Hello,
I'm new to this board and I'm new to Quakers. I've been doing a lot of research and the conclusion is definitely pellets over seeds. But my question now is what kind of pellets? I've been told that the ones without artificial coloring are best, but from there I'm a bit lost. I know that there is no guarantee my soon to be home Quaker will eat a certain pellet, but are there any suggestions for good healthy pellets? Right now the baby is still being weaned, so I can't go off of what it is eating now. I'm trying to gather up supplies for the big day when we bring him/her home, and have ordered a nice big cage and a few simple toys to start out with, but the food is still a topic of concern for me. The only pet store in my town is Petco, and all I found there in my initial look through was the fruity colored Zupreem food, which several people have told me wasn't good. I'm trying not to freak out about too many things, but I definitely want to have a nice cage food prepared for the new little addition to our family. I've read all kinds of lists on this forum, but those were mostly about people food, fruits, and veggies. I am serius about good nutrition, and my cats have always eaten Science Diet because that is supposed to be what is best for them. I certainly want to be able to give our new feathered friend the same advantage. So if anyone has any input it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I feed my guys Zupreem natural there's no added colors so their poop doesn't change colors...Its readily available most places that have pet foods.

There are several other good ones; some are more pricey than others. But I feel you can't go wrong with either, Zupreem, Roudybush, Harrison, Hagen, I've fed all of those, my guys seem to go back to the Zupreem and roudybush.

my sugestion to do a search and there are threads on this board with info to get free samples. find the one they like.

my bird was weened on pretty bird pellets but i have tried harrison(hatted it) and roudybush(likes it better than pretty bird) and im going to try a couple more pellets when they come in and go with that.

Chris

I tend to find TOPS pellets (totally organic pellets, TOPS is the brand name) are the most pallatable, naturaly no added anything pellets. I also like harrisons, but don't generally find it as well accepted accross the board (I think bigger guys tend to like it more often then little?). I like the TOPS to because I can feed it accross species (work in rescue, always have different species going in and out of here!). I buy it in large bulk too (online) and find it very affordable.

I hope that helps!

J

I have always had the larger breed of birds. My vet recommends Harrisons because it is organic. It comes in course, fine and extra fine.

Until I started researching for our newest addition I never realized how diverse bird food was. I have been e-mailing companies and seeing who will send a sample for me to test out. I just e-mailed the breeder and she said that the birds were going to be weaned onto seed because the rest of my baby's clutch will be going to a pet store that feeds seed. So should I try to get the conversion pellets? Or should I get some seed and pellets and do the mixture, slowly replacing seed with pellets? I was disappointed to find out my baby will get its first real food in the form of seeds, but that just means I'm gonna have to work extra hard to make sure I get the baby healthy. I am so glad I found this website or I probably would have just kept them on the seed because I wouldn't have known better. Thank all of y'all for the advice. This is helping a lot.

My QP was eating seed when I brought her home. I tried a pellet and after a taste, refused it. I got Zupreen garden veggie and she Loved it, she only gets a little bit of seed but prefers the pellet. I suggest if you haven't had your bird on seed go straight to pellet then you will not have to ween off of seed. good luck

I'm sure that the mash that she is feeding has enough nutrition for the fid to be healthy. It won't be on the seed long enough for it to do any harm. I would definetly do the seed pellet mixture the bird being young it shouldn't really take that long.

I e-mailed a couple of companies and Lafeber send me a box of samples! I was in my bath robe trying desperately to get ready and get going and the doorbell rang. It scared me silly because NOBODY ever rings my doorbell. It was UPS and they had a package for me. They sent me four sample size nutriberries, four avicakes, and one Nutri-Meal bar. So if anyone is wanting to try out these products you should definitely e-mail them. Great response. I was plesently suprised. Now I have to go get my cat out of the kitchen sink where he has set up camp, he's looking at his sister like "No girls allowed".
Thanks for the tips y'all. It worked great!

Check with your Petco to see if they either carry or can order Zupreem Natural pellets. Locally our PetSmart has both Zupreem & Roudybush pellets. Also, once your baby chooses a pellet they like contact the company to see if they have someone who carries it nearby or where the shipping costs are not too expensive.

My recommendation is to keep your new baby on whatever food the breeder weans him/her to at least for the first few weeks while the baby is settling in. You might also want to have a separate bowl of pellets for the baby to get used to seeing in the cage & have the opportunity to try. They are like babies exploring & learning about their environment. Once your baby is comfortable you can try to convert them slowly. One suggestion to make switching to pellets a bit easier is to find one of the pellets that looks similar to the seeds such as Zupreem Natural for Cockatiels (or it may be Parakeet) or Harrisons' Lifetime Fine Grind.

Congratulations on your new Quaker!

Jess

I have Khego on the colored fruity Zupreem, and he loves them...every time I look at him he had his beak in the bowl lol. The vet also told me that is an excellent choice. There are other good brands out there tho too, many people seem to prefer feeding organic... Maybe try a few and see what your QP prefers?

I have all my fabies on harrison's! alittle high on $ ..but i want the best for them..and the poop is nice and soild and not colored or running .. some of the others i see, makes them running! and i do not like that ! lol

Zupreem natural and Roudybush are good.

If you are wanting to try different pellets to see which one your new baby will take to, call these guys ... they send a nice assortment of samples (some VERY generous )

Hagen (Tropican pellets and Gourmet mix)
-- 1-800-225-2700
Harrisons (pellets)
-- 1-800-346-0269
Lafeber (Nutriberries and AviCakes)
-- 1-800-842-6445
Pretty Bird International Inc. (pellets)
-- 1-800-356-5020
Roudybush Feed (pellets)
-- 1-800-326-1726
Ziegler Brothers Inc. (pellets)
-- 1-800-841-6800