Never commented before, but you have been so helpful over the past year. I adopted a female parrotlet (noodle), and your guidance has helped me and her so much, our bond is so strong because of trick training, and her diet is excellent. So glad there are people like you out there to educate us and make the lives of parrots better everywhere. Thank you!!

@flooboarderisbetter

Жыл бұрын

Also, nice fish tank! Just got some fish myself. If you ever feel like making a video on fishkeeping, I'd watch it :)

I’ve always been suspicious of pellets like TOPS suggesting alfalfa as the main ingredient because it’s commonly known as a superfood for GROWING mammals and bird (herbivores). It’s like a protein shake, which is fine if you’re making meat birds. But if not, too much protein in their diet will make them fat and other health problems (depending on species). Not saying it’s bad or evil, but don’t use it as their main diet. Also you can get it for MUCH MUCH cheaper with similar ingredients on rodent pellets. Or even just dried alfalfa for horses. Just gotta mix and match. I’ve learned this from ranchers/rescuers and my own research.

The bulk of the Tops pellets is alfalfa. I think that it is not good for parrots (of all species) to eat so much legume fodder.

Came here to see mia. Rest in peace little angle.

Yesss! I've been hoping this would be a video ever since you mentioned that research you were doing about pellets on your ig. Thank you very much!

I also feed a variety to my parrot - harrisons, tops and vetafarm. I used to only feed harrisons and tops, but I live in Australia and there was a period of about 6months-1year where neither where being shipped to Australia. So I had to suddenly convert him over to vetafarm until the others were available again. So now I feed a mix of them all in case something like that happens again.

@docbainl9504

5 ай бұрын

Vetafarm is VERY VERY BAD. You're better off not feeding pellets at all then using that soy crap. You need to watch Dr Crean type his name in then avian nutrition he has a TONE OF lectures where in he says most birds if fed the correct chop don't need pellets. He's a biologist and has been working with birds for over 20 years in nutrition. He recommends only TOPS as it's not a complete diet never claims to be and isn't heat processed. Vetafarm is all soy and sugar and cereal crap and I took my hahns macaw off it as he came with 4 kilos of the crap and was extremely hormonal. Soy is not good for any animal let alone birds period. Dr crean explains this in many of his lectures. Try to aim for 20 to 30 ingredients in your chop including flowers herbs and oat groats and hemp seed hearts and coconut oil flax etc and you won't have to rely so heavily on pellets. I'm also from Australia and can source tops very easy. Try parrot supplies.com they're the only reliable stockists. Also you can eliminate pellets entirely and have amazing health in birds you just have to be thorough. But do not feed vetafarm it's putrid rubbish. I threw 4 kilos of it out straight to the tip.

Thank you for sharing your information. I’ve not had a bird before, now have a Parrotlet. You are a wealth of knowledge.

I got the oven baked pellets because I saw you recommended them a few years ago. I did a mix of Roudybush and the baked pellets in the beginning, my tiel and parrotlet ate both. My tiel really loves the oven baked pellets. My Parrotlet is so-so. I find I still have to grind x-small baked pellets even smaller thru a chop processor to make them crumb-like which my birds prefer, they eat more of it. I tried mixing TOPs pellets and they completely ignore them. My parrotlet sometimes takes a bite but she doesn’t particularly enjoy them either. 🙃

