Article on All the Ingredients in Many Pelleted Diets

[cindy]

Very interesting article by Sally Blanchard discussing the ingredients in the pelleted diets we select for our birds......it is a long read but very worth it.

https://companionparrotonline.com/Diet_ ... rrots.html

[30 Seconds to Bob]

Is there a "Cliff Note" version? Bob

[cindy]

not that I know of....grab a coffee and a treat, it is a long read!!!!

[debbie276]

The ingredients that I think are good quality nutrition are in green: the ones that I have serious concerns about are in red. If I have concerns but they are not serious enough to warrant red, I have put the name of the ingredient in bold.

All I see is one ingredient in red (ARTIFICIAL COLORS) and everything in "A" is BOLD.
I was a little disappointed that she didn't explain the difference between "A (CP) means the product is a cold rolled pellet, (E) means extruded, and (O) is other."

[cindy]

The article is more of the active ingredients and the explaination of what each is and what it does or doesn't do for the birds.

I will see if I can find a decent explaination to how they are processed....it is the same processes done with dog kibble.

[cindy]

quote..... "There are three things that destroy the nutrients in our foods: heat, air and time. Pellets are typically formulated in one of three ways: baking, extrusion or cold pressing. The processing of pellets that are baked or extruded uses very high heat, which eradicates most of the naturally occurring nutrients that exist in the ingredients. No matter how wonderfully healthy the ingredients may have started out being, they are not worth nearly as much nutritionally following baking or extrusion.

A cold pressed pellet is one that is simply pressed into shape, using no heat and allowing the full nutritional value to remain intact. (I recommend vacuum sealing half of the bag for later use if you have only one or two parrots. This will help combat the air and time related nutritional losses.)"


http://www.birdtricks.com/blog/feed-you ... out-there/

[cindy]

"When you are choosing a pellet, there are three types around, extruded pellets, steamed pellets, and cold pressed pellets. Kaytee Exact , Harrison's, Hagen, Scenic, Pretty Bird, and ZuPreem are examples of extruded pellets, they are very hard and when you soak them in liquid they puff up but still retain their basic shape (kind of like a sponge). Extruded diets are pasturized by the high heat. Some people believe that the high heat damages the natural vitamins and enzymes in the food. Lafeber and Roudybush are examples of steamed pellets, which are softer, less homogenous pellets that look similar to rabbit pellets or crumbled rabbit pellets. The heat in this process could also damage vitamins and enzymes in the food. There is only one brand of cold pressed pellets that I know of, Breeders Blend. Many people believe this method of processing is the best because the natural food properties are maintained. This is the method the poultry industry uses for their pellets."

http://www.oocities.org/noahbird01/pellets.htm


this is the Breeder's Blend the article above speaks of... http://www.aviannaturals.com/breedersblend.html also an explaination within this article on the CP and E processes.

[debbie276]

Thanks, that's what I thought.
The only thing I've been able to find so far is here under the heading Pelleted And Extruded Diets :
http://2ndchance.info/birdlover.htm

[gsjohnson]

Interesting my Red Fronted Macaw was strictly on Harrison's. I never thought of these formulations affecting the nutritional value.

[cindy]

this is a topic I posted way back in 2012.... some of the ingredients used in certain brands of pellets may have changed but the process and explanation/definition of certain ingredients are still the same.