Jump to content

Seed Or Pellets?


Guest The Fonz

Recommended Posts

Guest The Fonz

Hi there!

 

How are you all? I hope you're doing great! I just have a general question about whether seed or pellet food is best Budgies? My manager at work feeds her Budgie both seed and Pretty Bird Daily Select pellets (in seperate containers), but so many other people I know who either have or have had Budgies say that the top quality seed is fine. Polo's on the best quality seed I can find, Cede Egg Food, as well as Millet, crushed charcoal and crushed oyster shell, and she has a mineral and an iodine block (which she hasn't touched!) and a cuttle bone in her cage. Oh, she has a grit seed bell in there, too. I'm still having a problem getting her to eat her veg, I'm replacing it every day and changing which greens I give her, too but she really doens't seem that interested! I've tried mixing it in with her seed and she just picks it out and throws it on the floor! ;) Does anyone have any more suggestions as to how I can get her to eat it? Does she need veggies if she's put on the pellet food? I have so many questions to ask, but I think I'll leave it at that for now!

 

I'd be really grateful for any advice you might be able to offer!!! :feedbirds:

 

Thank you!

 

Take care & Blessed Be,

 

XxXxX Emma (and Polo!) XxXxX

Link to comment

  • Member ID:  860
  • Group:  Site Members
  • Followers:  0
  • Topic Count:  400
  • Topics Per Day:  0.06
  • Content Count:  4,240
  • Content Per Day:  0.62
  • Reputation:   0
  • Achievement Points:  39,695
  • Solved Content:  0
  • Days Won:  0
  • Joined:  07/03/05
  • Status:  Offline
  • Last Seen:  
  • Birthday:  12/09/1989

Well the grit isn't necessary and can actually be harmful so i would take that out. What's the charcoal for? I've never heard of feeding it to budgies! Variety is the key in a budgies diet. I feed my budgie 2 tsp high quality seed, 1/2 tsp egg and biscuit mix, 1/2 teaspoon of budgie crumbles (pellets) as well as at least one type of fresh fruit or veggie each day often more (depends on what he steals from me). He also has a mineral block, cuttle bone and iodine block which he doesn't always use but at least they're there if he wants to. To get your budgie to try veg just keep changing how you offer it and offer it every day. Maybe pick one veggie to try and keep offering that for as long as it takes for it to be tried? Something like spinach is usually a good starter. Also offer veggies in small sized portions....if i saw a peice of brocolli the size of my head i think i'd be terrified. Hope all this helps. :)

Link to comment

Listen to your manager. The ideal diet is pellets and seed, as well as the other stuff, because your doing fine. Millet is a treat, try to limit it to once or twice a week. Seed bells are too. They are fattening and yummy. Your bird will eat them to the exclusion of seed, and then not get a balanced diet of all the different seeds

Getting budgies to eat vegies? Well, pages and pages have been written on that topic! Stubborn little creatures aren't they? :) Different budgies respond to different things. Some to clipping it to the side of the cage, others to a dish of it, some to mixing it in with their seed, others to stealing bits that a person is eating. Perserverance is the key, and, as I said, your doing fine.

Please ask all the questions you like. We think the only dumb question is the one you don't ask! So ask away

Link to comment

I'm curious about the charcoal as well, that's a new one on me! My first instinct is to say "Stop feeding them that!" but I couldn't tell you why so... I won't say that. Yet. :D I have a feeling it is imminent though. :)

 

You've gotten great advice, I'll just add that you'll want to base the diet on pellets and seeds. Never ever limit the base of the diet to one or the other. Seed-only leads to malnutrition (as you've probably heard) while pellet-only has been linked to renal failure. As Bea said, variety is the key. Keep it interesting and healthy! Veggies should be provided on a daily basis. I find that mine are most enthusiastic about the veggies if you offer them right after you've uncovered them in the morning. If you haven't already tried this, it's worth a shot now. Clip leafy veggies near their perches, have it dangling from the top as well. If your budgie seems afraid of them, just give him/her time. He'll come around and eventually eat them. Don't give up!

 

About the treats: Contrary to popular belief, your budgies don't have to have the millet or seed bell as treats. Mine haven't seen a seed/honey stick in several months and when they got millet for Christmas it took them a while to figure out what it was. :(Laughing out loud): Their favorite "treat" these days is seed mixed with sweet potato baby food. In fact, try baby food mixed with seed, it often works wonders. It's a great way to get veggies into a stubborn bird until you can get her to eat fresh ones. Try to get organic baby food (and produce) though, it's much better for them as there are no worries of pesticides and such.