The thank you note was cute! I haven't watched the whole video yet, but I decided to comment anyway. I love your videos! By far they help me with research when I'll be getting a bird after a year or two now. You're videos have helped me research, I am planning on getting a large bird (cockatoo) and you may only generally do small and or medium parrots but it still helps! There isn't much information on parrots, especially on websites available to me. I am so grateful that you spread important, correct information. It makes me so sad to see birds alone in a cage, with only a few dowels and plastic bowls for seeds. I met two birds a few days ago, Jimmy and Coco, both of them were African greys. Coco was in a rectangular cage, with two-three dowel perches and no toys aswell as plastic bowls with seeds. Jimmy was in a castle cage and also had no toys with just dowels. Coco was a sweetheart, let me pet him and all, while Jimmy bit me. I dont blame him, especially in his situation and I'll be honest, chances are I was invading his space so I backed off, my finger still hurts though. Also, Coco had an extreme case of splayed legs, it broke my heart. Coco is around 3-4 years old if I remember correctly and Jimmy was 2 years old. I asked why there were no toys in the cages and he said that adding toys to Jimmy's cage causes plucking and such and if he puts toys in Coco's cage then Jimmy screams non stop. I also asked whether they get taken out, Apparently they don't because they destroy stuff and there were problems with the cats and the dogs. It is heartbreaking, I rarely ever even meet birds that are allowed out of their cage anymore. I hope important information for caring for birds, including this and your other videos, gets spread to those people so those feather babies get the life they deserve I love your content, it helps!

I had the same problem untill I ground down the Tops, Roudybush, Pisiticus into a fine powder, I used an anvil coffee grider. Then with a 2 or 3 oz scoop I can regulate the mix. I am at 4 scoops Tops, 3 scoops Roudybush and 2 scoops of Psittacus high protein, one scoop of Bee Pollen, and raw sunflower seed. I have to hand grind sunflower and Bee pollen and then a scoop of Tops that are not ground up in a jar and shake it all up then serve it in a shallow bowl. Hope this helps.

Thank you so much for this! I feed my lovebird with Hagen Tropican and Mazuri, but will be introducing Roudybush as well. Just looked up the ingredients and unfortunately these all have Soybean so can't recommend! However! I think that Bird Tricks' pellets are soybean free! Haven't tried those yet but might be worth the shot.

The folks at TOPS have said before that they don’t state their pellets as being nutritionally complete because they believe no pelleted food can completely cover all the bases when it comes to nutrition. They said they believe their pellets are the _closest_ to being a complete nutritional diet but that they think no bird can thrive on pellets alone. But you did bring up a good point, perhaps they only say that to avoid having to go through the necessary procedures to label them nutritionally complete.

So far my birds have only liked the Harrison’s, the super fine looks like millet to my budgies I think. My gcc and parrotlet like the pepper. None of them like the tops, so im inclined to agree with you on that one, that it is difficult to switch them too. Luckily they aren’t as picky with their veggies so they get a pretty balanced diet.

Really useful info. I really struggle in the UK finding pellets I trust not to just be junk food. My tiels actually both really enjoy the Top's, but it is frequently out of stock over here. Have been waiting 2 months already for new shipments to arrive from the US. Useful to know what to look out for in terms of allergies and ageing requirements.

My beautiful cockatiel loves eating Lefeber Avi cakes and nutriberries almost exclusively. I do give him a few pellets too, but they are the Mazuri small bird mini pellets. The Mazuri ones are supposedly made for budgies, canaries, and other very small birds. Do you think it is OK to feed them to him? ThanQ

Thank you for the great video! I have a pineapple conure and she's around 2.5month old. She's weaned and eats pallets (Zupreem), seeds, vegetables and fruits with no issues (just slow lol). Would you recommend Harrison High Potency and using it as main food resource till she's 9month old as described on the packaging? Also would you recommend hemp seed with shell as a training treat for conure? Thank you so much!

@FlockTalk

Жыл бұрын

If they like it then yeah hemp seed would be a fine treat! I’ve never used high potency in that fashion to be quite honest, I use it more as a supplement during seasons where they may need extra nutrients (heavy moulting). I also largely chose that bag because it was hot pepper flavoured and wanted the variety!

You're the absolute best bird channel on KZread. Thanks for taking time and for sharing.

The "stick it to me" with the thank you note was funny! Btw your video got me thinking - would adding a little red pepper powder to Mango's (African Lovebird) daily food help him get variety and some added nutrients? He likes capsicum seeds but I never thought of giving him red peppers (or its seeds) before.

@FlockTalk

Жыл бұрын

That sounds like a fun way to mix up the flavour!

