What brand of budgie food is the best kind?. I want to convert my budgies to a healthy diet, any tips and recommendations would be great. Thanks. :hap:

have you looked into a pellet diet?

 

the best brands are harrisons or natural zupreem. however, pellet converison is tricky and should really be done under the guidance or advice of your avian vet.

 

the most important thing is to make sure there is plenty of fresh food like spinach, broccoli, carrot etc. in the diet.

Edited December 22, 200519 yr by pixie25

And you shouldn't cut seed right out of your budgies diet because they are still good for them as well.

What's wrong with a seed and fruit and vegtable diet.

 

I like the pellet diet but couldn't get the birds to go for it. It is too expensive throw out.

Well mine are on seed and veggies with some egg and biscuit and his Royal Blinkiness gets everyday 2 tsp of seed (trill - the one with 7 different seeds), 1/2 tsp dry egg and bisc mix, 1/2 tsp pellet crumbles and some fresh spinach/sprouts/brocolli/carrot - depends what i feel like giving him.

Now thats sounds like a good diet.

Mine are on about the same. But add some added vitamins to the green foods.

nothing is wrong with a seed diet as long as it is well varied.

 

pellet diets are great, but admittedly it is easier and more widely used as a staple diet for larger parrots. most people that feed a pellet diet feed both pellets and seeds.

Mine didn't go for the pellets and as Daz said was costing me a fortune just to get thrown out. But mine has a very varied diet. I also buy them something called Jungle Munchies from Pets At Home - its coloured seed I sprinkle a bit on their normal seed it smells lovely but it contain a few pellets mixed in and they all eat this so it cant be too bad. Fresh veggies and fruit is a necessity, spinach and carrot tops are a fave in my house.

 

I also add especially to my non veg eating tiels a dusting of ACE High vitamin twice a week. My budgies get it once a every couple of weeks as they all eat lots of veg.

It's actually a LOT harder to feed a diet of seed supplemented by veggies. Unless you are completely anal with your research and very strict with what you feed and when, it's hard to get it right. It's pretty much a guessing game.

 

Pellets are hard to convert to, but in the long run it's much easier to feed a healthy diet when pellets are part of it. They are packed with the things your birds need and take a lot of the guesswork out of it.

 

I mean, seed and veggies is a lot better than just seed but unless you are really crazy-anal about it, it's not going to be nearly as good as a diet that includes pellets and other foods.

 

Converting them can be difficult and pellets aren't cheap but if you keep trying it's well worth it.

 

Budgies need the same things larger parrots need but they also do best when seed is still involved. This doesn't mean the pellets are any less important.

It's actually a LOT harder to feed a diet of seed supplemented by veggies. Unless you are completely anal with your research and very strict with what you feed and when, it's hard to get it right. It's pretty much a guessing game

 

it kind of makes you think how the wild budgie lasted all these years on seeds and plants ect without such a balanced pellet and before you start im not having a go it just makes me think thats all

Wild budgies have access to what nature intended them to eat. While we can replicate some of this, there hasn't even been enough research to tell us *exactly* what they eat, when how much, and how it would affect the budgies we keep as pets (since wild budgies are nomadic and fly, what they eat varies on what region they happen to be in during a particular season). We just know enough now to know what deficiencies are common and which diets have the best results. Pellets happen to pack what they need (to our knowledge so far) into one form so that a person can be certain that their budgie is getting those particular things on a regular basis.

 

I'm not saying that feeding a seed diet with daily veggies is a bad thing though. Just pointing out what is ideal. Supplementing with fresh foods, sprouts, etc. is far far better than just throwing in some seed every day.

 

Also, I know you're not having a go, it was a good, valid question!

I would like Skip to have pellets however I am unable to find any at the pet store or my supermarket! anyone know where you can get pellets in Perth? ( Aus)

Have you got a City Farmers near you? They are called canary crumble (I think)

I would like Skip to have pellets however I am unable to find any at the pet store or my supermarket! anyone know where you can get pellets in Perth? ( Aus)

Some of the larger bird and aviary places have them and avian vets do too. The Wattle Grove vet does. Also the "bird, fish & Reptile" place in wattle grove does too. Cheers Kaz

You can always order pellets online. Mine will eat them, but through trial and error I found the smaller the pellet, the more likely your bird will eat it. Currently mine eat a mixture of Harrison's Superfine and Harrison's Mash with some Quiko eggfood thrown in that they have access to 24/7. Yes, it is expensive, but once they begin to eat it it's not so bad (not as much wasted). They also get soaked and sprouted seeds and beans, a cooked diet (Beak Appetit), and fresh veggies every day. The veggies include baby spinach, baby carrots, parsley, green and red pepper, redleaf lettuce, and broccoli. They do not get dry seeds every day, but usually at least 4 days a week they get them and some millet sprays to nibble on. The only reason I do not give them seeds every day is that mine tend towards obesity - even though they are fully flighted my indoor birds don't care much for regular flight. A few trips around the room is good for them, so given their lack of regular activity this keeps their weight down. Occasionally they get fruit. They seem to thrive on this, so I keep to it. I think the more you can vary their diet, the better, no matter what you decide on. I would check with your vet.

I would like Skip to have pellets however I am unable to find any at the pet store or my supermarket! anyone know where you can get pellets in Perth? ( Aus)

 

Like Lin's suggested, all city farmers should stock them.

 

otherwise here are some major bird dealers in Perth that stock them.

 

Bird and fish place (welshpool rd, wattle grove)

Birdworld (Abernethy Rd, Belmont)

Birds 'n all (??? Caversham)

Birdbarn (Nicholson Rd, Canningvale)

 

I personally get them from the city farmers as they are cheaper than the bird places.

 

good luck locating the pellets.

I forgot to mention wheatgrass. They get wheatgrass most days too. Not only do they eat the grass and dig up the sprouted seeds to eat, they also like to bathe in it when I spritz it with water.