What is your bird's favorite...

[Larry, Baby and Me]

I am curious to know what your bird’s favorite pellet is. I have heard some say the green ones and others prefer the red ones. I wonder why some birds have a preference.

It would also be interesting to know what brand of pellets they go wild over.

These feathered friends of ours sometimes do have their preferences - who knows why?

Any ideas?

[michelle]

My guys all get TOPs and Harrisons. Gillie LOVES Harrisons.

I know birds do have color preferences. Maybe it can just be something as simple as that. For instance, I refuse to drink anything that is a fluorescent blue color. I don't care if someone tells me it is the best tasting drink they ever had, I'm not having any of it. :D

But, I think some of the colored pellets have some flavoring in them too. They might have an aversion to the flavoring.

[Bambam]

I like-m all..but after your post in re: to the lead..momma sez no more:mad:Larry...you trouble maker..now itz back to water & scrambled eggs

[Bambam]

oops..send b4 finished..silly bird..I not really mad:proud:now maybe I'll be around to teach Freida a few things about this computer:rofl::rofl:..and she thinks shez smarter than me..I saving all my good stuff for later:dancered:Bambam the Lucky Bird:yeah:

[Dot]

I don't offer colored pellets. If red dye number whatever is still not considered safe for humans, then I don't want my birds to get any of the colored pellets.

Some vets say that the feather picking issues are because of pellets. Also, some birds, my Scarlet included, are beginning to show one or two dark feathers where the feather should be red or green. My Scarlet came to me on a pelleted diet, so that could have caused it. No one knows much about feathers.

I do offer a few non-dyed pellets. The Amazons do not recognize pellets as food and will not eat them. That should say it all. Amazons will eat anything. My RFM was given pellets at the breeders, so she will eat them. The Scarlet doesn't eat them.

I fear giving them too many vitamins more than I fear their not getting enough.

And, Larry just posted a link to an article that said you can use a magnet to see if there is metal in the powder at the bottom of the pellet container. Scary.

[Dot]

I like-m all..but after your post in re: to the lead..momma sez no more:mad:Larry...you trouble maker..now itz back to water & scrambled eggs

And fresh veggies and fruit and seeds and nuts, I hope. Don't forget lots of dark leafy greens for essential fatty acids.

[Larry, Baby and Me]

But Dot - what pellets are your bird's favorites?

[Dot]

But Dot - what pellets are your bird's favorites?

I offer about six non-dyed pellets to each bird. The RFM will eat them. The others will not. There is no favorite. I will not experiment with them. Studies need to be done to test the long term effect of pellets on parrots.

Did you read Jenell's post about the plucking too. As an experiment, she offered a well know pellet to her macaw. He was clipping feathers within a week and stopped after she stopped giving him pellets.

BTW, have you ever tried to eat a pellet? I have. They are dry and tasteless. Gee, how appetizing.

[FoxersArtist]

Most of ours prefer the colored pellets over the natural colored pellets. That being saidm it seems like they change preferances seasonally. Sometimes it's all green, sometimes all red...they almost always seem to eat the yellow ones though peggy sue will leave the orange ones till the very end no matter what. But the concept of switching from color to color made more sense to me after I read that parrots forage for different fruits that are ripe during different times. This means they will eat all of one crop one month and all of something totally different the following month. Why not with the color of their pellets too?
-Anna

[birdie]

ok, you asked, I'll tell. keep in mind they get their seeds, nuts & veggies, etc...
I feed 1 tsp per day kaytee original/plain to the Zons, it's the only kind they'll eat.
The conures won't eat them, neither will the Lovies.
Cassie will only eat the Kaytee fruit ones for the "BIG GUYS" color I haven't noticed a preference.
Stella I feed the Zupreem fruit ones, she eats the green 1st, then the yellow, sometimes the orange & if ever~ the red ones are last.

I am slowly weaning all of my birdies off of the pellets, I need to make sure they are maintaining their weight, and are eating the other stuff that's better for them.

[Julie]

We offer a full variety of foods for the birds. Duch (CAG) likes the Kaytee exact organic pellets, they have no color. I have tried on several occassions to mix in the colored pellets and she picks around them. She prefers the "O" shaped ones, as she soaks them in her water and then eats them. The triangle pieces tend to sink to the bottom, and we all know how much greys like the water!

Carl ignores them completly. The tiels go in spurts, sometimes they will actually eat the pellets out of thier bowl before any other seed, but they are feed a mixture.

[Dot]

Why do you guys offer pellets?

[FoxersArtist]

Why do you guys offer pellets?

My personal experiences with pellets have been great! I offer some seed, pellets as a staple diet and a variety of fresh foods. I have seen ill birds recover, birds with greyish feathering turn vibrant, many plucking birds who have stopped after the switch, better weight control, and an overall improvement in mood. You had made a comment about worrying about the amounts of vitamin supplements that are added to pellets. I tend to believe that because our birds are living in captivity they need more vitamins that they would otherwise have found in their natural environments. I think variety is the key. I have seen birds on an all pelleted diet that were not well, greysish, plucking, etc, but I believe that as with all things, there must be a balance.
-Anna

[Dot]

My personal experiences with pellets have been great! I offer some seed, pellets as a staple diet and a variety of fresh foods. I have seen ill birds recover, birds with greyish feathering turn vibrant, many plucking birds who have stopped after the switch, better weight control, and an overall improvement in mood. You had made a comment about worrying about the amounts of vitamin supplements that are added to pellets. I tend to believe that because our birds are living in captivity they need more vitamins that they would otherwise have found in their natural environments. I think variety is the key. I have seen birds on an all pelleted diet that were not well, greysish, plucking, etc, but I believe that as with all things, there must be a balance.
-Anna

How many pellets per day to you offer?

[FoxersArtist]

It depends on the bird. Our cockatiels and ringneck get about a tablespoon and a half. Our amazons get about a half cup. The big boys (and Benny boy) get about a cup. I'm a big believer in not wasting so I usually only give them what they will eat in a day. We give only a certain amount of seed (about 1/3 of the pellet mix) and they eat all the seed first. Then they eat their pellets. Then they get fresh foods and I offer each food in small portions so they eat it all. I don't like leftovers sitting in the cage with them. Because we only give them a certain amount, most of the birds have learned not to throw their food as much...which is kind of nice. Besides, it keeps most of them (all but one of our tiels and Peggy sue) from gaining too much weight.
-Anna