of the old sooth sayers, look up the history of of the multimillion dollar business that was Pet Medicine Chest until the State of Iowa shut them down.....there is still enough information on the internet that would shock a prudent, knowledgeable individual.....

They were selling potions & snake oils under pet medicine chest, canine medicine chest, feline medicine chest, rabbit medicine chest & avian medicine chest.....most of which were the same concoctions for all these types of animals...until...the Iowa dept. of agriculture did some analysis on their brews & powders.....

Over the counter medications for birds should be questioned for their efficacy because of the time some of that stuff sits on shelves.....several years ago, the president of Ark Naturals was quoted in a major pet industry publication as saying: “It can be a real challenge, even for manufacturers, to get to the reality of ingredients. Manufacturers buy raw materials and get a certificate of analysis. The supplier basically warranties the quality, but how do you know? There is no authority that warrants that the COAs are valid.”

In the same article Weiss went on to state: “You can’t test every single lot of every ingredient you buy. Both the time and cost would be prohibitive. So 100 percent oversight over ingredients is impossible.”

Considering Weiss’ statement, my birds will never receive any products from an industry that cannot concern themselves with properly testing the raw materials that are used for their offerings...and...keep in mind that there is no governmental oversight or regulatory control of this industry.....

Well, I guess I should give Jake back his soap box or whatever impromptu podiums are called/referred to in OZ.....

Totally agree! Can I ask though what diet you feed your birds-I am
currently on the what my GCC will eat pellet + all the veggies and some fruits+a sprinkle of seeds. Harrison’s is what I started with and then I realized it matches the Ingredients of the chicken feed we used growing up

 

[BirdyBee]

Totally agree! Can I ask though what diet you feed your birds-I am
currently on the what my GCC will eat pellet + all the veggies and some fruits+a sprinkle of seeds. Harrison’s is what I started with and then I realized it matches the Ingredients of the chicken feed we used growing up

Hi fjordandforest, the member you are waiting to reply last uses the forum in 2015 and this thread was made in 2013, so you likely won't get a reply.

 

[Littleredbeak]

Just thought I would try clear up some confusion I keep reading about.
If you read the ingredients on harrisons you will notice it does contain preservatives
Harrison's Bird Foods is a family of certified organic pet bird diets that were formulated to make your bird as healthy as it can possibly be.
If you notice the words Natural Mixed Tocopherols and Rosemary Extract.
These have No nutritional benefit and are purely used as preservatives derived from natural sources.

Now "Harrison's nutrients are better than others due to being organic" is complete bull****.
For something to be certified organic it only has to have 95% Organic ingredients, every vitamin the bird needs can be put in this other 5%.

Let me give you a little lesson about how Harrison's pellets are made.
They are extruded.
Meaning they are made up of cheap organic grains and seeds ground into flour form,
then mixed with whatever ARTIFICIAL vitamins can handle the extrusion process (THE SAME USED IN 99% OF PELLET BRANDS).
They are then heated to temperatures over 200 degrees Celsius, killing nearly every bit of natural nutritional content, and pushed out through a little poo hole like a hot cooked cookie dough and cut into size.
They are then sprayed with more ARTIFICIAL nutrients that are needed, that couldn't hold up to the heat of the cooking (extrusion).

What your left with is a pretty much a sunflower/peanut flavored multivitamin cookie,
with little chance of bacterial contamination due to being exposed to such a high heat.

Now these other ARTIFICIAL added nutrients are different from normal chemical makeups (vitamins) in food.
They are in stable form, meaning they don't have nearly as high losses due to cooking, oxygen exposure etc.

When it comes down to it there is not much difference in ingredients with any of the types of pellets on the market, other than TOPS maybe (Which will leave your bird deficient in Vitamin D and B12).

Harrison's is defiantly better off using organic grains, the pesticides in the normal grains don't get destroyed by the cooking and are eaten by your bird.
Aswell as higher levels of nutrient inhibiting phytic acid are proven in foods grown with non organic fertilizer.
Phytic acid chelates many minerals and is only partially destroyed by cooking.

With all this said can't see any reason why Harrison's should have higher nutrient loss or less shelf life than any other brand seeing how its essentially the same stuff, unless the opposing brand has really high levels of unwanted synthetic preservatives.
Only have to look at all the sulfur allergies in humans now to realise you shouldn't be eating preservatives regularly.
Aswell as them banning BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin in human foods due to it being carcinogenic,
yet still using it in pet foods.

Now lets transfer that to a bird with a much more sensitive immune system and give that preservative and pesticide filled food as 80% of its diet? don't have to be a scientist to figure out that is asking for trouble.
How much do you really love your birds?

Now if I could source TOPS in australia I would probably use them along with the odd boiled egg for B12 and plenty of sunlight.
I have to use harrisons as its the best and only organic option available.
I am currently working with vets and nutritionists and will be bringing out an Organic cold pressed formulated pellet in Australia in the coming future.
It's similiar to TOP but with far more (very high quality) ingredients and some added Vitamin supplements like B12 to compensate for the natural losses.
It won't have a long shelf life, will be far more expensive to produce, and only available in Australia, But as far as I'm concerned will be the top shelf and only option for my feathered children.
The ingredients in Harrisons obviously work, I have flying proof.
Just don't think you are compensating for a diet thats filled with the enzymes and other sickness fighting chemicals that get destroyed from cooking.

I'm not going to type all about the reasons why we should use organic but PLEASE read this page,
its just a google search but does a pretty good explanation.
Organic.org - Top 10 Reasons to Support Organic in the 21st Century

Kind Regards
Jake

Check out TOPS ! They are cold pressed if I am remembering correctly