Pellet feeding vs. seeds

anneenna · Post by **anneenna** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 12:18 pm

I have switched my finches over to pellets now for about 1/2 of their diet. I bought a brand that has different colored pellets in it and it took them all a while ( couple of weeks or so ) to try it but they are eating it well now. I will try switching to another brand that I found next that is uncolored pellets though, as the colored pellets lead to messier looking colored droppings.

rottielover · Post by **rottielover** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 4:37 pm

Since this thread is still very active, I thought I would post an update.

As some of the members who have been around a while will notice, I haven't been posting much recently... Well that's because my company had a management change, I'm still employed but don't know for how long. Additionally, the company my wife worked for had to close their doors and she's now working part time.

So now that my money situation isn't as stable, I've been finding ways to reduce some costs. One of those ways was to switch my finches from an 80% pellet diet over to a diet of mostly seeds again. (In my area, I can buy nearly 3 times the ammount of seeds than pellets for the money).

All my birds are doing just fine. I've been supplementing the diet a bit with some fresh veggies from the local shop (cheap ones). As always they've been getting free choice on kelp powerder (gouldians) and crushed oystershell.

I haven't noticed any real differance in the birds, they seem as happy and healthy as when they were eating a diet of 80% pellets.

So I'd have to say that I've reached the conclusion that it's all about a well balanced diet. HOW you achive providing a well balanced diet doesn't seem to matter as much as simply providing foods that will supply the birds with the required nutrients. So if that be pellets, great, if it's seeds, veggies, etc. great also.

So that's my final opinion on the matter I'd have to say: " Well balanced diet, over and above WHAT is being feed, it's all about the well balanced diet".

Hope that helps!

Post by **Sally** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 1:48 am

rottielover wrote:So I'd have to say that I've reached the conclusion that it's all about a well balanced diet. HOW you achive providing a well balanced diet doesn't seem to matter as much as simply providing foods that will supply the birds with the required nutrients. So if that be pellets, great, if it's seeds, veggies, etc. great also.

So that's my final opinion on the matter I'd have to say: " Well balanced diet, over and above WHAT is being feed, it's all about the well balanced diet".

Hope that helps!

I couldn't agree with you more, rottielover! I was all for the pellet diet, loved it at first (no hull mess), but after a while, my birds just didn't seem to be quite the same. I switched back to seeds, plus they have a small dish of pellets for free-choice (after all, I still had all these pellets to use up). Now I swear my birds seem a bit happier, more active. Of course, that could be because they are all in breeding mode .

chrischris · Post by **chrischris** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 7:02 pm

Sally that might be a good idea to have them in 2 separate dishes but to make things easier I now mix the pelets with the seeds. Just think if I had them in separate trays they wouldn't eat them.

BTW I had my gouldians switched over completely to pellets and when they breed the chicks died because the parents couldn't feed the chicks. They couldn'r regurgitate the pellets at all. So now when they breed and ~ 1 week before the chicks hatch I phase out the pellets to 100% seed.

Chris

chrischris · Post by **chrischris** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 12:42 am

Sally with seeds and pellets in the same cage did you find that your finch went only for the seed tray? How did you get them to eat the pellets when given a choice?

Any others here doing the above and how you get the finch to eat pellets with seeds around?

Also curious if a finch is eating pellets for a long time does he forget how to eat seeds?

Chris

Post by **Sally** » Thu Feb 21, 2008 12:09 pm

The birds definitely don't forget how to eat seeds. All my birds are different--some of them quit eating pellets completely, some eat some of the pellets, but none of them stayed with the pellets only. I believe my birds were getting quieter and less active on the pellets. The seed mix gives them something to rummage thru, which is what they do in the wild. Once all the pellets are gone, I probably won't get any more.

ac12 · Post by **ac12** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 1:29 am

My zebras were SEED eaters.
Using the info in the FIC I converted them to ZuPreem pellets.
I removed the seeds just before "lights out."
In the morning I did not put the seeds in for 2 hrs, and increasing to 4hrs.
Now they are on essentially 95% pellet, with seeds as treats.

Trick I learned.
I have 1 tray of pellets part way up the cage.
Lower down I have a 2nd tray of pellets and 2 trays of seeds.
I think this helped convert them, as it seems that some of them are lazy, and will go to the easier to get to upper pellet tray, vs the lower seed trays.

Now when I put seeds in the cage, they go for the seeds like a treat, but they also still eat the pellets sometimes ignoring the seeds.

Also with the ZuPreem pellets, they "rummage." I noticed this first on the upper pellet tray, then the other pellet trays. They would eat the yellow and green pellets first, then orange and finally the red. So they are "rummaging" through the pellets, picking out which ones they want to eat first. Someone suggested that the yellow and green pellets more resemble seeds.