 

And yes, when feeding a diet of seeds and pellets, you MUST feed veggies too. Sprouted seeds are also good to feed but it can be complicated to get those right. I'm still learning myself. Wheatgrass is a great food to offer a few times a week and you can get it at health food stores or already-sprouted in most large chain pet stores.

 

For more diet information (including more ideas on converting budgies to a healthier diet) you can have a look at my page here: http://budgietalk.com/diet.html

 

 

I feed my budgie 2 tsp high quality seed, 1/2 tsp egg and biscuit mix, 1/2 teaspoon of budgie crumbles (pellets) as well as at least one type of fresh fruit or veggie each day often more (depends on what he steals from me).

I hope your aviary budgies don't ever read this! :) They have been excluded from your message board activity. Shame!!

Edited by eterri
Link to comment

  • Member ID:  70
  • Group:  Site Members
  • Followers:  0
  • Topic Count:  25
  • Topics Per Day:  0.00
  • Content Count:  847
  • Content Per Day:  0.04
  • Reputation:   0
  • Achievement Points:  6,535
  • Solved Content:  0
  • Days Won:  0
  • Joined:  25/10/03
  • Status:  Offline
  • Last Seen:  
  • Birthday:  30/09/1969

Seed-only leads to malnutrition

i totally disagree with this statement i have kept budgies for well over ten years now in large numbers my birds are fed only seed (no pellets) veg and millet and i know i have never lost a bird down to malnutrition

Link to comment
Guest Bluebudgie

Hi, Ive just recently got Bluey eating veg as he either didnt look at it or if I held it it front of him he was scared of it :)

I found that pretending to eat it myself right in front of him then giving him some worked a treat. He then realised it was okay to eat. Ive used this method with new toys he was afraid of too! Makes you look like an idiot licking and pretending to peck them but it worked for me and Bluey :)

Link to comment
Seed-only leads to malnutrition

i totally disagree with this statement i have kept budgies for well over ten years now in large numbers my birds are fed only seed (no pellets) veg and millet and i know i have never lost a bird down to malnutrition

How do you know you haven't lost one to malnutrition? Malnutrition leads to other complications. Just because the bird doesn't (obviously) starve to death doesn't mean its death isn't somehow linked to malnutrition. You won't see most of the effects of malnutrition on the outside. But on the inside the kidneys can fail, the liver enlarges, the bird can get diabetes...the list goes on and on. How many necropsies have been performed on budgies that have died in your aviary?

 

Many many budgies live several years on seed only diets, I realize this. But I also realize that many of them could live longer on a better diet. And most importantly, they could live healthier lives on a better diet. All we have to go on is the research that has been done but it's even more complicated than saying how long they live. It's about HOW they live. We can't know how they feel in the 3 or 5 or 10 years that they're with us. We DO know that internally, bad things are going on when they're getting a poor diet. This must surely effect their quality of life in ways that we can't see.

 

Take into account the fact that budgies (and other birds/prey animals) hide their signs of illness and injury instinctively. If their poor diet is effecting them in even a small way, we won't be able to tell by looking at them. Sometimes it becomes obvious in poor feather quality or obesity but that's pretty much all we have to go on until the bird dies and a necropsy is performed.

 

I'm not saying that every bird on an all seed diet will die early or suffer horribly during life. BUT it is a known FACT that an all seed diet leads to malnutrition.

 

That said, hath, your budgies are obviously not on an all seed diet if they're getting vegetables. A base diet of (quality) seeds supplemented by daily fresh healthy vegetables is better than seed alone. It's not ideal but it is better than only seeds. However, millet should really only be fed as a treat.

Link to comment

  • Member ID:  70
  • Group:  Site Members
  • Followers:  0
  • Topic Count:  25
  • Topics Per Day:  0.00
  • Content Count:  847
  • Content Per Day:  0.04
  • Reputation:   0
  • Achievement Points:  6,535
  • Solved Content:  0
  • Days Won:  0
  • Joined:  25/10/03
  • Status:  Offline
  • Last Seen:  
  • Birthday:  30/09/1969

i know because i check my birds you would feel if a bird was suffering from malnutrition ie breast bone showing

 

How many necropsies have been performed on budgies that have died in your aviary

probably 75 % of birds that die in my main aviary are sent away for an ortopsy by dr j baker you have the option to join the veterany dianostic service when you join the budgerigar society so i am 100% certain that none of my birds died from malnutrition

Link to comment
Guest pixie25

i have also read many avian health sites that state that an all seed diet leads to malnutrition. i have a hand out from an avian practice that my vet gave me titled 'feeding pet parrots' and it also states that all seed diets lead to malnutrition.

