Natural Pellets or Colored from Zupreem, what is the difference..

I took a chnace this morning with Mischief.

I have a tree just outside my window and for two days the birds, finches, bishops, doves etc. have been going wild eating the little berries off it. I went out and picked a small branch for Mischief, gave it a good wash and put it in his cage. We will see how it goes, if he likes it I will give him some more tomorrow. He loves the branches and leaves that I pick off the lemon tree and put in his cage and all I can smell for the rest of the day is the light lemon fragrance.

Tammy

Im not sure what the chemical is but both garlic and onions contain a chemical that kill red blood cells...this is cooked or raw.

Now I know the avocado's and garlic and of course chocolate and all of that, but SweetHeart eats onions. She came off the plane with red onions in her crate along with fruits, why are onions bad?

LOL, nope I didnt think yoou meant that at all I too feed the fruity pellets, thats what my conures LOVE!!! Peanuts, cashews etc...they get when the are beig good babies LOL

Hello,

No problem Tiff. I was not trying to prove any points about your post so please do not think that I was posting to prove you wrong. I just do not want any person that is feeding fruity pellets to think that maybe it is no good to feed them them. I agree that if you bird likes something then just give it to them. That goes for even the high in saturated fats foods. If the bird likes it them give it them. We as humans know that McDonalds and fast food is not good for us but we eat it. If the bird likes peanuts,cashews ect then give it to them. Just please do not give them any thing that is toxic to them such as avacado's, onions ect. That is a horse of a whole different color.

Mario

Mario-

Thanks for that info, i can now feel a bit more comfprtable offering Fawkes the fruity ones when I run out of hers I agree with everthing you said too, if my birds dont like it I dont make them eat it, Pocco is in fact still only on seed and fresh food. He will not touch the pellets so I have basically stopped offering them to him. Thanks Mario!

Hello,

I would like to say that the rumors going around that Dyes are a cause of plucking and other behavior problems are just that Rumors. There have been a number of studies done on this and the only species of bird that was really effected was the Ekkie. The toe tapping condition was studied and the pellets mostly the red colored ones were the main cause of the condition. The other birds seemed to have no side effects or stimulants toward the birds. I have been working with a Board Certified Avain vet with the rescues and this point has been brought up many times at meetings and the research shows all the rumors are false. DR. Murphy is a great vet and is on the board of the Avian vet society of America. I would take his advise on any issue I have with my birds and the birds of others. I am not telling any one to stop feeding pellets or to feed there birds a certain way but I would like the facts to be known. I will say that if your bird is eating the pellets of any kind and likes them then just feed them what they like. We as humans eat only what we like and the same should go for the birds. I HATE liver and I will not eat it so if my bird does not like pellets or any other kind of foods I will not feed it to them. There is no rule that you have to feed them pellets or any other foods, so if your bird likes it them feed them what they like. They are the ones that have to taste it and enjoy it. Not us.

Mario

Yes, Mischief, some of us are a lucky lot that can walk into a local store and buy all of the brands Harrisons, Zupreem and Roudybush. I usually buy my pellets online though just because I purchase so many toys online that it just makes sense to get the pellets at the same time. Kibibi's diet consists mostly of veggies and fruits but she always has Harrisons pellets to snack on if she wants to. That's the brand that her breeder recommended and that's just what I've stuck with over the years. But Jeeez, they're expensive! I also use both Zupreem pellets, Roudybush pellets, and a pinch of mixed seed/nut mix to put in her foraging wraps which consist of unbleached coffee filters wrapped and hung on her cage.

Listen you lot, you have no idea how lucky you are. All the brands you describe and name we don't have here. At my pet supply store I have a choice of AV Plus which is really expensive and the repackaged seed, pellet and fruit mix. Mischief eat the sead, pellet fruit mix but to be honest doesn't really like the pellets. There isn't much pellet in it either. I am still trying to find just pellets, but no luck as yet. Av Plus is the most expensive and a pack doesn't last 2 weeks, (small packets) we the have Lopis and several other general brands all about the same price. I bought one of these and opened it to find weazels so I threw it out and have not bought it again. mI pretty much buy what looks good and let Mischief try it. If it doesn't pass this test I try something else.

