(Part 2) Best bird food according to redditors

So a few thoughts about birds - they are highly hormonal. They can change their attitudes seasonally, yearly, as they mature in to adult-hood, and can even change their moods drastically when exposed to the sun rising/setting. A bird that was once standoffish can become inseparable from you suddenly for no obvious reason - and loving birds can suddenly become standoffish and solitary. Hormones! Think of a 2 year old with the hormones of a 16 year old and you're not far off.

They are also HIGHLY INTELLIGENT for an animal (just like a 2 year old!) - they remember things but do not forgive as readily as other pet types. They need stimulation and challenging activities to stimulate that brain of theirs or they can become depressed. Think puzzles - but for birds. A puzzle to a bird would be a bit of say apple inside a toilet paper tube with the ends just pushed shut. Its easily opened but he still has to work it out. Hide foods he enjoys in between parts of the toys he already plays with if you can. Try not to repeat puzzles two times in a row. You're trying to avoid repetition here.

As for encouraging affection food is ok, but attention is king. I have an IRN who was raised in a private at-home aviary - then his owner died of a heart attack. He didn't have a few birds, he had BIRDS. They all immediately went to animal rescue where they clipped their wings but did it poorly unfortunately, which is where we got our IRN. He's still after two years terrified of hands. He is VERY loud. He maintains enough distance to flee if needed. Only recently has he approached US for attention instead of the other way around.

The way we've socialized him initially was to use food, but this only got us so far. So what we did is talk to him. A lot. At least an hour a day. Also sing to him. Give him sun exposure through a window if you can. Watch TV with him. Talk to him about what is going on. Do not worry about him engaging you - you are teaching HIM how to engage. When you are doing this you should be focused on your bird. Engage him with passing eye contact. Do not stare in to his eyes too long - that can be mistaken for predatory behaviour and won't help you win him over. Make him the center of your universe when you interact with him.

And once you are done with attention time ignore him. Move on to something else. Let him make sense of the distinction between you showering him with affection and you going about your day. Give him time to do his bird things. He will eventually want more attention from you and that is great - but unless you give him a chance to miss you how can he miss you?

Be sure to announce yourself before entering 'his' area or approaching where he is resting/sleeping. "Hi birdie! I'm coming in, need to get something." - THEN you appear in the room. Birds when surprised out of a sound sleep FLEE from a suddenly approaching form. Its incredibly stressful on the bird. Easily solved though.

Try feeding him a little less directly. Invest in foraging toys. Toys that you put food IN and then he works out how to get at it. Every week change his toys. Remove toys he no longer plays with. Toys he does play with should be moved to a different location weekly. Make sure every week he gets variety.

It took us almost two years to try and get him to eat pellets and you know what? His diet sucked. Now we hand feed him Nutriberries in the morning, or if we don't have time we will put a handfull in a dish for him, and then for dinner he gets FOOD. Real food. Carrots (use a cheese grater), apples, peas, squash, corn. Watch him eat. What does he throw to the floor? Is there one food he especially likes? If he doesn't like a food try altering how you present it to him. Shred it. Cut it in to pieces. Give it to him in a large enough piece for him to hold. Use a food blender to mush it up a little. Try different foods and preparation methods to find what he eats. I assure you it won't be pellets.

For a real treat try getting some millet spray, but do not just give it to him. Peel just ONE bud off the stem and hand feed it to the little guy while speaking to him. Good boy! What a sweet bird! Love you *insert name here*! Millet spray is a real treat but will quickly ruin their diet if you feed them too much of it.

Okay, you need to switch them to a low fat pellet diet. No more seeds, especially sunflower. Don't starve them though. Also, fresh fruits and vegetables.
Example: https://smile.amazon.com/RoudyBush-Bird-Food-Crumbles-10-Pound/dp/B008OEP9WS/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=low+fat+parrot+pellet&qid=1570462388&sr=8-5

You should give them Milk Thistle Extract. 1 drop per 1 oz of water, changed twice a day. You cannot overdose on milk thistle, it is very safe.
This is an example.
https://smile.amazon.com/Natures-Answer-Alcohol-Free-Thistle-Extract/dp/B01KXWPY6Y/ref=sr_1_5?crid=39FUNH2M1NOZB&keywords=milk+thistle+extract&qid=1570461443&sprefix=milk+thiste+ext%2Caps%2C462&sr=8-5

For a one ounce, .03 kg budgie, .03cc/ml of Lactulose daily orally.
example: https://www.walmartpetrx.com/p-5436-lactulose-10-gm-15-ml-pint-473-ml.aspx?sku=49726&adid=22222222227428673061&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=359083472761&wl4=pla-296866362904&wl5=9021891&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=136410382&wl11=online&wl12=49726&veh=sem&gclid=CjwKCAjwxOvsBRAjEiwAuY7L8nfmX5UNsvK2Kkuo6aNUleW0ij8L-tjWqLTJkJsKY6En9tvZ_i8_2xoC_ogQAvD_BwE

If the lactulose gives the bird diarhea, reduce or discontinue dose.