 

makes sense as seeds contain little or no vitamins at all. everybody needs vitamins :)

Link to comment
i know because i check my birds you would feel if a bird was suffering from malnutrition ie breast bone showing

 

How many necropsies have been performed on budgies that have died in your aviary

probably 75 % of birds that die in my main aviary are sent away for an ortopsy by dr j baker you have the option to join the veterany dianostic service when you join the budgerigar society so i am 100% certain that none of my birds died from malnutrition

Hath, malnutrition doesn't mean they have to be starving to death. The breast bone doesn't have to be showing. You can be fat and still not be getting all the nutrients that you need in order to be healthy. (Most people probably don't, honestly.)

 

What have been the causes of your birds' deaths? As I said before, malnutrition is linked to many things. If a bird died of kidney failure, for example, that could be a result of malnutrition.

Edited by eterri
Link to comment

  • Member ID:  70
  • Group:  Site Members
  • Followers:  0
  • Topic Count:  25
  • Topics Per Day:  0.00
  • Content Count:  847
  • Content Per Day:  0.04
  • Reputation:   0
  • Achievement Points:  6,535
  • Solved Content:  0
  • Days Won:  0
  • Joined:  25/10/03
  • Status:  Offline
  • Last Seen:  
  • Birthday:  30/09/1969

i will have to get back with the causes and percentages as they are in a file in the bird room and i have locked up after doing my final check for the night

Link to comment

  • Member ID:  860
  • Group:  Site Members
  • Followers:  0
  • Topic Count:  400
  • Topics Per Day:  0.06
  • Content Count:  4,240
  • Content Per Day:  0.62
  • Reputation:   0
  • Achievement Points:  39,695
  • Solved Content:  0
  • Days Won:  0
  • Joined:  07/03/05
  • Status:  Offline
  • Last Seen:  
  • Birthday:  12/09/1989

I feed my budgie 2 tsp high quality seed, 1/2 tsp egg and biscuit mix, 1/2 teaspoon of budgie crumbles (pellets) as well as at least one type of fresh fruit or veggie each day often more (depends on what he steals from me).

I hope your aviary budgies don't ever read this! :) They have been excluded from your message board activity. Shame!!

Yes, i know....luckily they don't have a computer out there! I will add that my aviary budgies get high quality seed plus veggies at least a few times a week (usually everyday) and i also give them things like mashed egg or some cooked foods. Oh, and they've got their cuttlebone and iodine bell, etc. :ausb:

Link to comment

I have always believed that when feeding animals the less proccessing and human interferance with a food the better it is and I'm afraid I look at pellets as VERY proccessed :blink: I don't feed them to any of my birds and feel that the high quality seed as well as fresh organic (I eat organic products myself whenever possible so my animals get the same...Extra $$$ but I think well worth it)Vegetables and fruit as well as grasses and sprigs of native bushes and trees is the healthiest diet I can personally provide all of my birds :blush::D

*forgot to add the obvious cuttlefish(they LOVE) and mineral block(which they won't touch and haven't the whole time I've had them there...I have even tried different ones)

Edited by Bec
Link to comment

I agree that a good, "raw" diet is probably best. As natural as possible and such. But when doing that you really do have to be more strict about what you feed and how much. You have to do your research to know what plants/vegetables/fruits/etc. are providing your bird with what nutrients.

 

Also, most of us don't have access to native plants.

 

Make sure your seed mix is fresh enough to sprout. If it won't sprout, it's got nothing to offer your birds. I don't like the idea of overprocessed foods either but I also don't feel I could provide all their needs by feeding fresh foods and no pellets. It's too complicated for my small brain so I give them a bit of everything. Variety's the most important factor.

 

And of course, there are organic pellets on the market as well that make for a bit of a better alternative.

Link to comment

I know that most people on this forum don't have access to the many native plants that we here in Australia have but I give them to my budgies and so do lots of people in Australia...Studying Conservation and Land Management I have learnt an awful lot about Australia's native plants and the creatures that in nature use them for more than just nutrition but self medication as well (and believe me that is a whole other topic that I won't get into)

I am not trying to "persuade" anyone into anything I'm just stating my opinion and telling anyone who wants to know exactly what I feed my birds.. :D

I have a problem in my aviary with the seed that falls on the floor....it always sprouts as I have a dirt floor in my aviary....

