Vetafarm, Passwell or Harrisons?

[julesk]

Okay, I'm kinnda confused about this pellet stuff... the three above are what I can buy within driving distance but I have no idea which is best

So I figured I'd ask you lovely people :D

This is for my green cheek conure.

First off, there's vetafarm. From what's listed on the packet, it doesn't look that impressive. It looks like it has less in it than the seed mix he currently eats... but people recommend it. Does anyone know why, and if it is actually any good?

Secondly there's Passwell. It looks a bit better than vetafarm from the ingredient list, but it also contains soy, which isn't meant to be good for birds...

Thirdly, there's Harrison's. It looks the best of the lot too me, but I'm not really an expext or know what exactly I'm looking for in a pellet. It seems to have a lot more in the way of 'fresh' food than the others, plus a truck load of vitamins. But most of the vitamins are different from those in the Passwell pellets :S So I have no idea which are better for him.

I've listed the ingredients below. Any help would be great

Vetafarm south american mix:
Ingredients: Select Australian whole grains including: Rice, Wheat, Soybean, and Peanut Meal.
Approximate Analysis:
Crude Protein 17%
Methionine 0.42%
Crude Fat 7.5%
Vitamin E 190 mg/Kg
Crude Fibre 4%
Vitamin A 6,000 iu/Kg
Lysine 0.95%
Calcium 0.8%

Passwell parrot pellets:
Ground triticale, wheat, barley, maize and oats. Whey and soy proteins, meat meal, lysine, methionine, vegetable oils, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B12, C, D3, E, K, nicotinamide, pantothenic acid, folic acid, choline, inositol, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, magnesium, zinc, iron, manganese, copper, iodine, selenium.
Min Crude Protein 15%
Min Crude Fat 5%
Max Fibre 7%
Max Salt 1%

Harrison's adult lifetime fine:
Ingredients: *Ground Yellow Corn, *Ground Hulless Barley, *Ground Hulled Grey Millet, *Ground Soybeans, *Ground Shelled Peanuts, *Ground Shelled Sunflower Seeds, *Ground Lentils, *Ground Rice, *Ground Green Peas, *Ground Sun-Dried Alfalfa, *Ground Toasted Oat Groats, *Chia Seed, Calcium Carbonate, Montmorillonite Clay, *Ground Dried Sea Kelp, Vitamin E Supplement, Sea Salt, *Spirulina, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, d-Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Sodium Selenite.
*CERTIFIED ORGANIC INGREDIENT
Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude protein (min.) 14%,
crude fat (min.) 6%,
crude fiber (max.) 4.5%,
moisture (max.) 10%.

[julesk]

Also, while I'm at it, I'll put the ingredients of his seed here to compare :)

White french millet, wheat, sorghum, barley, oats, panoramo, safflower, maize, grey sunflower, japanese millet, multi vitamin kibble (triticale, barley, maize, oats, soy and whey protein isolates, lysine, veggie oils, omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, vitamin a, b1, c, d, e, k, riboflavin, folic acid, calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, potassium, iodine, selenium).
Crude Protein: 17.3%
Crude Fat: 16.9%
Crude Fibre 18.7%
Salt as sodium chloride 0.9%

And of course he gets fruits, veggies and when I can get him to eat them, sprouts.

[Abby]

The fat with your seed mix is nearly 10% more then the pellets.

I feed seed and I feed pellets. After trying a few brands over the years I've become a vetafarm girl. I use the South American, everyday, breeder and the frugivore ones plus the dry loirkeet mix.

I have used harrisons with my grey and it went down a treat however, Harrisons is imported into Australia and there are questions as to how much the irradiation at customs affects the content.

I know for a fact that Vetafarm go and talk with breeders to get opinions on their products. A friend of mine who breeds the high end exotics here in Australia is one of those they talk to.


I think try all 3 and see what works for you and your sunny the best.

[julesk]

Thanks for the reply :)

I'm just a bit concerned abuot the lack of ingredients in vetafarm. Doesn't really seem like there's much in it at all. Perhaps I'll try emailing them and asking what's in their products exactly, and if they give free samples. Trying before buying would be great, as I don't have 20$x3 to spend on testing pellets.

[maggy]

Not only that..but the vetafarm pellets stink, like a chemical cocktail! I feed Passwell low fat pellets and Hagens Tropican pellets. The Tropican actually smell like orange and rosemary. Though to be truthful Dusty mostly eats sprouts and cooked mixed vege.

[Abby]

It must be an indvidual thing. For me the vetafarm are fine but I can't stand the smell of the tropican. It's that orange oil that puts me off. I use passwells/wombaroo for the lorikeet wet mix and also their native animal range for the possum (protein powder, insectivore mix). Not a huge fan of their pellets or handraising mix.

Over the years I've tried a number of different pellets, tropican, harrison, passwell, Dr Mac. Roudybush and I've ended up settling with vetfarm. I figure if it's good enough for some of the big (as in high end) breeders then it's good enough for my lot.

[julesk]

I've e-mailed vetafarm asking for a detailed ingredients list. No reply yet, but if I get one, I'll post it :)

Harrisons was good. Fast response. They put me in touch with an Australia distributor.

No reply from Passwell yet, but it's only been 24 hours.

I'm currently thinking I'll put him on Harrison's high potency diet for a few months, as he was feed on millet and sunflower seeds for the first five months of his life. Gotta love pet shops without a clue. Then switch him over to vetafarm south american mix, probably.

Maggy, some of the tropican stuff looks awesome :) Some of it even looked tasty too me, lol. Haven't been able to find a reasonably priced online store selling it though, yet.

[Andie]

The only bad thing I have heard about vetafarm is that it is quite high in salt? This is what my avian vet said anyway. My flock will eat just about anything. I just try to give them variety so they are not bored and then I am not reliant on any one pellet being perfect.

I feed mostly rowdybush as a staple. Then I add one or two teaspoons of either tropican cockatiel size, vetafarm, harrisons and something else I forget (threw out the bag) added in on different days. Then I use seeds rowdybush macaw size for foraging instead of peanuts.

[Andie]

The one I forget is big chunky coloured pieces and maybe has rainbow in the name?

[Abby]

That sounds like Kaytees.