The breathing issue can definitely be a symptom of liver disease. If you would like to verify the meds and dosages, call your vet with this information and discuss.

First off, kudos to you for taking in this poor lost birdie! There is a lot to be said, but I'll try to be brief.

• Trying to find her original owners. Put up a listing at Parrot Alert and 911-ParrotAlert, maybe look through the ones in your area to see if anyone has lost their baby. Also check out Mickaboo's site.
  
  
• Diet. Avocado is toxic, so is chocolate. She really needs to be on a pelleted diet like Harrison's or Roudybush (though Harrison's is preferred). My brats converted from Zupreem to Harrison's after they had one batch of bird bread. Go [here] (http://svg-vets.com/AvianCare.htm) for safe foods and more nutrition info. In terms of trying to get her to try fruits or veggies, eat some of whatever you're offering in front of her and visibly/audibly savor the hell out of it. She'll want to try some - don't let her the first time or two, then go ahead and offer it from your hand. Also, don't forget to provide plenty of clean, fresh water! My birds like to dip their pellets which means I end up changing their water a couple of times per day.
  
  
• Cage. How big is it? Basically, your cage should be as large as you can afford. Horizontal width is more important than vertical height. Your bird should have enough room to comfortably spread his wings and flap around. Appropriate bar spacing is proportional to bird size. You wouldn't want a wayward wing or head to get stuck between the bars - more on that here. Also, here is a bit more information regarding cage aesthetics and setup..
  
  
• Bird safety. Never ever, ever, leave the bird unsupervised with the cats. Wash your hands after handling the cat before touching the bird. Also beware of fumes from cooking, perfumes, febreze, basically anything aerosolized. If you have Teflon cookware, try to replace it with cast iron or ceramic. The PTFE vapors released by heating is deadly to birds. Try to keep your feathered friend behind closed doors when cooking.
  
  
• Behavior. Sounds like she was someone's pet. The nipping is either for attention or a signal that she wants to go home/back to the cage. She might also be asking for head scritches - just take your finger and gently rub her head feathers. They tend to love that. Reward the things she does that you like with treats (Nutriberries are wonderful) and/or praise and completely ignore the things you don't like. Yelling when she bites hard will actually encourage her, since noise = attention in birdie's brain. You should interact with her for at least 2 hrs or so daily broken up throughout the day. Birds do well with routines, say maybe an 8 am wake up time and bed time/cage covering at 8 pm. They need about 12 hours of sleep per night in an undisturbed area. She should have as much out-of-cage time as possible. If you end up keeping her, look into getting her a playstand for when she's out. Amazon has them at great prices.
  
  
• Health. You should take her to a board-certified avian vet for a checkup. [Click here] to find one in your area. If you can't find a boarded vet near you, try using [this site] (http://aav.org/search/) to find a member of The Association of Avian Veterinarians instead. I find that it works best if you search by state instead of zipcode or city.
  
  Good grief, that's a lot to read. Hope that helps!
  
  
  

http://i.imgur.com/Hs4UHWI.gif

http://www.amazon.com/Morning-Song-1022526-Year-Round-40-Pound/dp/B004G5YKTC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377878154&sr=8-1&keywords=bulk+bird+seed

Yes I am using dried mealworms. Some of the experienced folks around here say they prefer live mealworms but they don’t mind the dried. You can also put them in a bowl with a little water to moisten them.

They also eat “no mess” nut mixes out of a standard feeder if the mealworms are gone. But the mealworms in a platform feeder were key to attracting them in the first place. I didn’t see any until then.

A blue bird house also helps during nesting season. We put one up this past winter and they took right to it!

Couple of notes: the worms also attracted starlings and they are ravenous. They’ll come in packs and eat all the worms up. Not everyone has this experience though. A friend does the same here but doesn’t see any starlings. That’s why the nut mix is a good backup food source.

