Changing Taco and Barkley's diet??

[birdgirl]

has any one ever fed Pretty bird premium bird food? I want to change my birds to it but I want to know what you guys think :confused: right now I'm buying Barkley KEYTEE and Taco ZuPreem and I'm spending $30 a month but if I change there diet it will only be $20 go ahead and call me cheep if you want.

[Jenny]

CHEAP!!!! :p hahaha Wow, Taco must have one big appetite to cost you $30 a month (assuming Barkley eats as little as Scherzo). I'm not sure how much I spend on bird food a month but I like to think not quite $30. I don't feed them pellets completely, instead I give them a big variety of other food which I sneak from the family fridge- and thus don't pay for myself. ;) Then I buy 'tiel seed mix and millet as weekly supplements. Anyway, I think it'd be perfectly fine to switch them to PrettyBird. I know hardly anything about it as far as how good it is though.

[crazeemama]

There is a reason PB is cheaper. More chemicals, more sugars and less nutrition. I am no fan of zupreem either, but it wins hands down over Pretty bird!

[Jenny]

Glad to see your input on P.B. Crazee. Has anyone on here decided NOT to feed their birds pellets even if they'll eat them? I've been thinking of just feeding my birds what I eat (I'm vegetarian and love to cook healthy nutritious stuff, which the birds like to share).

[Kaye]

I just thought I'd mention that Prettybird and ZuPreem both have trace amounts of zinc in them and that you should definately not feed them to your birds (See this (http://pub39.ezboard.com/flovebirdsplusaviarydiscussionboardfrm4.showMessag e?topicID=682.topic) thread (long but worth reading) at the lovebird forum I go to).. I'm in the process of converting my birds to a more fresh-food orientated diet and looking for a reliable brand of pellets (which is practically impossible!). Just my 2 cents.

[Jenny]

Ok...that makes it official, I'm going to quit with the Zupreem (I'll admit I didn't read the article b/c it said I was unregistered) since I've never been 100% comfortable with it anyway. It also drives me crazy that the pellet companies are so picky on how much of each nutrient a bird gets. In the wild, birds just eat what they can find...they don't say "I'd better not eat anymore of this 'cause I need some Vitamin A in my diet". Instead, they eat what's available. I think I'll finish up the rest of the bag of pellets and then just feed them fresh human food from now on. Thank goodness they're all good eaters.

[crazeemama]

I think pellets have a place in the diet of our birds. It takes a committed consumer advocate (you!) to decide what is best for our birds. Not all pellets are the same nutritionally speaking. It pays to get the best pellet you can for your price range. I feed *some seed* *some pellets* fresh fruit, fresh/steamed veggies, sprouts and a grain/legume/pasta mix to which i have added either squash or yams to. I feed some of all of these things daily.

My feed store (remember i live right next to the middle of nowhere!) stopped carrying the feeds/pellets i was getting so i had to find another source. i ended up finding a woman 65 miles away that is a distributor of hagen tropimix. she charges that price and no shipping so it is a great deal. I have to buy entire cases but that isn't a problem (2 20 lb bags is a case) and i have to order 6 months worth at a time (she orders 1000lb orders so there is no shipping). but it is worth the price. They are a pretty good feed all natural and human grade food stuffs, no chemicals etc. the colors are vegetable and the fruit flavor is extract from i believe apple and orange. So it is basically the best i can find around here. would i feed it completely? NEVER. I think it is a good staple to have available, but other things are also fed. there are at least 3 feed dishes in each cage.

[Amanda]

Crazee, is that Hagen Tropimix you're feeding your babies the same as Hagen Tropican? I use Hagen Tropican, along with other fresh/cooked foods.

[Kaye]

Jenny that's what I plan on doing eventually! Just feeding them a good variety of seeds/sprouts, fruits, veggies, cooked foods, birdie bread.. you know, the good healthy stuff! I'm putting together a little recipe notebook right now. I am introducing good foods to their diet (which is going very slow for Oliver, since he is very stubborn.. they're still eating mainly pellets for now) and I'm going to wean them off the pellets as much as I can!

[crazeemama]

tropimix is the seed/ pellet mix , tropican is the pellets
Here is the website
http://shell.pubnix.net/~mhagen/docu/hariprod.html

[Jenny]

Kaye, we'll have to trade favorite birdy recipes! lol Sounds fun. Will Oli eat mushy foods? Crazee I have to ask you, if you're feeding them fruits, veggies, grains, legumes, seeds, etc. daily, what's the point of continuing on feeding the pellets?

[crazeemama]

Jenny -
I feed pellets in a cup, they are always there. If someone didn't eat enough of something else, then there is always pellets to nosh on! also, there are times i have to be gone and it is much easier to ask someone to just dump the water and pellet/mixes twice a day and refill. It is a bit of a backup plan. If something should suddenly happen to me and they had to be rehomed, they wouldn't starve as they would eat pellets they know what they are. I use so little compared to what i used to use. Also for the smaller birds with high metabolisms, they eat more pellets as i think it is hard for them to get enough of the other stuff to satisfy their metabolisms.

[Amanda]

Thanks for the website Crazee. Now that I know what the Tropimix looks like I'll look for it next time I'm at the petstore. Maybe if I buy the Tropimix I'll save a bit of money. I give Rio the regular Tropican pellets and then in another bowl I give her the Hagen Seed-Nut-Fruit-Vegetable Mix Gourmet.