"wild" bird food

[cbalvino]

Hey does anyone know the real difference?? some of the wild stuff has the same ingreidients and is MUCH cheaper, some of the makers do both types of food for birds (seeds) what do you know has anyone researched this? I;d love to know!

[Monica]

From what I've noticed, wild bird food is crap... it's full of fattening foods for birds who live in the wild, and may especially need it during winter when food may be more scarce. Most of it is also very dusty. I wouldn't recommend feeding it to captive birds. I know of a cockatiel that was being fed the wild bird food, and she felt so oily and disgusting... when she should feel dusty and smooth.

[itchysquid]

You shouldn't really be feeding a companion bird seeds, which I think is the only type of wild bird food. As Monica said, it's too fatty, as companion birds don't get nearly enough exercise as wild ones.

You need to feed fresh vegetables, fruits, pellets and other healthy things, a lot of ideas can be found on this site. No one said having a bird was easy or cheap!

[BigBird]

There is nothing wrong with feeding a bird seed. Just make sure it is of high quality, not too oily, like the wild seeds and the home brands are. But make sure the diet is balanced out with fresh fruits and veg as well.

A friend of mine was feeding his tiel home brand junk and the bird looked like crap, her crest had fallen out and she looked like she was wet from oil. I chucked the seed out and gave him some good stuff and she looked a different bird a few weeks later.

[cbalvino]

Sorry,let me clarify,it would only be a treat,all of my fids get fresh fruit,veggies,pasta's,nutriberries,nuts browns seed and Pellets (roudy and Lefebers) this was Browns wild bird mix,had some nice ingredients and very good price,so as a treat has anyone used something like this? also since I have 44 birds I know it ain't cheap to raise birds! you should see my food and toy credit card just for THEM woohoo it's a whopper!

[GlendaNS]

I know people that mix their own bird feed from bulk. It is a lot cheaper. Just make sure they get a well balanced diet and it should be fine.

[4HAND]

The problem with this could be if they get more than a little of the wild bird mix they may start leaving the good stuff uneaten.Would you eat salad if there was a [Insert favorite snack] in your fridge?Birds don't suffer from guilt,they eat what tastes good.Plus what you'd save in the food budget may be spent down the line in vet bills.Also unless it's organic it may have been sprayed and while not all domestic bird food is organic that company has put thier name on it and should stand behind it.I've heard good things about recycling feeders as far as the pellets go.
Tena

[birdlady49]

Cutting corners by feeding inferior seed is not a good idea at all. In the long run it will cost you .... in vet bills .... in poor breeding results. Yes, the monthly bill for caring for over 40 birds will be high but that is a small price to pay for having happy, healthy birds.

I'd sooner give up my daily latte than feed cheaper, inferior wildbird seed to my companions.

[itchysquid]

Originally Posted by cbalvino

Sorry,let me clarify,it would only be a treat,all of my fids get fresh fruit,veggies,pasta's,nutriberries,nuts browns seed and Pellets (roudy and Lefebers) this was Browns wild bird mix,had some nice ingredients and very good price,so as a treat has anyone used something like this? also since I have 44 birds I know it ain't cheap to raise birds! you should see my food and toy credit card just for THEM woohoo it's a whopper!

Sorry! I just saw your post count and realised you're obviously not new! Haha I thought you had just got a bird and was going to feed the poor thing only low quality seeds!

Ah I'm stupid sometimes!

Sorry again!!!!

[Monica]

I've only just learned about Brown's... literally as in within the past week or two... but I've never seen it, so I can't comment on it... however, still I wouldn't really feed wild bird food to pet birds...