Some birds develop an allergy to the dye in the colored pellets, so in some cases the natural are the only way to go. Now I have heard various opinions on both, the natural would in probability be better for your birds because of there not being any dyes. Wicha s I already mentioned can cause an allergic reaction that leads to plucking and other health issues. This being said, I feed the fruity ones and the natural one...I also feed many various brands. Why? Because I believe each brand has something slightly different to offer than the others. Each pellet will have its pros and cons, since the diet of parrots is so far from being completley understood...we cant truly say wich is "THE BEST"! LOL, now I like zupreem because A) the cost is reasonable, B) my birds like it, C) they have a great product selection available!!! However I also feed Harrisons, Lafebers, Zeiglers, Pretty bird, and a couple others. Fawkes eats nothing but natural non-colored pellets and eats Every brand I just mentioned everyday, as far as I know she would be fine on the colored ones but im not going to disrupt her diet and find out that she could be allergic. My red-lored amazon came to me eating the fruity zupreem, one day just messing around I tossed som natural pellets in his dish and he loved them! So he has chossen the natural diet over the fruit pellets! My conures however will not eat ANYTHING but the fruity zupreem, even pretty bird has a producy very similiar to the fruit zupreem but they will not eat it.

ahh ok im rambling again, point is...if you have a diet that works for you and your fid, stick with it! No sense upsetting the sytem when theres nothing wrong to begin with. Ronda I think thats a goos choice, feeding both, there are im sure great benifits in both products and zupreem is a great brand IMO!

WE get zureem for petmart or something, but we have to order roudybush as well, the closes pet store that has it, is like a hour and half drive there and then and hour and half drive back if were lucky!

Ok well I don't feel so bad!! I got Zupreem fruity shipped from the UK, and paid a fortune for it and Liath wont eat it ! Oisin will though... clever boy

Wow that is something Siobhan! Well honestly we aren't too far behind here in WV lol. I can't go to the store and buy all these different brands or even just the Zupreem natural for that matter. The only ones I can get here from our pet store is the fruit ones. I have to get them shipped otherwise too lol

I cant get any kind of pellets here at all unless I get them shipped over. Unbelievable in the 21st century isnt it?

We mix with zupreem and roudybush! they like it! and always we give them friuts and veggies~

I think Ronda is right on. Giving them both pellets offers the best of both worlds. Along with fresh foods for a nice treat.

Hello Ronda,

The pellets are not going to hurt the birds at all. I use the Zupreem. They make the best pellets for birds. The natural pellets are also very good. You need to make a choice of what you want to feed them. If you want to give them fruits for a treat or a additive to there meals then I suggest you use the natural. If you are going to use fresh veggies as a treat or a additive to there food then use the zupreem. The reason I say that is fruit has a lot of natural sugars and to much sugar is no good for a bird. The Zupreem will have natural sugars added to the pellets. So you should have the pellets that you will feel more comfy with giving them and just use the opposite fresh ingrediants.

Mario

Ok, I know there are some people that are for natural and some don't mind either way. I did a little research to figure out about the Zupreem brand that I use. I use the colorful pellets for all my birds, but was curious as to what the natural had to offer. Zupreem has the colorful pellets and than they have a natural pellet. The colorful pellets do not harm your animal at all. It is the same food coloring that is approved for all food products that animals and people consume. But the colorful pellets are fruit based. Where as the natural pellets are vegetable based. It was very interesting to find this out! I thought maybe they had basically the same thing in them just not the dye. I was very wrong! Don't know if everyone else assumed this or not lol. That's why I am writing this post. Zupreem suggests that you use both of the pellets to have an even diet, it makes sense now. I will be getting a bag of this natural to go along with my colored ones now. I do give them fresh fruits and veggies, but I thought I would fill everyone in and maybe everyone isn't as dumb as I was lol and already knew this. But thought it was very interesting!