Pellets and budgies?

[snowy]

Can budgies go on a pellet diet? Because my mums parrot is on pellets and since he has been on pellets he has seemed MUCH more healthier and happy, so if anyone knows if they can or not please tell me.:budgie:

[Bea]

Pellets are a part of a healthy diet in budgies. They should make up about 25% of your budgies diet.

[Smoothy]

Pelets alone is not healthy for a bird, they need other nutrients whether its in seeds, mineral rocks, cuttlebone, fruits, vegetables. Give your budgie what it likes and needs to eat, not what you think they will like. Make all of these things available to them, you will find they will eat almost anything healthy. I give mine cabbage leafs and chopped strawberries mixed, or chopped celery leaves mixed with chopped carrots. Any green vege or fruit will work.

[Bea]

Cabbage is actually a no-no. It's not good for budgies. Fruit should also be kept as a treat as it's very sugary.

[Smoothy]

Sorry not cabbage, i meant lettuce leaf.

[BUUZBEE]

Sorry not cabbage, i meant lettuce leaf.


lol!

i have my gang on seed, vegies, some fruit. they are in the aviary so they can really "work off" the fat in the seeds, lol. but if they are cages, i would switch them over to pellets. as long as they have a well balanced diet, they will be fine either way (i've never seen pellet grass in the wild, lol)

my conure is on a pellet diet, and gets seed sometimes too. i did try to switch the aviary birds to pellets, but it was just way too much $$$ to throw away when they wouldn't touch them!

[Budgiekin]

I have been meaning to mention a little something about pellets, so here it goes. I realize that pellets are not found in nature and that budgies eat a primarily seed-based diet in the wild, but we are talking about pet budgies here. We can provide so much better nutrition than what they get in the wild, which is why pellets play an important role in their diets. They provide a significant amount of the vitamins and minerals that they may be lacking in their seed diet.

The bottom line is that variety is key. Seeds, pellets, veggies and some fruit are great. Also adding egg bread (or another source of protein) is important too.

[Smoothy]

Totally agree, we have nutrients nowadays that is twice or even five times more healthy than what they would eat in the wild. Like you said, they are out pets, and they will continue to have a wild side to them if we keep feeding them what they would normally eat in the wild. But if you decide to continue feeding them seeds there are some luquid nutrients you can spray a few drops into their food bowl to help them in many different ways whether its for plumage, digestion, increase hormones, these are all things a healthy budgie needs.

[BUUZBEE]

Here is a little more info you can dabble in that was posted elsewhere....

I found some interesting information on pellets when I was doing some research on tumors in budgies. Aside from the topic I was researching, this makes interesting reading.


PELLETS

Let's talk about the additives in pellets.

Ethoxyquin: Is listed and identified as a harsh hazardous chemical by OSHA. It was originally used to preserve rubber. This is not allowed in human food and some feel it is not a chemical that they want in their bird food. The FDA has asked manufacturers for voluntary reduction in its use in pet foods and is in the process of deciding whether or not to ban the use of it altogether. Bird’s bodies can not get rid of it like a dog or cat and it then builds up and causes problems. Ethoxyquin promotes kidney carcinogenesis, significantly increases the incidence of stomach tumors, enhanced bladder carcinogenesis and urinary bladder carcinogenesis. Cancers of this type are the most lethal and fastest acting, the swiftest effects being seen among animals.

Artificial Colors: Most people are aware of toxic side effects of artificial colors and flavors from coal tar derivatives such as Red #40, a possible carcinogen, and Yellow #6, which causes sensitivity to fatal viruses in animals. Artificial colors DO cause yellow feather discoloration in Eclectus.

BHT/BHA: These petroleum products are used to stabilize fats in foods. In the process of metabolizing BHA and BHT, chemical changes occur in the body. These changes have caused reduced growth rates and they inhibit white blood cell stimulation. In pets, they can exhibit reactions such as skin blisters, hemorrhaging of the eye, weakness, discomfort in breathing, a reduction of the body's own antioxidant enzyme, glutathione peroxidase and may cause cancer. According to Dr. Wendell Belfield, DVM, a practicing vet for some 26 years, both BHA and BHT are known to cause liver and kidney dysfunction and are banned in some European countries.

Propylene Glycol: Used as a de-icing fluid for airplanes, this chemical is added to food and skin products to maintain texture and moisture as well as inhibiting bacteria growth in products. It also inhibits the growth of friendly bacteria in the digestive system by decreasing the amount of moisture in the intestinal tract leading to constipation and cancer. It can affect the liver and kidneys and causes the destruction of red blood cells.

