Laura and I home from the vet

[birdlady49]

Originally Posted by mgood01

I've actually just ordered a full-spectrum bulb that I'm going to put in the bird's room. We've gone from a place where her cage was right by window to having her cage in a corner where there isn't as much natural light as she's used to. Hoping that having the full-spectrum light on a timer will cheer her up a little.

Windows do not let all of the sun's rays into the house. In fact, the most important part of the sun's rays (equivalent of vitamin D3) are totally blocked from coming in. So the room might be nice and bright and sunny but the bird is not reaping the benefits of the sun. Opening the window, where there is a screen, allows *some* to come through. But nothing beats a couple of safe hours outside.

Having said that, the full-spectrum lights are the best replacement we can offer when a bird cannot go outside. I use the shop lights in my bird room so I have installed the tubular GE daylight lights. If you use the bulbs, you cannot put the lampshade on.....

[mgood01]

Yes, I'm really looking forward to seeing what changes the full-spectrum light causes. She's a very happy bird overall (I think), but I know birds are so reluctant to display any illness or malaise, I sometimes worry that she's not really feeling as good as she could.

That said, I'm in a condo in the middle of DC, so outside time is hard to get with her. I have a harness that she HATES, but will get into if I coax her. I do worry about her being outside with all the wild birds. The crow population around here was decimated by West Nile.

[Monica]

Honestly, I'll be wondering the opinions on pelleted diets in 10-15 years or more... and if many people still believe in them! Heck, not too long ago, birds were eating seeds only, monkey chow, dog food, even cat food! And in such a short time we've gone from just seeds or junk, to pellets, fresh foods, and more! However, considering how relatively new formulated diets are to the avian community we probably haven't seen "many" problems with pellets yet... or rather, hardly any long term effects...

I do believe that pellets can be a great addition to an already varied diet, but I don't think they are *everything* a bird needs... and I say this as I have yet to find any formulated diet (such as we have for our pets) for humans... and there have been issues seen in smaller species (parrotlets, budgies, tiels, lovebirds) fed pellets...

But to each his own!

[mgood01]

I agree completely. For animals that seem to love food so much (and have definite likes and dislikes), I can't imagine a diet of pellets is even psychologically that great for them, not to mention nutritionally.

Zoey just had a dinner of edamame (soybeans), apple and banana, sprinkled with some Zupreem fruit pellets. It's funny, but sometimes with all that good food, the pellets are obviously what she's wanting to chow down on.

[tawny30]

I think on this opinions differ greatly.
My vet says he sees more nutritional issues in birds NOT fed a pellet diet..He also says zupreem is a very good diet for birds.
I supplement with veggies (dark green and leafy is the best) and some fruits and a yummy treat.
I have to say though that they love their pellets the most!

[Monica]

Well, a member here once owned a cockatiel and fed it ONLY pellets. He (the tiel) ended up getting kidney damage that could not be reversed. Parrotlet breeders say their birds survive better having a seed based diet vs a pellet based diet (although I don't know if they are feeding the birds OTHER foods, too)

Truthfully, pellets are just as bad as seeds. Yes, they may be more nutritional, but like seeds they DON'T provide everything the bird needs... especially when each birds body differs in how they absorb the nutrients.... one person I recall had two african greys fed the same exact diet, yet one was deficient in calcium.

Another thing on pellets, most pellet/formulated diet manufacturers make ONE diet (predominantly) for ALL species. I.e. the diet that is recommended for macaws is the same one that is recommended for budgies, yet we know that in the wild they have DRASTICALLY different diets. I only know of one pellet company that makes species specific formulas, and they are still working on creating more (new company, you could say), and another one that comes close to species specific (but not quite).

So as far as I see it, a diet with VARIETY is far better than just seeds or just pellets. The issue is then trying to achieve the RIGHT variety for the species of birds you own.

[Freedomoflight]

I question the vitamin supplement in addition to pellets. It is usually not recommended to feed synthetic vitamins in addition to pellets- pellets are infused with vitamins already. Along with feeding natural foods [fruits, grains, veggies, etc] supplementation should not be needed, and is actually cautioned against because you can overload on vitamins,