Worms also attract other bully birds like cow birds and mockingbirds, blue jays occasionally eat them, but I find them much friendlier than the starlings. They let the other birds eat too.

Here are links to what I feed them. Bulk is the way to go because local stores charge 5X as much for smaller quantities. This 5 pound bag lasted me 2-3 months, until the hungry babies arrived. They keep raising the price, was $30, then $33 now $37.

5lb mealworms

This nut mix has smaller pieces than the local stores so there’s better feeder flow, no clogs from the larger pieces. Plus it attracts so many other birds too! Just make sure you have a squirrel proof feeder :)

lyric no mess nut mix

Let me know if you have any more questions. It’s been interesting to see the variety of birds that comes during the seasons!

What about oven fresh bites?
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00416YIB6/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_3?pf_rd_p=1944687742&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B004QX9E6I&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1KF533GQ45RH3HAARB6X

you can get about 8000 live mealworms.

https://www.amazon.com/1000ct-Mealworms-Reptile-Birds-Chickens/dp/B00CQMTP5Q/ref=pd_lpo_86_tr_t_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=EHRTKQ54VSXXHM8DRY0R

From another thread I posted this in:

Replace seeds with this and never look back:Harrisons High Potency Superfine 3 Lb https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AD83CCC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_10uIwbEYGYTT3

If your bird has an option to eat seeds, he/she will. This stuff is very nutritious compared to seeds and a lot less fattening. You only need to serve what they'll eat, so it lasts a long time. Remember to offer green veggies as well, but if your bird is hungry, they'll eat what is put out for them.

Also, the rainbow diet... I just looked it up and the pellets may be too big for your keet to recognize as food. We had this problem with other pellets but the Harrison's superfine is about the same size as millet seeds.

http://www.amazon.com/Products-Peanut-Delight-12-Piece/dp/B006GZYU4A/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1371176869&sr=8-5&keywords=Peanut+suet

Cheaper at Home Depot for me. This has also been enjoyed by woodpeckers, Carolina chickadees, Carolina wrens, and cardinals (as long as they can reach it)...

Well, cockatiels are notorious for really liking their seeds. Mine does the same. Sometimes I can get him to nibble some broccoli if I put it in a place in the cage where he has to climb to it.

http://www.amazon.com/Worldly-Cuisines-African-Cooked-Bird/dp/B0055VKC5M/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1425178693&sr=8-13&keywords=cooked+bird+food

My bird enjoys this, though.

his wing feathers will grow back. clipping isn't such a big deal and is sometimes necessary for the safety of the bird.

for diet, feed him a sunflower seed free cockatiel mix, something like this mixed with a pellet like roundybush maintenance crumble size or roundybush california mini size

I was lucky because my conure instantly loved the pellets I put her on, she is also really young. Other than that though she only likes sunflower seeds (or whatever I am trying to eat of course!). I'm working on getting fruits and veggies in her diet more. This is the brand I use if you want to give it a try. Also, I never allow sunflower seeds to be freely available because those are her treats for training, I want them to remain special. But i do keep everything else from a seed mix in her travel bag and I take her for walks a few times a week.

I use this birdseed & this suet and have tons of birds outside my window, but I am on the ground floor. Also, maybe consider getting your cat a companion! That helped mine a lot. Plus they take care of each other when I am not there.

I have a 21 year old cherry-headed conure. I feed him a mixture of Roudybush Maintenance pellets in Mini and ZuPreem colorful pellets (either [Pure Fun] (https://www.amazon.com/Pure-Bird-Parrots-Conures-ZuPreem/dp/B01GVVJKUW/ref=sr_1_11?keywords=zupreem+pellets&qid=1563513544&s=gateway&sr=8-11) or another colorful type pellet), and I add one or more types of Goldenfeast nut/dried fruit mix - Central American Preservation Blend II is a favorite. I mix all this together, and that's his regular dry pellet food.

I only recently found out that he will eat the ZuPreem pellets MUCH more readily than he eats the Roudybush ones! The rescue where I got him fed him coloring-free Roudybush pellets mixed with Goldenfeast II, so I always figured it was the best - all natural, dye free, expert recommended. Apparently my bird child is like every toddler, and likes brightly colored nonsense that looks like fucking Trix or Runts or some shit, so I've been mixing the ZuPreem in.

