Please help! What do you feed your african grey?

Danielmoore1996

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So I'm giving my african grey fruit and veg but whats the best pellets for him. I of course want whats best for him but I'm not sure about brands etc. I was hoping you guys could give me some recommendation on pellets?

I havent had him long and the previous owner gave me mixed seeds but he just eats the sun flower seeds and makes a mess with the rest. Ive read pellets are a more complete diet so I want to make that change.

Pellet brands and where to buy them would be great if you can help me?
 
Suppose Tidymix are the best pellets but I do not give them to any of my birds, seems a boring diet but just my opinion. I give Dusky CAG fruit, veg and AS20 seed mix usually but at the moment they are on Tidymix parrot mix. When he came to me he was on seed mix, (some cheap rubbish) half an apple per day (??) and 1 grape fortnightly. He eats fine now, 4 or 5 years later.
 
Before changing a birds diet I recommend weighing your bird, this is best done in the morning each day, Tidy mix is a good pellet but not all birds will accept it, I use Johnson and Jeff lean and fit as my main dry feed with my greys and more veg than fruit
 
Tidy Mix is a seed mix not a pellet
I have my three Grey's on Deli Nature number 61 and number 64 which I purchase from Garden Feathers not a lot of sunflowers and no peanuts in either of them but instead there's a great mix of ingredients with plenty of smaller seed and fruit chunks in it. When you look at ingredients for any product the highest content item is at the start of the list.
If you're changing to pellets then do it gradually the likelihood is your bird may have never seen them and not realise it's food.
Personally I don't feed pellets i am just very careful of the mix contents I do feed.
Pellet wise the best ones in the market without added colouring and preservatives and organic are Tops Pellets next would be Beaphar Care+ Grey Plus and then probably Harrison's but theirs isn't totally organic ingredients just the majority of items in the pellets are certified organic.
 
Tidy Mix is a seed mix not a pellet
I have my three Grey's on Deli Nature number 61 and number 64 which I purchase from Garden Feathers not a lot of sunflowers and no peanuts in either of them but instead there's a great mix of ingredients with plenty of smaller seed and fruit chunks in it. When you look at ingredients for any product the highest content item is at the start of the list.
If you're changing to pellets then do it gradually the likelihood is your bird may have never seen them and not realise it's food.
Personally I don't feed pellets i am just very careful of the mix contents I do feed.
Pellet wise the best ones in the market without added colouring and preservatives and organic are Tops Pellets next would be Beaphar Care+ Grey Plus and then probably Harrison's but theirs isn't totally organic ingredients just the majority of items in the pellets are certified organic.
Lots of replies and lots to consider but thanks for all the advice. I was drawn to pellets because I read they was the best but for now I'll buy a good seed mix like one of those suggested + some organic pellets and see if i can get him interested. Thanks again.
 
Sadly, after the initial novelty of keeping birds wears off, many people will take the easy options. Clearly that is not the case with you, or you wouldn't not be asking these important questions, but it does happen a lot.

Many shops are notorious for recommending poor diets and often stock poor quality mixes full of sunflower seeds and peanuts. If your mix has a lot of sunflower seeds and your bird likes to pick them out, you can remove them and use them as treats - ideal for training purposes.

A lot of vets recommend pellets as they are a more complete form of food and require little effort to provide it. I have discussed diet with the avian vet that we use and I think that he was just keen to ensure that we were not just giving our birds seed based food - pellet will provide more of the important vitamins & minerals. He is satisfied that we provide a varied mix of dry and fresh food. Pellet is pretty boring stuff, but all of our birds get some as part of their diet and they seem to enjoy the texture.

I'll be honest, providing fruit & veg requires a lot more effort, but providing variety is well worth it, if your bird takes to it. Compared with pellet, it is like fine dining as opposed to just feeding to survive. We have a fridge full of the stuff and when I prepare their food, I just grab a selection and try to vary it daily. Our birds get an appropriate dry mix as well as pellet, on top of the fruit & veg. They also get a bean and pulse mix in the evening, which is mixed with finely chopped fruit & veg, and they love it - heads down, bums up, silence :D

Historically, many birds have been fed dreadful diets, as described by @Kendra. Nowadays, more people are becoming more aware of what constitutes a good diet for their birds. If your birds will take to it, variety is great and they will thrive on it.

As Michael says, regularly weighing your bird is important, especially when making any dietary changes. Ours are weighed at least once a week and more regularly if we have any concerns about their health. Wherever possible, first thing in the morning, after their first big poop and before breakfast to get consistent readings :)
 
To add to the above, you need to make sure your bird gets adequate calcium, vitamin D3 and vitamin A. Seeds - while fine as a part of the diet - are a poor source of all these foods so do buy a suitable supplement if necessary. Many greys have terrible problems due to deficiencies in the above (all of mine had weak muscles, low calcium levels and poor grip when I bought them despite coming from 'loving homes'). I've found that organic palm oil is a great addition to the diet, also scrambled eggs, soaked and sprouted seeds and lots of steamed veg like carrot, broccoli and sweet potato. My greys also get Harrisons high potency pellets and power treats alongside a variety of other treats including cedar nuts, almonds and walnuts. They also get spinach and watercress and various fruits of which pomegranate is a firm favourite. Best of luck!
 
Hello!

My grey is fed on harrisons high protency pellets and he loves them, i do have a seed mix also which includes no sunflower and no peanuts, i tend to fill his foraging balls up with this as he enjoys getting small pieces out but he doesn't seem to eat too many seeds as he has a very wide diet of fruit and veg.

