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Post by prettybabyrio on Jul 18, 2014 11:20:57 GMT -5
I just adopted my Quaker yesterday, she is on a mix of different pellets and fresh fruits and veggies. I am trying to decide on the best pellets to give her and curious about if anyone ever gives any sort of insects to their Quakers? I read ingredients just like I do for my dog food (I'm very picky on what I feed my pets) and I kind of feel that some of the pelleted bird foods don't seem that great, with corn, soybean meal and wheat flour as main ingredients, it doesn't seem that great. Those are the first ingredients in Lafebers diet and most others...I know they certainly don't eat any of those in the wild...
When I choose my dog food I picked a food that has meat as the main ingredient and no by products or "meal" of any sort. No preservatives unless its mixed tocopherols, no added colors or anything like that. Obviously for parrots we don't want meat as the main ingredients but wouldn't we want something more natural than corn and soybean? I mean obviously we also feed the fruits and veggies, but why are the pellets made with those foods? Corn isn't really great for most animals and even humans and dogs can't digest it well. Also what kind of insects can I feed my Quaker, I know mealworms are kinda fatty so that would be an occasional thing, but anything else? I know they do sometimes eat insects in the wild, though I'm not sure how well pet Quakers eat them. |
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Post by Caseysmom on Jul 18, 2014 20:19:12 GMT -5
Casey does have pellets available in her cage at all times, but she also gets a tiny bird portion of our meals too, fed to her on a plate on top of her cage. You'd be surprised, Casey loves meat, her favourite dinner is salmon and bulgar, but she also really loves chicken too and all sorts of veggies and rice, pasta or potato. If our dinner is one she doesn't like I freeze tiny portions of rice mixed with various vegetables and with an egg cooked with it, she always gobbles that down too. I have never offered any insects, for me it was easier just to share our dinners.
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Post by Sharyn and Mr P on Jul 19, 2014 8:49:12 GMT -5
I pretty much do what Caseysmom does, Mr P gets birdie bread for breakfast which is baked with chopped veggies and fruit and sometimes stage 1 baby food. For dinner, I also make him a little plate of whatever I am having, except my spoiled Mr Piggy eats at the table with us, from his own little dish.  He has access to pellets and water all day long, no matter which playstand he is on. At night, when he goes back in his cage, he gets a dish of quinona or some sort of cooked, healthy grain and lentil sprouts, which I sprout myself and he adores. In lieu of insects, for protien, Mr P loves chicken, but his all time favorite is pork chops, of all things! He also like eggs, scrambled, hardboiled or fried (yokes well done) Mr P also gets pieces of whatever fruit I am eating throughout the day, he loves cherries as long as I cut them in half for him first (always remove the seed), bananas and apples. There are a lot of different pellets out there. I was told by my avian vet that ANY pellet diet is better than seed so don't stress over what type of pellet you are feeding your Quaker. The ones that don't contain sugar, additives or dyes are better (Roudybush or Harrisons), but if all your bird will eat are pellets that do contain those (I am specifically thinking about the zupreme fruit pellets)that is still better than seed. |
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Post by easttex on Jul 19, 2014 8:58:26 GMT -5
I like Harrison's pellets. It's all organic. The specifics of the ingredients vary with the formula, but you will find corn and soy in most, if not all of them. Corn does not add a whole lot nutritionally, but most birds love it, so I assume it is there to make the pellets more palatable. My grey converted to Harrison's easily, but my Quaker has been a little slower. If your bird likes visual stimulation from his food, it can take some time, as they are plain brown pellets. As far as insects go, even if my birds liked them, I would consider them more a treat than a primary source of nutrition. If you buy mealworms that have been fed on the cheap, (and it's hard to know if you don't raise them yourself,) the nutrition they provide is not all that outstanding. Mine like boiled or scrambled egg. They might like meat, too, but I don't eat it, so they don't get it. I don't give mine too much beyond pellets, Higgins World Cuisine cooked foods, veggies (which they mostly won't eat), and a little fruit. I worry about throwing off the balance of protein, fats, carbs, vitamins, etc., that a well-formulated pellet diet provides. |
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Post by easttex on Jul 19, 2014 9:00:59 GMT -5
I forgot, both of mine also love Harrison's bird bread, and they get a little of that every day.
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Post by Caseysmom on Jul 19, 2014 18:46:20 GMT -5
I also try to choose a pellet with a low fat content as Quakers are prone to fatty liver disease and some pellets have peanuts and sunflower seeds in them that aren't the best for a Quaker... or the food allergy in our house. |
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Post by prettybabyrio on Jul 21, 2014 13:39:19 GMT -5
Thanks everyone! The previous owner had pellets plus oven bites mixed in with a small portion of almonds. She also sent some nurtiberries. So far I haven't gotten her to eat much as far as fruit, I will be adding in some egg occasionally, she really isn't eating much for veggies either so I'll likely scramble eggs with maybe some well chopped veggies. I think I'm going to make my own birdie bread with fruits and veggies mixed in. I discovered she likes flax seed which is pretty much good for everyone. Also hoping if I make some smoothies (fruits, maybe a bit of 100% juice and flax seed)that she'll eat some of that. I may see what she thinks of some meats like chicken and such. And yes I will look for the lowest fat content for the pellets. I actually just bought grapes, apples, peaches, strawberries and bananas to try with her and to make stuff for me and my kids.  I've tried most of them and she isn't a fan, just licks it a bit lol. I will keep trying though. Also does anyone elses quaker dip their food in their water? lol |
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Post by Caseysmom on Jul 21, 2014 21:36:13 GMT -5
Yup, Casey dunks her pellets, but not her extra meals/treats
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Post by biteybird on Jul 22, 2014 5:34:24 GMT -5
Bonnie has mostly pellets (our breeder said that if the parents have been raised on pellets, their babies naturally like them, so no conversion from seed is needed!). But if we gave her more seed she would choose that over the pellets. Otherwise she likes sprouted crunchy bean mix (we buy it from the supermarket and keep it in a plastic container in water, with a built-in sieve & rinse the mix in fresh water each day), apple, grapes, capsicum pieces and seeds, pumpkin seeds and pepitas, cooked white rice, cooked meats, almonds and chillies. She doesn't seem interested in other fruits like pears, strawberries, bananas or blueberries.
My advice is to buy the cheapest of whatever your bird likes and don't give all of it every day (rotate). If you only have one or two inside birds, the fruit/nuts should last at least 5 days and be still fresh-ish.
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He has access to pellets and water all day long, no matter which playstand he is on. At night, when he goes back in his cage, he gets a dish of quinona or some sort of cooked, healthy grain and lentil sprouts, which I sprout myself and he adores.
I've tried most of them and she isn't a fan, just licks it a bit lol. I will keep trying though. Also does anyone elses quaker dip their food in their water? lol