Fresh fruits/vegetables is his second serving of the day, and we try to mix it up. Again, he's super picky, but he likes mango, frozen bagged corn and peas (doesn't like corn on the cob), sugar snap peas (frozen and fresh), egg white, grapes, strawberries, and apples. He doesn't touch kale, spinach, or healthy leafy greens, which sucks. It can't be a color thing, because he loves frozen peas!

He takes medication for his kidneys, and we put his liquid medication into a little piece of bread crust. If we want to get him to do stuff with treats, he is a whore for processed carbs - bread, pasta, pizza crust. For non-special treats, we give him Lafeber's Senior Bird Treats. He likes the Lafeber's Fiesta better, but he's a senior bird and our bird shop folks said other bird owners reported these were beneficial, so he can fucking deal.

Make sure you don't feed them just seeds! Eating too many seeds can cause them liver failure. The reason why too many seeds is no good for parakeets is because of their high fat content. Unfortunately I didn't know this until one of my parakeets passed away last year. My avian vet told me to stop feeding them seeds and have them start eating primarily bird mash. There's a brand called Harrisons Bird Food (I buy mine on Amazon) which my vet and I highly recommend! It is a little pricey, but it will last you a good month and a half. And for the money, it is really worth it, health wise. I give each of my parakeets two teaspoons in their little bowl. Once I started feeding my other parakeets this, they loved it.. and they're healthier and happier. Their poop is always normal looking (should be green with a little white). I occasionally give them pellets which are also good for them, but I seriously recommend the bird mash by Harrisons. If you're not sure about anything.. always do your research, never assume!! Hope this helps and good luck!! Let me know if you have any other questions! I attached the link for the bird mash below! 😀🐥Harrison's Bird Mash

You could always just order this. Same sound, and more of a challenge.

I don't have any experience with homemade feed, but I don't think that much seed would be good. I don't think it's advised to give ducks seed at all actually.

I have the book Storey's Guide To Raising Ducks by Dave Holderread and it has a recipe for home mixed starter, grower, and adult feed.

Here is the recipe for ducklings 0-2 weeks old

11 cups cornmeal
3 1/2 cups soybean meal (44% protein)
2 cups wheat bran
1/2 cup meat and bone meal (50% protein)
1/2 cup fish meal (60% protein)
1/2 cup alfalfa meal(17.5% protein)
1/2 cup dried skim milk or Calf-Manna
1 1/2 cups brewers yeast
1 tbs dicalcium phosphate
1 tsp iodized salt
free choice chopped greens, grit, and oyster shell

This makes 20 cups of feed, but I suppose you could scale it down if needed (my three ducks ate 10 lbs in the first two weeks)

Or you could order feed online instead, because I'm not sure it would be worth the effort of mixing your own and trying to find these weird ingredients.
http://www.amazon.com/Manna-Pro-Chick-Starter-Medicated/dp/B003AEXOEW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1425756222&sr=8-2&keywords=chick+starter
http://www.amazon.com/Manna-Pro-Organic-Chick-Starter/dp/B00I41XZP4/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1425756222&sr=8-4&keywords=chick+starter

This is what I use in my Mexican Ping planters and pots (I use it for a few other calcium loving plants in my other collections also). A small handful to several cups of other, standard Mexi-Ping mix only. A little goes a long way and it is slow release. Here is the exact brand I purchased (it was my second bag I've gone through and it's still nearly full despite the fact I purchased the new bag in 2015 and have lots and lots of Mexican Pings:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UIM7N0A/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
--- I understand the dynamics of using egg shell, however the amount of available calcium varies according to preparation, etc. I prefer the crushed oyster shell as its clean enough and pure enough to be edible for chickens. If you find another brand, do check for purity and always read the reviews.

Harrison's, mixed with
Roudybush, topped with mixed human grade freeze dried veggies (broccoli, spinach, peas, corn, tomato, bell pepper, and carrots). He gets a couple nutriberries in his hanging treat ball. Plus he eats his share of whatever we're eating.

It sounds like a lot, but I mix the pellets in one container, and the veggies in another. In the morning I put half a shot glass scoop of each in his bowl, plus a couple nutriberries in his treat thing.

He is a healthy weight, and recovering from a blood infection. If I could get him to eat fresh veggies instead of dried, it would be great, but he refuses. Loves the dried. It would cost a lot to get everything at once, but buying over time wasnt that bad.

Edit: fixing the formatting.