Salt: Added as a preservative, salt can irritate the stomach lining, cause increased thirst and aggravate heart and kidney problems through fluid retention.

Sodium Nitrite: Used in the curing of meats, this substance participates in a chemical reaction in the body that becomes carcinogenic. It is used also in pet foods to add color.

Sugar and other Sweeteners: The most common sweeteners in pet/bird foods are beet sugar, corn sugar, molasses and sucrose. They are used as preservatives and have the side effect of creating sugar addicts in pets. They require almost no digestion and are rapidly absorbed into the blood stream. These will provide sugar highs (just as humans experience) and subsequent lows (moodiness), inhibit the proper growth of friendly intestinal bacteria and they virtually shut down the digestive system while being processed. Sugar can also contribute to diabetes and hypoglycemia, cataract development, obesity and arthritis.

Go to your cupboard and get your pellets out and find out how many of these additives are in the brand you buy. If there is something else on the ingredients list and you don't know what it is, FIND OUT.

Here is some that is NOT what a bird would get natually in regular foods and these things build up in the birds system over time and cause harm to your bird,
Ferrous Carbonate, Cobalt Carbonate, Folic Acid, Artificial Colors, Copper Oxide, Propionic Acid (a preservative), Ethoxyquin (a preservative), Sodium with anything attached to the name in front or back is also one as sodium is a form of salt, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride large doses may cause gastro-intestinal upset and chronic administration of large dosages has been associated with adverse neurological effects.

Do your research or ask questions of someone who can find out for you. Did you see the natural ingredients on your pellet ingredients list? Why not feed those items in their fresh, natural state instead?

How do YOUR pellets stack up?
(This list may need updating...check labels!)

Abba = ethoxyquin, artificial color, artificial flavor
Avian Special Needs = fish solubles, mineral oil
Avi-Sci =ethoxyquin
Breeders Blend=artificial flavors, salt
Hagen =salt
Harrison's = salt
Kaytee =ethoxyquin, artificial color, salt, BHT or BHA
Kellogg =ethoxyquin, artificial flavor, salt
Lafeber Pellets=ethoxyquin
Lefeber Nutriberries=ethoxyquin, propylene glycol
L&M Pellets=ethoxyquin, artificial color, artificial flavor
Pretty Bird Pellets=ethoxyquin, artificial flavor, salt, added sugar, BHT or BHA
Roudybush Pellets=ethoxyquin
Scenic=salt
ZuPreem=artificial flavor, BHT or BHA

Additional information:-
'Pellets, on the other hand, are not part of a bird's natural diet. Additionally, it is very easy for a grain miller to add poor quality grains, including those that are moldy, dirty, and insect infested, into a pellet mix.
Once everything was ground up and pressed together, who would know?
The purchaser also has no idea if the quality control is in place. Too much or too little supplementation can be added by a careless mixer and you won't know until your birds start dropping dead or getting ill.

The fat in a pellet mix is more likely to be rancid than the fat contained in fresh unhulled seeds. It is much more difficult to hide poor seed quality. If the seeds are dirty or if they are moldy, you can reject them. You don't have to feed them to your birds.
With pellets, you can only hope for the best. There's no telling what they contain.
If you feel a need to add supplements to a natural diet of fresh fruits, vegetables, and seeds, you can tailor the amount and kind of supplement to the needs of your bird. When you feed pellets, you are stuck with what has been added by the manufacturer.''

****Protein levels in pellets are usually to high for some cockatiels to handle and can result in renal disease and gout for this breed of bird and some other breeds as well.
Iron toxicity and vitamin D toxicity have both been connected with feeding of pellets also, these problems have just started to have started surface with in the last couple of years.

We do not hear often enough concerning young parrots weaned to pellets with not the proper amount of some nutrients have resulted in perosis or more commonly know as a twisting of leg bones.
Low levels of choline in the pelleted manufactured diet can be the cause of this.

[BUUZBEE]

I think your best bet choosing any diet, would be to find an organic one, be it, seeds or pellets.

I try not to buy anything for my family to eat that is "processed" and that is what the commercial brand pellets are, processed.

All of my fruits and veggies are organic from Whole foods, and I am trying to find a supplier that sells organic seeds in bulk, it gets pricey getting the smaller bags!

(coco's pellets are organic too)

[BUUZBEE]

The biggest bags i can find are 10lb, i need more like 50lbs!