should i change to extruded food?

[alexandra]

Hi i have 2 cockatiels and 4 budgies! i have been wondering wheather to change their seed to extruded food, so they get everything they need and less mess! The Tiels are quite fussy too and dont eat all the different kinds of seeds they have in their seed mix.

Also can you get extruded food for canaries and finches? these are in the aviary and the husks get everywhere!!

If i do change? can anyone suggest how to do this without upsetting them too much? also how much do i give them when they are on it completely? do you have to measure it out according to the bird's weight?

[Scully]

I dont know enough about pellets to say if i would feed them or not.
I feed a parroket mix, plus bits of my own, from pets at home to my Budgies and Kaks in the avairy. Kaks are the messy ones, they would kick thier food all over the place if they had thier way.
If you go to other pet pictures here..and look for 'the big green thing' thats what i put it in, and it does save alot of mess and waste.

[kim]

I think you can get pellets for all birds but you do need to check with each species if pellets is OK.

Generally a healthy well balanced diet is always best, but tiels & cockies do do very well on pellets as a main part of their diet plus seed. They tend to be hardier than other parrots. They will be fine as long as you offer the occasional fresh food also.

To change it needs to be very gradual. Most tiels take to pellets like a fish to water. they love them. It's the sudden diet change that can upset them quite a bit so make it gradual over a few weeks until you have what you want.

Try & get the natural pellets with artificial colour, flavours etc. They're always best for any bird.

[Admin]

my budgies are on pellets (plus fresh fruit and veg) and they were easy to convert just put a pinch on a mirror in the bottom of the cage and they will rush to eat it before the "intruder" budgies get it lol its very amusing to watch too

the tiels eat it when they feel like it, but they are on about a half and half mix (between seed and pellets) at the mo. Harry (my plucking tiel) has been looking a lot better since he has been eating the pellets, but it only lasts till he plucks again #rolleyes#

here is a link that might help you

www.hbf-uk.co.uk/advice/conversion.html

i buy my pellets from Harrisons direct, you can also buy it from your local avian vet but it will work out to be more expensive

[chickabee]

teil breeder here..

I'm not to fussed about having pellets as a stand alone. ..most of my tiels get two seeds mixes..one is a canary mix and the other is a peachface mix, one thing I try to avoid is to many sunflower seeds, tiels do love them and the little rotter's will pick them out first go, and eat nothing else till the dishes get re filled, the tiels that I know are addicted to suns don't get many at all. Now with the pellets these are offered as a treat only and quiet often I mix them in with there greens.. a few tiels like them when they have gone a bit soft..(every tiel is fussy LOL) again go with the natural pellets if you can..over here in Oz in the last week I have seen packet treat pellets but I don't like them because one lot is green and the other ones are red...I'm not about to eat food with that much colouring so I'm not giving them to my tiels either.

I real don't think you can go past a mixed diet of seeds - pellets and greens, the more greens the better.

best way to get them to eat pellets..put a few of them on top of there greens or fav food