BUT...now my perches are getting stained red and green from their colored poop. The pellet color has colored their poop.

oooops
Did not notice that the prior post date was 2008, not 2009.

chrischris · Post by **chrischris** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 8:51 am

you could use the pellets that don't have colouring in them therefore your perches won't get stained.

Also I've learn't the bad way but never only give your birds pellets when they are breeding as they can't regurgitate the pellets up for their chicks and all will perish.

Chris

ac12 · Post by **ac12** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 12:46 pm

Chris
I remember reading about the regurgitating problem with pellets.
My plan for my next clutch is to switch them to seeds soon as I see them working a nest, so when they have to feed they are feeding seeds not pellets.

But, from my 1st clutch, I fed the parents Laffers Nutri-Start, because I read that this was easier for the parents to regergitate than seeds. And they ate that 90% of the time and only occasionally ate seeds. They must have known that the Nutri-Start was somehow better for them than seeds. I plan to introduce the Nutri-Start to the parents as soon as I see an egg. I may give it to them occasionally as a "treat" to get them used to it.

Rayray · Post by **Rayray** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 4:28 pm

just thinking

, years ago they started feeding the birds here also pellets , and now .... everyone went back on seeds , i don't know why ! will try to find that out .

ray

Post by **Sally** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 8:16 pm

ac12 wrote:But, from my 1st clutch, I fed the parents Laffers Nutri-Start, because I read that this was easier for the parents to regergitate than seeds. And they ate that 90% of the time and only occasionally ate seeds. They must have known that the Nutri-Start was somehow better for them than seeds. I plan to introduce the Nutri-Start to the parents as soon as I see an egg. I may give it to them occasionally as a "treat" to get them used to it.

This is the handfeeding formula, right? Did you moisten it when you put it in the cage?

I switched to all pellets at one time. I'm sure the pellets are a very balanced diet, but my birds just didn't seem as happy and active. I switched back to seeds, and they became more active again. I think rummaging around in the seeds gives them something to do, pellets were just not as interesting to them.

ac12 · Post by **ac12** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 11:02 pm

Sally
Yes Nurti-Start is a handfeeding formula.
I mixed maybe 1/16 teaspoon w filter water to make it into a thin paste, like VERY soft mashed potato. Soft but not runny. My guide was I would make a small paddy on the bottom of the seed tray about 1/8" thick, if it held that was OK, if it started to collapse and run I would mix in more of the powder to thicken it up. It was hard for the birds to eat it when it was runny.

I first put it into a treat tray, but then moved to a covered seed tray because mom tends to flick her food. The covered seed tray kept the soft mix from being flicked out into the room...yuk

I did have to keep it soft, once it dried up they did not touch it. So when I was home, I would clean and refill the tray every 3 or 4 hrs. If I was out during the day, I would mix a larger batch to try to hold them until I got home. The last fill of the day was always a dice roll if they would eat it before lights out or not, half the time they must have been full as they barely touched it. I always removed it before lights out, so it would not spoil overnight.

I think I started giving the mix a few days after I saw eggs in the nest, thinking I would have to get them used to it. But once the parents found it, they went after it, ignoring the seeds. I was surprised by this, because I read several places on the internet where the writers/posters could not get their finches to eat the mix by itself, they mixed it in with the seeds.

Once the chicks hatched, I would adjust the amount I mixed based on how much they would eat, making sure that they had enough to last the 4hrs to the next time I changed the mix tray. Some times they ate more than I planned to, and the tray would be empty when I went to change the mix. I gradually increased the amount as the chicks grew. The chicks were eating seeds and still begging for food...and getting fed. I stopped giving the mix once I did not see the parents feeding the chicks.

1 tub just barely lasted me through getting 4 chicks raised, with just a tiny bit left over.

Because the parents were eating seeds I did not want to try to change their diet to pellets while they were still feeding the chicks, so...the chicks found the seed trays and ignored the pellet tray (just like their parents).

Next time I think I will mix ground pellets into the mix near when the chicks are scheduled to fledge. I hope this will get their system used to pellets. BUT they still might head for the seeds once they start eating on their own.

I did not know when and how well the chicks could eat seeds until I put in a piece of millet spray, and they ATTACKED it...wow! I don't know how, but they seemed to know what it was...candy

Then I knew they could eat on their own. But they still begged for food.

chrischris · Post by **chrischris** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 7:14 pm

Yes I mix the dry egg foow with the wetter eggfood and this is mixed with a handfeeding formula on a 1:1:1 ratio and all is mixed in with the seeds. I find this will get the goulds to eat and there is also less waste of handfeeding formula. As the chicks grow bigger the parents will automatically give more seeds to the chicks so I will than place more seed in the seed cup that is mixed with the egg food and handfeeding formula.

Chris