Zupreem?

[Cynthia1014]

Hello Everyone!!

First I wanted to say that this is my 3rd post already within 3 days and you guys are the most helpful and kindest bunch!!! Thank you so much!

My Too", Med SCC (Eleanora Too') is 10 months old, is now on a certain store own mix of pellets. I feel and the vet also said that her feet looks very dry and it may be because of it.

My vet suggested Zupreem, I didn't purchase it at the vets office because obviously I can get a better deal on amazon.

So my questions is:

1) What size pellet do I get? Med/large or Large pellets?
2) Which one should I get? Or maybe combine two or more.

ZUPREEM Natural Large Bird Food

ZuPreem AvianEntrees Parrot Harvest Feast

Zupreem Avian Entrees Wild and Spicy Parrot Food

Zupreem FruitBlend Parrot Conure Medium Large

 

[Allee]

My Too prefers the larger sized pellets that are easy to hold in her foot. Her favorite is the natural flavor but she will eat Avian Entrees flavored pellets too. I don't buy the fruit flavored pellets but I do give my cockatoo a little extra fresh fruit.

Toos need a variety of perches of different sizes and textures to keep those big feet healthy. You can rub a little coconut oil on her feet occasionally but normal, healthy Too feet usually look dry as do their beaks, it's the powder down. Frequent baths in plain water is your best option.

 

[Mallory]

I don't feed Zupreem but if you're set on that brand, the fruit blend seems the easiest to get birds to start eating. You could always start from there and then add in another blend if you prefer until she has transitioned to it. Some of their blends do have artificial colors which I personally try to avoid with my birds. If you DO stick with Zupreem, I would suggest you start with the fruit blend just to see if there is interest and then experiment from there. Pellet size again will be personal preference for the bird. You can only feed what she will eat.

Personally, when I took in Greenleaf and was researching pellets, I looked at brands including Zupreem, Roudybush, and Harrisons. I settled on Roudybush as I felt the ingredients were better than those in the Zupreem blends and it was affordable. I would have preferred using Harrisons which is organic and has superior ingredients (again, in my opinion) but Greenleaf just won't eat it. I do add some to Eva's food as she will occasionally eat them. Roudybush is well loved by my birds and I use the medium size pellets for both.

We're going through the dry feet issue with Greenleaf too. I haven't looked at your other threads so forgive me if you've already discussed these things! The first thing I'd recommend in terms of diet is looking into chop recipes and adding fresh veggies and some fruit to her diet if you do not already. I also use cooked grains (brown rice, whole grain wheat, oats, quinoa, amaranth, etc.) and am starting to sprout seeds as well.

Off the topic of food for a second, does your cockatoo bathe frequently? If not, that can cause dry feet. The relative humidity of the room can also be too low, especially in winter with the heater running. One tip we have not yet tried but I believe others have had success with is aloe vera. You could look for an additive-free juice or get the goo straight from the plant and then gently rub a bit on her feet.

 

[Cynthia1014]

My Too prefers the larger sized pellets that are easy to hold in her foot. Her favorite is the natural flavor but she will eat Avian Entrees flavored pellets too. I don't buy the fruit flavored pellets but I do give my cockatoo a little extra fresh fruit.

Toos need a variety of perches of different sizes and textures to keep those big feet healthy. You can rub a little coconut oil on her feet occasionally but normal, healthy Too feet usually look dry as do their beaks, it's the powder down. Frequent baths in plain water is your best option.

Thank you! I took the dowel perch out of the cage and now use One java wood perch and the dragon wood perch and the cement perch. when I give her a mist bath i do spray her feet as well. I will try the coconut oil since i do have it at home.

 

[Terry57]

I feed Zupreem, and even my Pis like the larger pieces they can hold. I only feed Zupreem, Tropican and Harrisons pellets to all the birds.

 

[MonicaMc]

1) What size pellet do I get? Med/large or Large pellets?
You might try contacting Zupreem directly and seeing if they give free samples. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. A sample is usually an actual bag of food, however... not a tiny smidge of food!

But you can try asking for different sizes and types!

2) Which one should I get? Or maybe combine two or more.
Although I have fed Zupreem in the past, I'm not a huge fan of it. I had a bird come to me eating Zupreem Fruitblend. I don't care for the fact that it has sugar in it, and I don't like dyes, either! The dyes have been known to accidentally dye furniture or carpet once it comes out the other end... and if your bird eats the dyed Zupreem, you can't tell if their droppings are healthy or not when it comes out yellow, red, orange, purple or even brown! If a bird is bleeding internally, depending on where inside their body they are bleeding, their droppings could be brown (old blood) or red (new blood).

I've also noticed that the dyes can result in more unformed droppings (aka a mush pile) than dye-free pellets (actual form to them). Other people have also noticed this! Or there's the birds who eat dyed pellets but their poops are a normal green color... are the birds actually able to break down the dyes in their bodies or what's going on that the dyes aren't passing through?


Short and simple, I recommend staying away from dyes! Regardless of what you feed!



Besides changing pellets, you might try feeding more fresh foods (water content!!!), coconut oil (as mentioned) or red palm oil occasionally, or even adding sprouted seeds into the diet! (again! water content! AND improved nutrition!!!!)

 

[gracebowen]

If you have a pet supplies plus near you they sell zupreem in bulk and it is less than buying a packages bag.

You can also buy just a little to let her try.

 

[MikeyTN]

I was told by a long term breeder friend that have raised birds for many years that he feeds a size smaller then it's intended for. Due to waste factors mainly. My too waste a lot of food. So I've been feeding the next size down for a long time and it does cut down waste somewhat.

 

[Aquila]

I feed Zupreem naturals for pellets, as well as Mazuri breeder blend to my pairs.

I might give the maintenance formula a try next instead of the Zupreem because it's a little bit more affordable and has some different textures and shapes.

I get the Zupreem fruit blend as a treat on occasion, which they all go crazy for. DON'T get the Nut blend, it smells HORRIBLE and my birds refused to touch it.

 

[Birdman666]

I feed the fruitblend, the larger pellets.

Why? Because they eat more than they throw.

 

[JerseyWendy]

All my guys (and girl) get the Zupreem Natural Conure size and do well with those. Additionally they get Caitec Oven Baked (big chunks), and I also add TOPs under their dry mix regularly.

IMO if you get your bird to eat pellets (even if they're fruity tooties, and NOT Eclectus), it's better than none at all Of course variety is still key, meaning add fresh veggies and fruits to their diet as well.

 

[Birdman666]

Ideally, pellets should be about 50% of the diet.

About 10% or less is seed. (Macaws and toos get more fats in their diet.)

The rest fresh foods: Nuts, veggies - particularly the vitamin A foods, rice, beans, plain pasta, bread, and a little bit of fruit (which is mostly sugar).

Occasionally I also give mine a small sliver of chicken, or a small bit of fish when we are eating that stuff.