VitaminD3 - Sun - Calcium and Birds

[cindy]

I have a friend that has a 14 yr old lovebird that was raised on Roudybush. All my parrotlets, love birds and Gray, my friend's parrotlets, lineolated parakeets, Bourkes, Scarlet chested parakeets and various other parrots eat and raised young on Roudybush and supplemented with veggies and fruits. An all seed diet is not balanced, not all birds eat fruits and veggies and boiled egg.

When ever I took my birds in for a check up with my avian vet (DVM-ABVP certified) she drew blood and ran tests. All their blood levels came back as excelent, a good bill of health.

Roudybush makes a soak and feed product that contains veggies, they make a California Blend which my lovebird eats and it contains dried fruit and veggies. They also have breeder formulas, rice based formulas.

I have more issues with hand feeding formulas than pellet based diets.

http://www.roudybush.com

[Ursula]

I think when vets recommend pellets instead of seeds it's aimed at bird keepers who give their birds ONLY seed and water and maybe spray millet. Everybody on this forum seems to be giving their birds a balanced diet that includes greens, veggies, vitamins, egg, and so on, besides the seed mix. I think the emphasis is on "balanced" and less whether you feed a seed mix vs. pellets...
I also believe if some birds don't eat veggies they just are not used to them. I'm sure if you cut back on millet and consistently serve a tray of veggies for them day in and day out they will eventually try it and get to like it. Mine never ate anything new on the first day, it always has to be given for days or even weeks, then 1 bird will try and like it and then the others follow...

[cindy]

Ursula, no matter how much I offer the veggies (everyday) to certain birds they do not take it, I use very little millet hardly any at all. The birds will eat that and leave their regular foods untouched, millet sprays are like candy.

I found that by grinding the Roudybush and adding it to the dried egg food and Miracle meal along with a cup of dried herbs the finches spend more time eating that than eating seed. I am refilling the bowls will less seeds since they rather eat the egg food mixture and herbs. I refill the herb and egg food mixture cups a lot more, it is left out so they can have it at all times.

Pellets contain vitamins, amino acids(proteins), minerals so with offering it the way I do, them eating it I feel they are getting a good balance along with the benefits of the herbs.

Vets do recommend the pellets and use it themselves (mine does as well as her staff) because seeds are incomplete in what the birds needs to thrive.

My lovebird will not eat anything but the pellets and Nutri-berry tropical fruit balls as a treat. He has been offered fruits, veggies and turns the bowl over and does not like the wet or cold feeling of the fruit. He will take a taste of a fruit and shake his head. I did find that with my Gray he liked his fruit but relished warm foods.
My lovebird loves the Herb Salad, he sits happily munching away at it.

I spoke with the breeder I deal with, she to does not use a lot of fresh veggies but prefers the dried greens and egg food since here in Florida it is humid and can be quiet hot, foods spoil quicker. This could be why mine don't like it as much.

I think as long as the birds are thriving, healthy a combined feeding method is fine for finches who have a higher energy level compared to some hookbills.

[Animal Quackers]

Pellets contain vitamins, amino acids(proteins), minerals so with offering it the way I do, them eating it I feel they are getting a good balance along with the benefits of the herbs.

Vets do recommend the pellets and use it themselves (mine does as well as her staff) because seeds are incomplete in what the birds needs to thrive.

I agree with you 100%, Cindy. I believe a seed-based diet is completely inadequate and lacking so many nutrients that birds need to THRIVE. Sure, they CAN LIVE on it, like you or I could live on eating McDonald's every day, but it certainly is far from ideal! I believe that is why avian vitamins are sold - to give to birds who are eating seed-only diets and are therefore lacking vital nutrients that are found in pellets.

Do not get me wrong, I am not opposed to feeding SOME seed - I believe there is definitely a place in a bird's diet for it! But I personally do not believe it should constitute more than 10% of a bird's daily intake.

[cindy]

I don't give seed to my lovebird only millet on rare treat days, he loves Nutriberries.

I feed a dish of blended seed, a dish of the ABBA92 w/green egg food/roudybush/miracle meal (ef/r/mm) in a separate dish/cup.

I tried serving plain ground roudybush but the prefer the mixture. I found if you put some in little egg cups near where they like to sit it goes fast.

Until I offered the ground Roudybush in the egg food my owls were consuming to much seed they were not digesting well. Now they sit and take turns at the ef/r/mm cup, sometimes poking the one eating to get out of the way so they can eat.

[batuhan]

Hi All,
All birds need food and water...
in the wild the birds eat natural foods such as wild seeds,insects,
greens,fruits,buds of trees,nuts,minerals etc.....
in cage(captivity) they eat what you give......
in a cage an european goldfinch with 1 kind of seed can live...
in captivity a budgie with 1 kind of millet can live
BUT;
they need poteins,minerals,enzimes,vitamines like humans from natural foods...
why do you eat meat,vegetables,fruits and other foods ?
why do not eat only medical products such as medical vitamin tablets?
medical vitamin tablets contain only what you put in ....
but natural foods contain hundreds things you need and we do not know what contains more yet totally...
SHORTLY;
the birds all have different needs and so we have to provide the birds what they need,what they eat in the wild..
this is my opinion:
we should provide our birds wide variety of seeds,fruits,greens,tree buds,fresh water,fresh air,as possible as large living area....
follow nature
give love

batuhan

[cindy]

We all do what we can for our birds, what we feel is best.

[Ursula]

I spoke with the breeder I deal with, she to does not use a lot of fresh veggies but prefers the dried greens and egg food since here in Florida it is humid and can be quiet hot, foods spoil quicker. This could be why mine don't like it as much.

That's a good point, I agree. My aviary gets pretty hot in summer too and I don't feed as much fresh eggfood as I do in winter.

I guess having the mix of budgies and finches I couldn't really tell you who eats more of what. From observing them I think the finches do eat mostly the greens but not so much the veggies and eggfood, but the budgies love everything. They aren't picky eaters at all...