pellet/granules debate

[Brenda]

Hello Linnie lovers,

I'm a new owner of two linnies - a young turquoise boy and a 1 year old cobalt boy. They have just paired nicely and seem to be doing well. The cobalt boy was re-homed (I wanted a friend for my young turquoise and hoped to spend a bit less on the second bird). The former owner had been feeding him 'HAGEN lifetime formula granules' and millet. I prefer to feed them real seeds plus fruit and veg. I understand the granules/pellets offer a kind of 'all in one' diet but when I give them both, they hardly touch the granules. I feel like I shouldn't bother since they don't seem to like them and just make sure they get a lot of variety, but I'm curious if anyone has had luck with the granules.

Thank you!

 

[LinnieGirl]

Hello Linnie lovers,

I'm a new owner of two linnies - a young turquoise boy and a 1 year old cobalt boy. They have just paired nicely and seem to be doing well. The cobalt boy was re-homed (I wanted a friend for my young turquoise and hoped to spend a bit less on the second bird). The former owner had been feeding him 'HAGEN lifetime formula granules' and millet. I prefer to feed them real seeds plus fruit and veg. I understand the granules/pellets offer a kind of 'all in one' diet but when I give them both, they hardly touch the granules. I feel like I shouldn't bother since they don't seem to like them and just make sure they get a lot of variety, but I'm curious if anyone has had luck with the granules.

Thank you!

I’ve never used those granules. And you’re right, a variety is best. I feed veggie chop with a little fruit daily Along with a good parakeet seed mix either chirp centrals mix or Volkmans. I have Roudybush crumbles available in a separate cup always, along with dried bird salad also from chirp central. Millet is fatty so should be fed as a treat or when weaning babies onto real food.

 

[Brenda]

I’ve never used those granules. And you’re right, a variety is best. I feed veggie chop with a little fruit daily Along with a good parakeet seed mix either chirp centrals mix or Volkmans. I have Roudybush crumbles available in a separate cup always, along with dried bird salad also from chirp central. Millet is fatty so should be fed as a treat or when weaning babies onto real food.

I've never heard of Roudybush crumbles or dried bird salad. I will look them up. Thank you!

 

[Love My Linnie]

I offer Roudybush crumbles to all my budgies and my Linnie, Toula. The budgies like them. Toula seems to like them too. But she likes everything and eats all her chow. She loves her Linnie mix from Chirp Central and the bird salad. I also give her chop and sprouted oats a few times a week. Her favorite treat is apple (Linnie crack) and half a grape (only if it’s peeled). Could she be just a little bit spoiled?

 

[Brenda]

Yes - I noticed both my Linnies love apple too! I live in Toronto and on first glance I don't see anywhere that sells 'Linnie mix' right now, I'm just mixing parakeet and cockatiel seeds and hopefully they'll get everything they need. Roudybush or bird salad is nowhere to be found here either so far in my online search, but I see for an extra shipping fee I could order it from Amazon. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Eddie's Aviary]

Hi Brenda! The debate between pellets and varied natural, whole foods is age-old. Pellets are recommended by vets and the manufacturers to be 95-100% of the diet, or they become imbalanced as it is highly vitaminized. I haven't fed a pellet in 8 years, and the birds all thrive. They didn't breed well for me on them. I wrote an article about what we do for feeding that is pinned as a sticky, found HERE. Here is the link to the Linnie Mix with 60+ ingredients : https://chirpcentral.com/products/linnie-mix and here is the Bird Salad: https://chirpcentral.com/products/herbal-bird-salad Roudybush: https://chirpcentral.com/products/roudybush-maintenance-crumbles?_pos=1&_sid=ffc5bfb8a&_ss=r

Personally, I don't like pellets for the high corn and soy content, and vitamin levels not chosen by creators that understand Linnies and their needs. Heated and extruded and vitaminized is a dangerous combo in my opinion. TOPS pellets are cold-pressed, but man the birds HATE them, and the ingredients are still questionable. Roudybush the birds love... lots of corn=sugar. Vitamin A is a deficiency many birds can get from poor diets... focus on red, orange and yellow veggies in your fresh.

PS - In reference to Linnie Girl's comment on spray millet.... it gets a bad rap, it is actually a highly nutritious food. Yes, can be high in fat if you have a lazy bones, sedentary Linnie. Mine are very active and get spray millet 4x a week. You have to use your best judgement on how much of a varied diet they are getting, and how are they as far as their optimal weight. If you feel the chest, the keel bone should be felt, but not sharp. Breast meat on either side of the bone should not grow beyond that keel.

 

[Brenda]

Thank you for the tips and links. I will definitely get the Linnie mix, bird salad and roudybush. I can understand why they don't eat the pellets. They look so dry and strange. I think my one year old was relieved to get real seeds again.

 

[Eddie's Aviary]

Roudybush they love. The corn is like candy. I don't use pellets, but I know many people that do. Most don't use it as 95-100% of the diet as recommended, and I haven't heard of issues with that technique, but few do bloodwork. I have a friend that has raised cockatiels for over 40 years and she said she noticed over the years that birds from the same clutch that went to different homes.... for example, one fed high quality seed mixes and one did pellets. The pellet homes saw an average of 10 years in shorter lifespan. I know some of the old preservative methods had toxins in them. Not sure if that is responsible, but I take our bird nutrition as close to the wild is possible.... fresh, colorful, whole foods, diverse and a focus on Vit A. Read that article I posted a link to if you haven't already. It offers some really creative and fun options, much of it very easy.

