PELLLETS

[Phill]

Thank's for the link. You didn't buy the kitchen... It followed you home..

[silvercloud]

That looks like a great machine.

[Jane]

If only it would follow me and I didn't have to pay for it Phill lol

It's a simple concept but does a great job, they sprout much quicker than when I was having bottles and sieves all over my bench.

[sebzpets]

Check this link out guys. Not motorised but hey.

www.grainmills.com.au/category47_1.htm

[vankarhi]

I have the biosnacky thing and I find I am still forever rinsing it all the time.

[avril]

Mooloolaba Aquarium & Aviary Centre 100 Brisbane Road
Queensland, Australia 4557
Telephone: [phone]

Here is one in Brisbane if it is any help.

[petiel]

I have been sprouting seed for years now and I think I have it down pat. I use a kitchen strainer which fits into a solid plastic base like a plastic saucepan. I brought it from tupperware a few years a ago.
Step 1 Rinse the seed you want to sprout and soak overnight in warm water.
Step 2 In morning rinse seed and leave in strainer to drain and rinse again after lunch.
Step 3 At night I put the seed which has just starting to sprout into a loosely covered container in the fridge. The seed will still sprout a little more in the fridge.
Sprouted seed is best fed when you can just see a tiny white shoot comming out of the seed.

[AussieBirds]

I to have been sprouting seed for years Pauline and I do it in a very similar way to you, my birds love it and devour as much as I will give them.

John

[petiel]

Yes John I sprout every second day and make enough to last 2 days. My birds love it too.

[abby-oldaccount]

Well this has been a really good read just getting everyones ideas and thoughts. I'm a big believer in sprouts and do my own. Similar method to Pauline and John, just add some multiclens for the soak cycle and then rinse really thoroughly. I use a sprouting jar which is easy enough to give a thorough scrub. I swear the baby quakes are being brought up on soaked and sprouted seed mix at the moment by the folks.

As for pellets. I use it as an addition for those that will eat them. I use either the vetafarm SA ones, or animal nutrition which seems to go down well too. I don't worry with the 'tiels, lovies or budgies. The South Americans and the ringnecks get either a small bowl of them or if I'm feeling slack I just sprinkle some on top the fruit/veg/sprout mix. I've just started my CAG with the Dr Macs species specific pellets. Small dish right next to his seed. He seems to like them and it's extra choice. I've decided to give a few of the other Dr Macs a go once I need to get some more grey pellets.

[Minna]

Haha, I have this super special mutant power, where anything plant-like dies if it gets near me. But my two eat so little between them that if I buy a little container of salad sprouts, they only get a third of the way through it before it has to be thrown out, so I'm happy to be lazy about sprouting myself. xP

Although if I get my hands on some wheatgrass, I'll spend some time butchering plants again to see if I can convince it to grow for me, since I've heard wonderful things about it for birds -anyone feed their babies wheatgrass? Or have an opinion on the stuff generally?

Yeah, mine are on a combination of pellets -predominately roudybush, with a little bit of passwells and vetafarm mixed in. That and seed and whatever fresh food I can convince them to eat, and very occasionally a little bit of apple juice.

(And once, a beakful of coke -Akira took it upon herself to steal from my glass, and then spat it out all over my shoulder in disgust. xD)

[vankarhi]

LOL about the coke ;D

[robert]

Lot of good material here. from Robert and Angel

[Jane]

Just wondering what the pro (in favour of) pellets people think about pellets (and/or crumbles) for small parrots ie neophemas?

[avinet]

jane said:

Just wondering what the pro (in favour of) pellets people think about pellets (and/or crumbles) for small parrots ie neophemas?

All parrots would benefit from being on a pellet diet, crumbles in Paswell or Roudybush being best for Neophemas. However I would add that converting Neophemas would probably be a slow process - they don't usually accept a change in their diet readily. I would try some in a dish next to their seed, and see what happens but don't buy them a big bag - it may not get eaten

cheers,

Mike

[farseeker]

Yeah - pellets (to me) are beneficial for any bird. The trouble is getting them onto it. Anath is notorious for being incredibly picky about her food; it took nearly nine months to get her to even try fresh vegies although now she loves them, and occasionally uses them to bathe in.

She's still on seed at the moment, although I'll be trying again once her and Tristan get put together. No sense in getting her onto them if we're going to be putting in seedbowls for Tristan, she'll just end up reverting.

The pet store up here has a small range of pellets, mostly for smaller birds so I'll be giving them a go on the crumbles soon. We've only tried pellets previously and I think because she's so small she finds them a bit daunting to eat.

EDIT: I should also add that while the budgies are still eating seed it's not something I'm particularly happy about, as (at least with Anath) there are some signs of missing vitamins etc that were pointed out to me when she went to see Adrian even though she gets lots of fresh fruit and vegies, and a vitamin supplement.

[courtzrocks]

I have Matches on pellets and seed (as well as fruits and vegies) She has about 2 thirds pellets and 1 third seed mix..she likes the pellets but then again she eats anything. I have her on vetafarm pellets.

[avinet]

farseeker said:

The pet store up here has a small range of pellets, mostly for smaller birds so I'll be giving them a go on the crumbles soon. We've only tried pellets previously and I think because she's so small she finds them a bit daunting to eat.

I've found that most parrot owners make the mistake of buying pellets that are too big in size. The result is that the bird takes a bite out of the middle and half or more of the pellet falls to the bottom of the cage to mix with all the other flotsom and jetsom that collects there, and gets wasted.

I have found that the best pellet size to give is one more closely approximating to seed size. For instance my African Greys get mostly mini-sized Roudybush and Pretty Bird Cockatiel. Both are probably close to hulled oats in size, about 3 to 4 mm. When I ran out of Roudybush Mini I used their crumbles for the Greys with no problems and no wastage. All my other pet birds get the same, and I find there is much less wastage than with larger pellets and I also have found it easier to convert birds using smaller pellets - being closer to seed size seems to encourage more experimentation.

I also give a few larger pellets as well but that is limited and just to provide psychological variation for them. The bulk of their pellet diet is small.

cheers,

Mike

[nurse01]

Everyone has some good ideas. Here is another one"
If you've got a very fussy bird, try wetting the pellets and seeds to make a "rissole". That way the bird has to break up the patty to get the seeds all the while getting the flavour of the pellets. It will make the bird realise the pellets ARE food and don't taste that bad!
Birds are very selective eaters.

[Jane]

Thank-you everyone. It's a hard decision I can see both sides, but still unsure. I can see the benefit of a complete diet but am somewhat sceptical of the contents of pellets. Then again I suppose I eat food myself based on having faith in what the packet says
I may get some and experiment abit.