What Is It About Pellet Diets??

[tiel4me]

I'm wondering...

What exactly, is the problem with a mostly pellet diet that makes it hard on their kidneys? My boys, Sunny and Pollo get pellets in the morning and then grated fresh veggies (carrots and kale) mixed with brown rice later in the day. When they've eaten their veggies, they get a nice piece (or two) of millet. So I don't think they are getting a lot of pellets.

But i was just wondering - is there something specific about pellets that can cause a problem?

And is the same true of organic pellets such as TOPS - which is what my boys eat.

[Monica]

Pellets can be too high in protein for birds, and/or for the fact that they are too dry, and this results in a build-up of uric acid that can lead to kidney problems, even gout.

Here are some articles from ExoticPetVet that speak about pellets and kidney issues. To find the areas quickly, just do a "Ctrl + F" on the keyboard and type in "kidney"
Avian Medicine Today
Small Parrots in Health and Disease
Small Parrots in Health and Disease
20 Things You Must Know About Nutrition #17
The Importance of Avian Nutrition

Small species of parrots as well as eclectus and lories do not do well on a pelleted diet. Most other species are fine with pellets as 50% or more of the diet, however, like humans, each birds body is an individual, and what may be fine for one bird may be bad for another. I would like to assume that TOP's is a good brand, but it should not be fed as 100% of the diet. Best if it takes up no more than 25-50%.

[chapala]

Also, some pellets may have levels of synthetic supplements that might be too high, such as Vitamin A, especially for species sensitive to higher amounts like 'Tiels. TOPS doesn't contain synthetic supplements, but also does not have Vit. D3, a necessary nutrient for birds who don't get out in natural sunshine regularly.

Fresh food, mostly vegetables and some fruit, needs to be a minimum of 20% of the diet for birds fed mostly pellets. I prefer to feed a fresh, whole foods diet (Shauna's Mash from Feeding Feathers forum) that combines grains and legumes for complete protein, with lots of vegetables, some fruit, some seed and nuts, and pellets less than 20%.

[tielfan]

Also, cockatiels are desert dwellers so they're presumably adapted to a diet that isn't as rich as what some other parrot species can get. That can make a huge difference sometimes. There's a local Indian tribe (Tohono O'odham) that's biologically adapted to what's available in the Sonoran desert. Nowadays they have full access to the standard Western diet and it has given them the world's highest diabetes rate - half of all adults. Diabetes was previously unknown among them.