 

[srirachaseahawk]

I plan to give the Birdtricks stuff a try.
Hemingway is onHiggins pellets currently, so it’ll be a slow conversion process.
The birdtricks stuff is cold pressed and seems made of good stuff, so I’m hoping that he takes to it readily.

 

[Eddie's Aviary]

Just don't use as the only food. BirdTricks peeps are entertainers, trainers, YouTubers. Been around a long time (they used to train birds for David Copperfield Vegas shows), but they aren't nutritionists and I haven't seen them talk about that they consulted with one. The pellets they sell have very little protein and the ingredient list is short, without a lot of stuff they need. So just be sure to think outside of that box, even if you can get them to eat them.

 

[srirachaseahawk]

Will do.
menu thus far is:

• Pellets
• Chop
• Whole veggies
• “Linnie Mix”
• “Bird Salad”
• And some weekly animal protein (mealworms or boiled chicken eggs)

I plan to have a pellet bowl, a chop bowl and a bowl for the seed/salad mix with the pellets mixed in there as well. Freeze dried mealworms or frozen crickets can go in the foraging box for some weekly enrichment.

 

[Eddie's Aviary]

Sounds great! Watch the amount of mealworms. I once had a pair of parents feeding chicks that consumed so many mealworms (it was my fault, I kept filling the bowl, not noticing they were not eating much else as I had a newborn human baby and was in survival mode (not an excuse, I know... my bad). They destroyed the chicks kidneys and the clutch had to be put to sleep. It was heartbreaking. So go easy, and if feeding dry ones.... avoid anything from China. I am sure you know this already, this comment is for someone else reading in the future that isn't aware how toxic the ones from PRC are.

 

[srirachaseahawk]

I tend to avoid “anything” from the PRC when it comes to the weebits…

 

[Eddie's Aviary]

Mine were from the US, but too much of a good thing.

 

[Brenda]

I’ve never used those granules. And you’re right, a variety is best. I feed veggie chop with a little fruit daily Along with a good parakeet seed mix either chirp centrals mix or Volkmans. I have Roudybush crumbles available in a separate cup always, along with dried bird salad also from chirp central. Millet is fatty so should be fed as a treat or when weaning babies onto real food.

I'm curious why you keep your Roudybush (and maybe bird salad) in a separate cup. Is that for contamination reasons or just because it gets missed if mixed in the seeds?

 

[LinnieGirl]

I'm curious why you keep your Roudybush (and maybe bird salad) in a separate cup. Is that for contamination reasons or just because it gets missed if mixed in the seeds?

Personal preference I guess. Uneaten pellets would be wasted when I swap out seed cups each day with the seed hulls. Same with the bird salad.

 

[LinnieGirl]

Hi Brenda! The debate between pellets and varied natural, whole foods is age-old. Pellets are recommended by vets and the manufacturers to be 95-100% of the diet, or they become imbalanced as it is highly vitaminized. I haven't fed a pellet in 8 years, and the birds all thrive. They didn't breed well for me on them. I wrote an article about what we do for feeding that is pinned as a sticky, found HERE. Here is the link to the Linnie Mix with 60+ ingredients : https://chirpcentral.com/products/linnie-mix and here is the Bird Salad: https://chirpcentral.com/products/herbal-bird-salad Roudybush: https://chirpcentral.com/products/roudybush-maintenance-crumbles?_pos=1&_sid=ffc5bfb8a&_ss=r

Personally, I don't like pellets for the high corn and soy content, and vitamin levels not chosen by creators that understand Linnies and their needs. Heated and extruded and vitaminized is a dangerous combo in my opinion. TOPS pellets are cold-pressed, but man the birds HATE them, and the ingredients are still questionable. Roudybush the birds love... lots of corn=sugar. Vitamin A is a deficiency many birds can get from poor diets... focus on red, orange and yellow veggies in your fresh.

PS - In reference to Linnie Girl's comment on spray millet.... it gets a bad rap, it is actually a highly nutritious food. Yes, can be high in fat if you have a lazy bones, sedentary Linnie. Mine are very active and get spray millet 4x a week. You have to use your best judgement on how much of a varied diet they are getting, and how are they as far as their optimal weight. If you feel the chest, the keel bone should be felt, but not sharp. Breast meat on either side of the bone should not grow beyond that keel.

Most folks don’t keep their Linnie’s in aviaries like we do and the amount of exercise they get would dictate how much of the fattier seeds they can utilize. If a caged bird is being fed a good varied diet including a good seed mix, then I don’t feel too much millet is warranted. It’s an excellent motivator when training as they sure do love it! And it’s a softer seed to crack for weaning babies along with being nutritious.

 

[Eddie's Aviary]

Agree.... age, amount of exercise, genetics, overall diet, hormonal cycle, breeding status, molt, etc can all effect caloric requirements. I find it is a constant moving target. Feeling, weighing and observing your bird is always a best practice. Spray millet can also be soaked and sprouted to boost it's nutritional content, as can any seed (just avoid flax and chia due to their mucilage (this is the gel sack around them that prevents normal sprouting).

 

[srirachaseahawk]

Agree.... age, amount of exercise, genetics, overall diet, hormonal cycle, breeding status, molt, etc can all effect caloric requirements. I find it is a constant moving target. Feeling, weighing and observing your bird is always a best practice. Spray millet can also be soaked and sprouted to boost it's nutritional content, as can any seed (just avoid flax and chia due to their mucilage (this is the gel sack around them that prevents normal sprouting).

Chia is fine on its own, yes?
Mixed in with other food that is.

 

[Eddie's Aviary]

Yes, just can't sprout it. Chia and Flax turn into a glob of goo when soaked that reminds me of frog eggs.