Once you learn about plants and what they are made up of and what they exactly contain(any toxins,nutritional value etc.)....before I go on I have to say that an awful lot of native australian plants are highly toxic and unless you have knowledge in this area of expertise I wouldn't reccomend giving your birds anything "native" and expecting it to be okay...

I feed these plants because I have learnt and continue to learn about the Australian Bush and believe that I am doing the best that I can do for them....whilst I realize that not everybody can do this I am not going to stop doing it because they can't. :D:D

Link to comment

That sounds like a good deal, Bec. :D I wouldn't want you to stop doing something that you know is healthy for your birds. I just like to give the most "universal" and easy to follow advice as far as diet goes. :D It's neat that you're able to study these things, I would love to get into something like that, especially studying what wild budgies eat (as well as other things about them).

Link to comment

  • Member ID:  2,155
  • Group:  Site Members
  • Followers:  0
  • Topic Count:  36
  • Topics Per Day:  0.00
  • Content Count:  1,162
  • Content Per Day:  0.06
  • Reputation:   0
  • Achievement Points:  7,840
  • Solved Content:  0
  • Days Won:  0
  • Joined:  19/03/06
  • Status:  Offline
  • Last Seen:  

I'll just add my little two cents in here... if that's okay...

 

What I feed my budgies. The indoor and outdoor ones gets good quality seeds, a fresh branch of bottlebrush or eucalyptus leaves/flowers, sprouted seeds, a little bit of pellets, plus the usual minerals and calcium bells thing. They don't get daily veggie, but I do give them greens, just in other forms other than veggies.

 

What I've always done is to actually sprout the seeds that I get, and give those just sprouted, and also more likely grown like wheatgrass in a large kitty litter tray, or one of those take away containers. my budgies would kill for those. I put a fresh tray in every two to three days as this is usually how long it will take them to demolish the greenery. And I always have them growing in the backyard, so I don't have to worry about a short supply. :dbb1:

 

Now, before someone go off for not feeding my birds veggies, I believe that in the wild, they don't get the veggies that we eat, and they do eat the grass and weeds or whatever they find, afterall, they are grass parakeets. So anyway, with that, I believe that they need greens, but not in a form of veggies, though veggies do give good nutritional values.....

Link to comment

Cheeta, I also feed mine grevillea branches, and a lot of sprouted seed. When i empty my seed containers, I chuck them on the ground, and get some lovely grasses growing for them. They would kill for some of this grass, definately their favourites. I feed vegies as well, I figure the more variety the better.

Link to comment

  • Member ID:  2,155
  • Group:  Site Members
  • Followers:  0
  • Topic Count:  36
  • Topics Per Day:  0.00
  • Content Count:  1,162
  • Content Per Day:  0.06
  • Reputation:   0
  • Achievement Points:  7,840
  • Solved Content:  0
  • Days Won:  0
  • Joined:  19/03/06
  • Status:  Offline
  • Last Seen:  

Hi Lin,

I guess more variety doesn't hurt. May be I can try out some vegies. My cockatoo gets vegs as he steals the one off my plate, but the budgies don't. I might just give it a try... :dbb1: Thanks.

Link to comment

They might take a while to try the vegies, but they will enjoy them. I also find they like a small piece of apple, don't forget to take the seeds out. Have we seen pictures of your birds lately?

Link to comment

Cheeta....sounds like you have feeding sussed! :) I feed vegetables and fruit to all my birds...I figure they're not bad for them so why not, I think you are on the right track using our native plants...they are extremely good for them!

Lin, my lot love the seed that sprouts on the aviary floor....they often go down and scratch around on the aviary floor, eating the sprouted seed and just digging/scratching around.....exploring and stuff! :)

Link to comment

  • Member ID:  2,155
  • Group:  Site Members
  • Followers:  0
  • Topic Count:  36
  • Topics Per Day:  0.00
  • Content Count:  1,162
  • Content Per Day:  0.06
  • Reputation:   0
  • Achievement Points:  7,840
  • Solved Content:  0
  • Days Won:  0
  • Joined:  19/03/06
  • Status:  Offline
  • Last Seen:  

hehe, yeah, my lot goes bezerk when they see me waving a bottlebrush branch around before I get into the aviary!! then they'll hop all over it to get the best position on the branch to get the new leaves coming through!!! :)

Link to comment

(Laughing out loud).....I have a theory about Bottlebrush....I think it's an aphrodesiac for budgies :D Well mine anyway...they often try to "get fresh" with it as my pop would say! :):)

Link to comment
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...