Same as Oli Fry's birds pomegranate seeds are a firm favourite, i love seeing his messy little beak once he has eaten these.
I won't list every fruit and veg i feed but he has a great selection. He now is brave and watches me make breakfast in the kitchen replying with 'oooo' when a bit of food he likes goes in the bowl haha!

I like that you are thinking hard about the diet! I buy my pellets from either scarlets parrot essentials or northern parrots online, harrisons also have their own website which you can order direct.
I got Bo young and he was on a seeded diet, same with my first parrot, and just a tip which helped me. I bought the harrisons birdie bread, full instructions on the pack how to cook and this helped change my two onto the pellets 😁
 
Apart from calcium I do not recommend giving other vitamins with out veterinary approval, seed is only a part of the diet with mainly fresh feed, even if on pellets fresh food must be given
 
Hello from us three down here too :)
Personally I’m reluctant consuming anything that companies promote as a person as a parrot keeper and as a parrot too 😝😝. My debate in this is the composition. Every single formula gets unanswered question marks. Take the “organic” or “bio”ones (and this word is seductive is tricky is promising but a fail too) and take the time to analyze the incredients one by one. You get to see seeds and veggies includes but you also get to
See some weird oils added and vitamins also added that u get no additional information about them. Additionally I need to ask....there is a nutritional value demonstrated/labeled on every bag u can purchase but that value indicated is WHEN? (At this point I need tomention that I used to have long hair too...,back in the past)...so What’s the value some minutes after you open the bag and what’s the value a week or a month later while keeping the bag on the refrigerator?
In every package All I can see is a really high ω6/ω3 fat ratio and you just need it as low as possible not just for your birds but for you as a person too.

A Food that can make your grey to use his brain and beak to get it, is a food he will really enjoy having even if it just a broccoli 😜🤪Pellets are really boring mate.

Daily I offer a variety of fresh products to my birds. I only have 2 though but one day I’ll get a whole flock :) just one day
This variety is different in every season but through out a year contains seeds lots of different seeds boiled cooked or raw, egg, polllen, vegetables, sprouts ( I stop Sprouts on May and start again in November), a variety of fruits (right now we all eat cherries 🍒 strawberries and blackberries), a variety of nuts ( they love almonds pistachios,walnuts,cashews Brazilnuts) a variety of greens (the love radish,arugula, carrot leaves,celery,spinach) and I also especially when they are molting/plucking I offer fish and chicken bones which absolutely adore. I Don’t offer salmon due to our oceans pollution but i Do offer sardine. I avoid other bigger fishes due to the heavy metals that include in their composition but they really love crawfish they absolutely love the sound of breaking it and the whole procedure it takes To geT.
I know that In nature they feed with palm nuts and palm nut oil is nutritious but I use extra virgin olive oil in their food. If you compare is quite a decent substitute
 

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So blooming complicated isn't it? I suppose in the beginning I did all I could with variety and Parrot Club was a huge help even when I asked silly questions. I gained a routine and so it is easier now, but constantly trying new things, at the moment I am going to see how the big guys get along with sprouting seeds, little seeds, I am sure the smaller ones will be happy and it is different from the peas, beans etc sprouts.

One problem I have found is mine seem to have so many "Don't Like, Yuck", constantly trying has no effect, that list is nearly as long as what they will eat.
 
So blooming complicated isn't it? I suppose in the beginning I did all I could with variety and Parrot Club was a huge help even when I asked silly questions. I gained a routine and so it is easier now, but constantly trying new things, at the moment I am going to see how the big guys get along with sprouting seeds, little seeds, I am sure the smaller ones will be happy and it is different from the peas, beans etc sprouts.

One problem I have found is mine seem to have so many "Don't Like, Yuck", constantly trying has no effect, that list is nearly as long as what they will eat.
yes the list ive tried compared to the list he''ll eat is massive, must have tried 40/50/60 things maybe more, he likes around 4 of them, but we keep trying.

@Danielmoore1996
feeding is the sole thing that worries me on a daily basis, trying to get variety and nutrition all in and then get him to actually eat any of it is a challenge.

pellets may be good or bad (im not really sure) but i do feel slightly more comfortable knowing he can not pick bits he like's from them.

Ive also looked at this as i assume its got to be somewhere good for them ?


but i would ask other opinions on that
 
Interesting product ..... Hmmmm no nutritional breakdown ...... Off to have a good nosey looooove looking at New bird products........ although not sure why as my lot hate palm oil in any shape or form!
I get around me adversely missing dietary needs by giving Nutrobal and alternating that with NektonS
 
Ok having had a good nosey around for this product best description and uses seems to be on this site

Looking at it's composition versus price for components used I can only say HOW FLIPPING MUCH!!!! They're having a flipping laugh!!

Buying the components yourself and making up more than double the quantity costs less!!!! :BangHead: Definitely won't be recommending it can get all those nutritional benefits and a heap lot more with proper intake of fruit and veggie and sprouting seeds.

Eeeeee gods and little indians am off to lay down in a darkened room .... The Yorkshire in me is fair quivering and shaking :bird_brain:
 
Ok having had a good nosey around for this product best description and uses seems to be on this site

Looking at it's composition versus price for components used I can only say HOW FLIPPING MUCH!!!! They're having a flipping laugh!!

Buying the components yourself and making up more than double the quantity costs less!!!! :BangHead: Definitely won't be recommending it can get all those nutritional benefits and a heap lot more with proper intake of fruit and veggie and sprouting seeds.

Eeeeee gods and little indians am off to lay down in a darkened room .... The Yorkshire in me is fair quivering and shaking :bird_brain:
but if I can"t the little tyrant to eat many vegetables and such and forgetting the price, with regards to nutritional benefit would it help to fill the void ? or do you think it's just pointless ?
 
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