@rajatcn

Жыл бұрын

@@FlockTalk Awesome! I can't handle spicy, so now I finally figured out what to do with all those chilly flakes packets that come with pizzas lol

Your parrots are so cuteeee

@FlockTalk

Жыл бұрын

Thank you ☺️

@rajaking8400

23 күн бұрын

​@@FlockTalk Hello. I am a new subscriber to your channel from UK. PLEASE I NEED YOUR HELP!!!! I normally breed & hand feed baby Lovebirds & parakeets. I brought a 3/4 week sun Conure Today. Please can you help me by sending me the feeding Schedule from 1st week until weening & how many hours apart I need to feed & how many times???? Also I can't Decide which Pellets to get him once he weans. I was fighting myself between Tops & Harrison's High Potency? Just wanted your opinion as you have alot of knowledge. PLEASE HELP!!! Look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for your Time.

Interesting my parrot will eat just about anything will see if that changes as he/she gets older

GREAT information!! Do you have a link for that bird foraging mat? I've only found ones for dogs and I'd be afraid that it wouldn't be suitable for birds 👍

@FlockTalk

5 ай бұрын

The two that I use are either a fleece dog one by Ashley’s pampered pup- nice short strands that are easier for birds to dig around in but is fleece so if you have a bird who tries to nest or eat fibres maybe not the best choice! The other one I use is a Timothy hay mat by oxbow designed for Guinea pigs/ rabbits. Strands are way longer so it can make foraging for small foods more difficult but it’s entirely made of hay so it’s safer if ingested

I mostly use psitacus small bird pellets. They seem nice and oily without being too dry or greasy, and a little Harrisons. The darn bird a 2yrs on still refusing chop even though I mix in seeds, although he enjoys an occasional baby sweetcorn, and gets some seeds as treats and foraging, and high value seeds for training and rewards. Recently I'm seeing people saying seed is better than pellets because of a different liver issue that can arrise, where before they were all saying pellets are better because of fatty liver disease risks. I've no idea which is better now; bird tricks says use a millet and chia based seed mix and shows how to make it, but before they were all about pellets and chop. Your channel and their channel are my go to about psitacus bird care health and training. I guess because there's no studies no one can say what is best, but we do look to your experiential advice and observations as a guide, as you notice things more subtle that changes than most keepers/trainers.

@Featheryfaith7

9 ай бұрын

Its because every bird have different genes. In the wild, many birds will eat only seeds or whatever they like to eat. They are like cats. They do whatever they want. Realistically speaking, not all birds will share the same diet and will love other things. I have not seen a parrot eating veggies in the wild so far but they mainly eat, nuts, seeds and fruit.

I was understanding that Tops was saying that they aren't nutritional complete because they definitely need a well balanced veggie chop as well as the seed and grain from pellets. Could you feed Newt a homemade seed mix that is human grade that may give him the things they get from a pellet? I offer one to my parrotlets and green cheek. My vet really liked this idea, Human grade millet has a lot more nutrition then anything you can buy from the pet store. Maybe the vet can give a supplement for Newt. My green cheek seems to have a bad reaction to safflower seeds. Thanks for the information!!

@FlockTalk

Жыл бұрын

Yeah we’re gonna be discussing with his vet if the chop, sprouts and grains he gets are enough or if we need to change anything/ add supplements!

HI! I have never tried it but I heard Hagen is soy free as well. Also, I believe Bird Tricks carries a soy free, organic pellet. But it is kind of expensive. This was very helpful because Aoki (my little girl Let who looks like yours) has been plucking and there is no medical reason nor is she bored or stressed. MAYBE it is an allergy to soy. I never thought to ask that and I will be calling Dr. Bob to see if we can have a discussion about that soon. THANK YOU.

@HermitCrabCrew

7 ай бұрын

BirdTricks and TOPs are basically the same pellet they have almost identical ingredients.

hi! You have a lot of palets that you feed your birds and you only got two parrots. Do your birds eat them until the expiration date or do you store them somehow that they don't go bad if they aren't finished until the expiration date? I am asking this cuz my bird is on a diet and she doesn't get unlimited pallets so she goes through the harrison s bag pretty slow. Thank you and sorry for my writing im not native.

