what do you feed your parrotlet?

[nar1122]

I was just cusious to see what everybody feeds their parrotlet.
Is seed or pellet better?
My vet told me pellet is way better, and to get them off seed immediately.
My mom (who has been raising birds since she was a teenager)
said she once put all her parrotlets on it, and they all got skinny and one almost died, and then she gave them seed and they pigged out!! :eek:
(it was the same brand that the vet reccomended)
The brand the vet recommendedw was harrison's.
It's quite expensive at $13/lb......so I bought it to try...i didnt switch my birds, I just offered it to them in a second food bowl in their cage....THEY LOVE IT! They eat both the pellet, and the seed.
I just dont know if pellet actually is best for them, or if the vet was switching me to buy harrison's to make money (because they were like the only place in the city that has it, i called petsmart, petco, etc.)
Please let me know what you all think. My parrotlet is still kinda young, and curious which will make any nececcary changes easier for him.
:):)

[Pado]

If my Vet told me to switch my Blue mutation Parrotlet to Pellets I'd find another Avian Vet pronto.
Its recommended not to feed any Parrotlet a Pellet diet as their main diet - this holds especially true for the mutations (colored) Parrotlets. Most recommend not to feed the mutations pellets at all - but some do.

Pellets cause the P'let to drink more water which can lead to Kidney damage for them - because it causes the Kidneys to work overtime. There is a lot about this on the Internet.

I feed my P'lets Harrison's as an addition to their diet but not as their main diet (both of mine are normal Greens)

A varied Diet is the best - See this thread http://www.talkparrotlets.com/showthread.php?p=5200&highlight=Diet#post5200

[nar1122]

yea, I give to it to them in a second bowl. I guess I will just keep it at that. And im planning on finding another vet anyways, because the one I have is SO expensive!! I dont know if it is like this for all vets but heres my latest bill from taking my sick baby cockatiel that I had a few weeks ago:
exotic avian office visit--75.00
tube feeding--21.30
(teeny tiny) bottle of medicine--28.00
medical waste disposal--3.50
total---127.80!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
anyways, yea I was reading that thread earlier this morning. I just wanted to hear more about it

[Pado]

All Avian Vets vary in pricing. They are usually more expensive than the normal small animal Dog/Cat vets because they have to be. They have specialized training and a smaller client listing.

Although yours may be a bit excessive IMO :eek: My last visit was just a checkup, exam and a nail trim. Total visit $57 this included the office Visit. This was with a certified Avian Vet.

[nar1122]

mine is certified too. but the office visit is 75 dollars itself, EVERYTIME you go, no matter what for.

[Pado]

Excessive :p

[nar1122]

VERY
:mad::mad:
lol. It was to save the bird, which didnt even work out.

[Pado]

Thats sad. But good for you for taking him anyway - sadly some people won't even bother - rationalizing a new bird will cost less than the vet visit :confused:

[nar1122]

Not in my case. I got all my birds for free. :) Me and my mother get our birds from a friend who is a breeder. She is slowly getting out of birds, so she gives me and my mother any one we want. But we give her a chance to sell them. We really dont ask for any of them, but she knows we will take them, so when we go to her house, sometimes she has one ready to go home with us without even telling us!! She is who im going to get a companion for Oscar from.
Or if my breeding pair actually lays eggs, I will use one of those. (they are greens)
I guess green and blue would be a good couple??
Anyways, I hope Oscar is nice to the new bird that hes gonna have...

[Kumiko]

Well,

Kiwi is fed on Parakeet Seed (it has no sunflowers in it) and Harvest Blend -- it has Pellets and Seeds, dried fruit and veggies, sunflowers (not tht much), and dried greens at the bottom of the bag-- so he doesnt get dreid greens from taht harvest most of the time-- (barely had pellets though-- Kiwi doesnt even eat them). both of these types of seed are mixed up.

He get vitamins in his water everyday

He gets dried greens and chracoal about 2-3 times a week.

And every morning, before his seed, he gets birdie bread with a little peice of fruit -- dried oatmel too. (birdie bread last about 5 hours - 6hr.) part of the day is seed --

Every night around 6pm I give him fresh veggies -- He loves corn--


That is mostly Kiwi's diet.

[nar1122]

Okay thanks. There are so many different varieties of things to give to parrotlets, everybody is different.

Kiwi, Umm where do you buy all the things you give him?

[Kumiko]

Pet store.

I get mine from the small Pet stores. The big ones are not really expereinced as the smaller ones. AND the smaller ones can order anything for you. :p

[catfish]

I feed a seed diet w/o sunflower seeds. I also put some natural colored pellets in there with dried peppers, peas, and other veggies.

I also buy frozen fruits and vegetables. They are just as nutritionaly good, just precut and frozen. This way when I'm in a rush, I can pour some out into a cup, fill it with hot water, and go about what I need to do. By the time I'm done, they are defrosted and ready to serve. I buy the stir fry that has carrots, green beans, snow peas, brocolli florets and stems, and peppers. Gelato loves them... the quakers aren't as thrilled. I also buy frozen strawberries, rassberries (spelling?), and black berries. Gelato looks like a vampire after getting these....it's kind of scary.

[Elyse]

Why is everyone saying, "w/out sunflower seeds"?
Those are some of Kismet's favorite.

[Pado]

Why is everyone saying, "w/out sunflower seeds"?
Those are some of Kismet's favorite.


Some of the Cockatiel seed mixes (which are used for Parrotlets also) have a lot of Sunflower Seeds in them. Too many sunflower - nuts ... aka protein ... can put a bird into premature molt as well as bring on breeding issues. So its best to give these in moderation. They do need nuts so don't cut out too much. But overkill on nuts can cause problems. Also some may eat the nuts over the other nutritious foods they should be eating.

[Elyse]

*phew* Thought it was something worse!

He prefers the sunflower seeds over most, but he certainly eats a variety of things so that's not a concern.
:D

[Pado]

Mine really love Peanuts - but I have to feed these as treats only and very sparingly. I don't give the shelled as I read the shell can have mold etc inside - I buy the unsalted mixed cans - and I eat more of them than they do :p

[Sally]

I offer Topper seeds and Goldenfeast and Roudybush seed. Chipper prefers fresh food and that is good. I bake Tiel cookies with seeds and Roudybush pellets and she eats some like that.

She loves broc, celery, strawberries, apples, greens of all kinds, Beak Appetit, veggies of all kinds, pastas, etc. She loves the larger millet sprays with large seeds. She ADORES when I put the bottom of the Romaine lettuce and a huge piece of green or red sweet peppers in her cage. She loves big carrots too. She is a great eater. I give her a varied diet, no supplements. You have to be careful with that.http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/Sally11/Biridiebreadhomemade2-1.jpg

[Pado]

I offer Topper seeds

Sally - What are Topper Seeds?

I agree with Sally - its best not to use supplements especially the kind you put in their drinking water. They can actually cause more harm than good. If feed a varied diet like Sally mentions there is no need for supplements.

Another big hit are bell pepper seeds - just cut the bellpepper and offer the seeds while still attached. They will eat the seeds and some of the bell pepper too.

[Sally]

Yes, Pado, I put the big bell peppers in with and without seeds!YUM, she loves them. That what I meant by sweet peppers.

Topper Seeds are the seeds I get at a pet store here. A locally owned ones. You can google them. They have lots of safflowers.

[nar1122]

about birdy bread, can you guys look at my thread on that??? my wife is at the store and I want her to get stuff.