Which pellet brand is better?

[AutumnBreeze]

So I just ordered a sample pack of tops pellets just to try them out. The only problem is the pieces are too big for my little budgies so i have to grind them smaller until they get the hang of it which could take a long time and that means there will be a lot of wasted food. I also just bought zupreem fruit blend which is what I always feed my birds, mainly because its the best pellet brand in my local petstore. My friend also recommended roudybush to me and goldenfeast also looks good. I am so confused and i'm not sure which is best or if I should have a mix of them so what would you recommend? these brands are also the most affordable in terms of shipping.

 

[GaleriaGila]

My usual spiel for good ol' Harrison's...


Harrison's Bird Foods

I feed Harrison's, supplemented by fresh healthy treats. My first, and later, my current avian vet recommended it. 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, like fruits and vegetables! 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. I also like Harrison's via mail because I never have to worry about out-of-date products. There's a variety of sizes...

 

[Jen5200]

I fall in the camp that the best pellets are the ones they will eat . I have 5 birds who all prefer different foods - sigh. I feed Zupreem natural and fruit, Lefaber pellets and now Roudybush mini pellets. I fed TOPS for a few years, but they recently started making the pellets harder and my birds won’t eat them (thus the switch to Roudybush). The Roudybush mini are much smaller than TOPS small pellets, so your birds might like them (you can order a small bag to try it). I’ve tried both Harrison’s and Goldenfeast - they’re both good foods with good ingredients, but my flock just won’t eat them.

 

[Tami2]

I fall in the camp that the best pellets are the ones they will eat . .

Ha.... Absolutely!
Levi eats Harrison's, Tops & Higgins Intune. He totally rejected the Roudybush.
But, he switches his preference, he'll eat only the Harrison's for weeks. Than he'll eat only the Tops and so on. Lately he's on a Higgins kick. I offer all 3 together for a nice mix of brands. To keep it interesting.
I do sometimes grind some in the coffee grinder and add it to Chop and/or the mixes that get cooked. His Vet is a huge proponent of pellets.

 

[mrs.pants]

Goldenfeast is my favorite so far ingredient wise, although I really do wanna try Tops since I believe they don't have soy. I also add nutri-berries which my boi loves!

 

[FlyBirdiesFly]

All my birds, including my budgies (Bluebell especially), loved Tops until they changed the ingredients and they got harder and less crumbly. You can try crushing the Tops into smaller pieces and maybe your budgies will try them. However after the change, many people are reporting that their birds will no longer eat them anymore.

I now feed mostly Harrison’s with some Roudybush mixed in, which was what they were already eating in addition to Tops before they got changed. Thank goodness I didn’t have to convert them! I’ve never tried Lafebers, Goldenfeast, Tropican, or Higgins.

 

[bill_e]

Nike loves pizza crust

 

[EllenD]

Nike loves pizza crust

Lol...

Budgies can sometimes be difficult when it comes to pellets because the pellets have to be such a small size for them to be able to eat them, that a lot of pellet-brands either don't make a "Budgie Size" pellet at all, and if they do it's often either still too large, or like the Zupreem Fruit pellets, the Kaytee Rainbow pellets, etc., they are full of sugar, which makes them no-better at all than feeding them a high-fat seed-mix as their staple-diet...And honestly, when it comes to specifically Budgies, most high-quality seed-mixes really are much, much healthier for them than any of the Fruit pellets are, because the amount of sugar in most of the Fruit pellets is so high that they are every bit as bad for them as the junky, high-fat seed-mixes are; All of that sugar in the Fruit pellets is turned into fat in their bodies and stored right in their Livers, just like the fat in the junky seed-mixes is...

So you're not doing your Budgies any favors at all by feeding them Zupreem Fruit pellets, nor any of the Kaytee Rainbow pellets, or any other "Fruit pellets"...Something that no one ever considers is that because most-all "Budgie-size" seed-mixes naturally contain NO Sunflower Seeds, NO Nuts/Peanuts, and NO Dried Corn Kernels or Dried Cracked-Corn (because Budgies can't handled eating these things the manufacturers of even the cheap, junky seed-mixes don't add them in), most-all Budgie seed-mixes are actually much healthier and better for them in the long-run than feeding them a Fruit-pellet that is loaded with sugar is!

So the best regular, daily staple-diet you can feed your Budgies is either #1) "Natural" or "Veggie" pellets (NO Fruit or Nut pellets), which include Harrison's, Tops, Zupreem Natural, Zupreem Veggie (though I don't think they make a Zupreem Veggie in Budgie size, I'm not sure), Kaytee Natural (it's called something else, but Kaytee does in-fact make a Natural pellet that comes in a Budgie size), Roudybush, or any other "Natural" or "Veggie" pellet...OR #2) A high-quality, low-fat, varied seed-mix that contains NO Sunflower Seeds, NO Dried Corn of any kind, and NO Nuts of any kind, but that also DOES CONTAIN a varied-mix of lower-fat seeds, fresh grains, legumes, dried herbs, veggies, and a small amount of fruit. These types of seed-mixes are FAR BETTER for your Budgies than the sugary Fruit-pellets are...And there are several of these, such a Tropimix, Higgin's Vita-Seed California Blend, etc. (Many more of these types of seed-mixes available for Budgies than the larger birds, even Kaytee Forti-Diet seed-mix is excellent for Budgies, but NOT their "Fiesta" seed-mixes, full of fat and also low in protein)...

***There are also a couple of pellets that flavored/sweetened with natural fruit-juices, and though they contain some sugar, not nearly as much as the actual "Fruit-Flavored" pellets...These include Tropican pellets and Higgin's In-Tune pellets, both of which come in a Budgie-size...And even better would be simply buying Budgie-size Tropimix seed-mix, as not only is Tropimix a fantastic, low-fat, healthy, varied seed-mix with none of the bad stuff at all, but Tropimix also contains Tropican pellets in it!!! So your Budgies/birds get a healthy, varied seed-mix and a healthy pellet at the same time...

 

[FlyBirdiesFly]

Harrison’s make a “Super Fine” size that both my budgies eat and it is the perfect size for them. My budgies also eat Roudybush in both the “Crumble” and “Nibles” sizes, the Nibles being a little smaller but both are ideal for budgies. ZuPreem Veggie does not make a budgie size but ZuPreem Natural does.

Ellen, you said that the seed-mix should not contain any nuts, but dehulled peanuts are one of the ingredients to both Tropimix and Tropican pellets. I looked at both on Amazon and peanuts were right there in the ingredient list... I wouldn’t feed anything with peanuts in it.

 

[Squeekmouse]

I'm in the Harrison's camp also. My boys love them.