@FlockTalk

Жыл бұрын

Mine end up finished before the expiration dates, i frequently use pellets as training treats as well as their main meals so we go through them pretty quickly!

Have you looked into the cold pressed pellets by bird tricks? They worked with several top nutritionists to make it and their seasonal feeding chop recipes and I really want to hear your opinions!! I've gone through most of the store bought pellets and the ingredients are....iffy.

@LemonyTwist18

Жыл бұрын

Forgot to mention that I have issues with the corn and peanuts and various other incredients that are well known to cause fatty liver disease. No idea why its still allowed in the food...

@FlockTalk

Жыл бұрын

Yeah I avoid supporting bird tricks as a whole company after some sketchy things they’d done in the past. Maybe they’ve changed I don’t know but it’s just not my preference to support them

@LemonyTwist18

Жыл бұрын

@@FlockTalk they came forth and talked about how awful some of their past actions were and have moved entirely into parrot health and nutrition, advocating for proper training, diet and enclosure size!

@LemonyTwist18

Жыл бұрын

@flock-talk you don't have to like a persons past actions to see science clearly and I think the science of the pellets will surprise you.

@FlockTalk

Жыл бұрын

That’s good to hear, I’m glad they’re making changes

About pellets.. i only reasonetly become parrot owner. Got that far that would like to start giving pellets but very hard to even get them. It is,one - pretty expencive and second- not even shipped to my country. Have to hassel thrugh friends in UK or Finland the best case but i hope it will be worth it

I tried Tops, and later Marlene Mccohens version and not one of my 8 birds would touch it. Even after 3 days when I gave up.

@FlockTalk

Жыл бұрын

Yeah tops took a while to convert them to, I don’t remember exactly but I’m sure I spent a good month convincing Mia it was food

@AshTheRose

Жыл бұрын

I've been 'converting' my parrot to like tops for about a year. It's still his least favourite pellet, but he does eat it.

@barbaralevel7225

Жыл бұрын

That’s too bad. I started my conure on Marlene’s bird food and she grew to love it. She died. I am getting a baby Caique and will introduce same food which is Tops with seed added. This time I will separate seed and pellets. Pellets alone most days and seed with pellets 1-2 days. It is good good food.

I'm really bummed out because I live in Germany and most really good pellet companies don't ship here or it costs way too much. I still think the topic is really interesting though and at least I can still feed veggie chop sustainably

@FlockTalk

Жыл бұрын

For sure! I know a lot of people also make their own low fat seed mixes and talk to their vets about powder supplements that can be mixed with veggies when pellets aren’t available! That might be an option to consider/ discuss with your vet team!

@lenaspannknebel713

Жыл бұрын

@@FlockTalk Yes thank you! I've had vitamin supplements before, I'll look into making my own seed mixes that's a great idea :)

@FlockTalk

Жыл бұрын

Let me know how it goes! ❤️

Heads up, the pellets you were showing had a 'best by' date of Mar. 30, 2023. Does that matter? Does bird food go bad after the experation date? What happens to it after it's no longer 'fresh'? How can you tell if pellets are moldy? I cracked up when you refered to your 'hair cave' LOL! My parottlet chews the ends of my hair. What's your take on Chia Seeds?

@FlockTalk

Жыл бұрын

Thanks! They generally won’t go mouldy if the bag is sealed and stored properly, best before dates usually mean that the food will begin to lose nutritional value past that date. And other times it simply means the company hasn’t tested expiry past that point to know if the food is safe or not since they haven’t tested further than their listed date yet. I don’t use chia much anymore except for sprouting. The mucus coating the seeds get make them harder to work with for me

@marvelmusic4566

Жыл бұрын

@@FlockTalk Thank you so much for the information. I didn't know Chia seeds could be sprouted. I'm going to try that and see if he likes it as much as the seeds. Have a wonderful day and enjoy the rest of your week! Love to all of you!

While looking at the ingredients of the cockatiel diet of oven baked bites at PetSmart there was no soybean.

