using Kaytee Rainbow Exact and Living world Tropican Pellets

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larrylow
Posts: 13
Joined: Fri Dec 07, 2007 1:48 am

using Kaytee Rainbow Exact and Living world Tropican Pellets

Post by larrylow »

Dear members, has anyone tried using Kaytee's rainbow exact pellets and Hagen Tropican Lifetime Parrot Sticks Bird Food for their IRN's. I mixed a bag each and have been feeding my IRN for the past 2 weeks on the mixture. She (just got my DNA results) seems to like it. Should i continue. BTW she gets fruits and veg. in the evenings. Thanks.
Melika
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Post by Melika »

If you can, you may want to switch her veggies and fruits to the morning, as they will be hungrier and eat more of that good stuff!
:D

Personally, I don't like any pellets with artificial colourings, preservatives, or sweeteners.

Here's a nice chart with some pellet comparisons:
http://www.artemisaviary.com/pellet.html

My favourite pellet is still Roudybush, but it's not always easily availible and I'm starting to mix different types.
If you're in the US, here's where I bought mine- they don't resell in different packaging. My pellets were fresh delivery was prompt.

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/prod ... 49336J8NPF


Roudybush: http://www.roudybush.com/

Other pellets I like:
Harrison's: http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/
TOP: http://totallyorganics.com/
Zupreem Natural: http://www.zupreem.com

No one really knows what artificial colourings do to our birds. But some birds are sensitive to them- especially eclectus which can end up with wrongly coloured feathers. Some believe that the little black or brown ends on our bird's feathers can be caused by coloured pellets.
We do know one thing for sure- coloured pellets make their poop stain! :lol:

And mixing different pellets is good! Who knows what one pellet is missing out on? We're still in the infantile stages of figuring out psittacine nutrition and learning as we go. And with such a broad spectrum of species- can just one pellet give everything your species' needs?
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I've been called 'birdbrained' before, but somehow I don't think this is what they meant. say:hah-nay
Lauren
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Post by Lauren »

I totally agree with Melika there. We just don't know what all this will do. But I just figure, we'll never know, we aren't birds. So I'm just trying out a whole range of what I can get my hands on. Its a trial and error.

My avian vet recommended Hagen Tropican for 'tiels/lovebirds. He recommended to use a small parrot mix or cockatiel sized mix/pellet for IRNs. I didnt think Tropican is coloured??? I don't like coloured pellets either. I also got the fruit and nut mixes 'Tropimix' and 'Premium Small parrot'. I also mixed them together. They also have the Tropican in them. I have also heard good things about the Kaytees range.

Here in Aus it seems so hard to find good pellets or good fruit/nut mixes for birds. Most places sell seed and don't give much range. I believe seed is natural for them, so every now and then, they get seed until I can get a fruit and nut mix, pellets or 'granules'. When mine are on seed for a while I give them a vitamin supplement once a week or so, I was told never to give them supplements more than that because they should be getting all that from fresh fruit and veg as well as egg/shell and a tiny amount of meat such as cooked chicken and bone. I've never seen ZuPreem, Roudybush or Harrisons down here, if I did, I'd buy it because everyone seems to be talking about them. :(

Where abouts are you again? I'm going with the Hagen brand for now, because the vet recommended it to me. Of course, a well balanced diet is best. But these are the 'base' foods.

Oh and giving them fruit and veg in the morning is a good idea. Mine certainly get the good stuff in the mornings because thats when they are little piggies. :wink:
"Jibby aka Gilbert" Indian Ringneck 13 years "Charlie" Rex Rabbit 1 year
Donna
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Post by Donna »

Stay with the natural colored pellets. The colored ones make the poop red green yellow and you really want to be able to see your birds poop in it's natural color. First signs of illness is usally in the poop, hard to tell if they have been eating dyed pellets.
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larrylow
Posts: 13
Joined: Fri Dec 07, 2007 1:48 am

using Kaytee Rainbow Exact and Living world Tropican Pellets

Post by larrylow »

Hi guys, thanks for taking the trouble to help me out. I come from Malaysia. Unlike the US, the choices for pellets over here are very limited. I usually snap up anything that I can get my hands on whenever available. The dealers here are not to keen to bring in avian stuff because business is slow. No thanks to BIRD-FLU!!! Generally people over here shy away from anything to do with birds for they fear contracting the illness!!

As a result of such ignorance we bird lovers over here are left with very little choice. I feed my IRN with pellets in the morning to increase my chances of her accepting it. She does not have any problems with the fresh stuff in the evenings - she's eat em all.

The other reason why I give Tweety fruits and veg. in the evenings is because I want to give her something to look forward to when I place her back into the cage. She used to bite me whenever it was time to go back into the cage. Ever since I switched the timing she has stopped biting and actually does look forward to going back.

The colouring does affect their poop and it can get scary at times. I do wish that I could get some of the organic stuff from Kaytee or Zupreem. At the moment the dealers here are reluctant to bring it in because of the cost involved. If you convert the costs into our currency one could actually feed a family let alone a bird. Sad but cest la vie. I don't really fancy using the coloured pellets but I really don't have a choice. In the long run I believe pellets are nutritionally better than seeds.

Thanks guys.
Melika
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Post by Melika »

You're doing what you can, which is to be commended. And if you keep the fresh foods the larger part of her diet, you'll be fine. Exact isn't a bad pellet, technically. I, personally, haven't had any trouble with it in the past but my research into eclectus raised questions about the colours. I feel much better about the uncoloured ones by Exact. But if that's what you can get, it's better than nothing!

I only feed pellets to fill any gaps in nutrients that their veggies and fruits aren't giving them, so it's a very small portion of out bird's diet. :)
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I've been called 'birdbrained' before, but somehow I don't think this is what they meant. say:hah-nay
larrylow
Posts: 13
Joined: Fri Dec 07, 2007 1:48 am

using Kaytee Rainbow Exact and Living world Tropican Pellets

Post by larrylow »

Thanks Melika, I tried switching the timing of the feeds. As expected she did not touch the pellets. Hmmm.... back to drawing block!!
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