Why Feed Pellets to Your Bird...
Variety is the spice of life. While dry seed is a convenient basis for your bird's diet, it is not ideal. A wild bird such as a cockatiel or budgie will only eat dry seed when nothing else is available. In good times they will eat fresh green seed, flowers, fruit, etc, with the dry seed being reserved for drought conditions. Dry seed alone will therefore not provide a balanced diet. In fact, birds that are fed a seed only diet are often prone to health problems and may have a shorter lifespan. Some seeds are also very high in fat which can cause joint problems, tumours and liver and kidney problems.
In recent years various pelleted diets for birds have been produced, and these provide a complete and balanced food source for birds. When using these diets it is not strictly necessary to supplement with fruit and vegetables, however for the sake of variety it is still desirable to provide some fresh foods.
Various brands of pelleted food are available, and we sell Roudybush, Pretty Bird, Kaytee, Vetafarm and Passwell. Pelleted food, while a little more expensive to buy per kilogram, is actually a very economical way to feed your bird, as there is not the wastage that there is with seed.
Converting your bird to pellets
There are many ways to convert your bird from seed to pellets. Whilst some advocate a ‘cold-turkey’ approach, where seed is withdrawn and pellets are introduced as the only food source, this can cause problems. Careful monitoring of how much is eaten is required, as well as checking for possible weight loss.
The easiest and safest way to convert your bird to pellets is by gradually introducing the pellets whilst at the same time withdrawing the seed. This can be done by mixing some pellets in with the seed, and gradually over time increasing the amount of pellets whilst decreasing the amount of seed.
Another way is to provide a separate dish of pellets in the cage next to the seed dish. The more adventurous birds will usually investigate and taste the pellets.
Other tips and hints:
- Feed the pellets in the same dish and in the same location in the cage as the seed was.
- The younger the bird is, the easier the conversion process tends to be.
- Hand tame birds can be offered pellets smeared with fruit or peanut butter from your hand to get them used to the taste.
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