@j.rjunior5584

Жыл бұрын

That's good

Birdtricks has great pellets also no soy

@docbainl9504

5 ай бұрын

Friend they are just rebranded tops pellets. Exact same ingredients just way more expensive. Stick with TOPS.

Where do you order your pellets?

@FlockTalk

11 ай бұрын

Either featheredaddictions or mysafebirdstore!

We discovered the Oven Baked pellets recently, it seems to be the only pellet on the market that our female eclectus can tolerate. Everything else causes toe tapping and wing flips.

@j.rjunior5584

Жыл бұрын

Toe tapping, and wing flips. Or do you mean her wings are twitching? And if that's the case looks like she could be having a early sign of a seizure. Or maybe, the other pellets you've tried had way too much sugary stuff in it which make her overly hyper and super shakey, which is really bad and can cause serious health concerns for her. That's what I think is happening, either early signs of seizure/neurological problems, or too much sugar in the pellets.

Some people (not me) in FB groups get quite hysterical when people suggest feeding a p'let pellets..

@FlockTalk

Жыл бұрын

Yeah there was a post a long time ago that was basically just someone uncomfortable with the idea of pellets (they were pretty new at the time) sharing their opinion and it got spread around and shared as “fact”. So that spurred a big burst of misinformation getting spread around! Parrotlets can eat them just fine and their colour mutations don’t affect their nutrient digestibility 😅

Just love your channel ❤ my new parrotlet doesn't like water or fresh greens. She was hatched in May of 23. I'm concerned 😟

My birds ate tops as soon as it came out of the bag and theyve been loving it since, they even love it over their old unhealthy sugar filled pellets

So I watched an interesting video on Dr. Jason Crean's Avian Raw Whole Food Nutrition. It seems super informative and I love the idea of feeding our parrots a 100% natural diet in lieu of a pellet. It's a little much for me now but maybe one day I can have time and money to do it. I'm assuming there are no soybeans or maple but you will want to verify lol.

If you ever want to chat parrot nutrition, give me a shout! Our flock are on a raw, whole food diet with occasional TOPs! Vitamin D3 can come form sunlight exposure, a small amount of cooked egg now and again, and also live mealworms which have been exposed to sunlight for 20 minutes as they start to synthesise their own vitamin D3! 😊

Bird tricks I think is soybean free pellets.

@j.rjunior5584

Жыл бұрын

I'm pretty sure bird tricks is just a rebrand of tops Pellets.

D3! Get some live mealworms. Let them sun themselves for 15 - 20 minutes. They start making D3 then you can feed them. My budgies absolutely love those. I got this information from Dr Crean the animal nutritionist

The thank you note was cute! I haven't watched the whole video yet, but I decided to comment anyway. I love your videos! By far they help me with research when I'll be getting a bird after a year or two now. You're videos have helped me research, I am planning on getting a large bird (cockatoo) and you may only generally do small and or medium parrots but it still helps! There isn't much information on parrots, especially on websites available to me. I am so grateful that you spread important, correct information. It makes me so sad to see birds alone in a cage, with only a few dowels and plastic bowls for seeds. I met two birds a few days ago, Jimmy and Coco, both of them were African greys. Coco was in a rectangular cage, with two-three dowel perches and no toys aswell as plastic bowls with seeds. Jimmy was in a castle cage and also had no toys with just dowels. Coco was a sweetheart, let me pet him and all, while Jimmy bit me. I dont blame him, especially in his situation and I'll be honest, chances are I was invading his space so I backed off, my finger still hurts though. Also, Coco had an extreme case of splayed legs, it broke my heart. Coco is around 3-4 years old if I remember correctly and Jimmy was 2 years old. I asked why there were no toys in the cages and he said that adding toys to Jimmy's cage causes plucking and such and if he puts toys in Coco's cage then Jimmy screams non stop. I also asked whether they get taken out, Apparently they don't because they destroy stuff and there were problems with the cats and the dogs. It is heartbreaking, I rarely ever even meet birds that are allowed out of their cage anymore. I hope important information for caring for birds, including this and your other videos, gets spread to those people so those feather babies get the life they deserve I love your content, it helps!