Difference between ideal diets of Galahs and Umbrellas?

[dustbunny86]

After reading up on Galahs and their needs for a low fat diet, I gradually switched my Galah, Phoenix, from the LeFeber pellets to Roudybusch Low Fat Maintenance pellets. In addition to her regular pellets, she gets her daily greens and a couple times a week, cooked beans and fruit.

A friend of mine got an Umbrella cockatoo from a bird rescue here in California and he has been feeding it Kaytee Exact Rainbow Chunky. He asked about the diet my bird is on and was wondering if he should put his bird on a low fat pellet diet as well.

My question, though, is: do umbrellas have the same tendency to develop fatty tumors and issues due to high fat diets? Would he be better off keeping his bird on a regular maintenance pellet or would it be healthier to feed him a low fat diet like the Galahs? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[Herby]

Hmmm. Go out & buy your Galah wheat, oats, corn, millet & any other type of seed you can find. Mix it all up & give it to them. They will decide what they like & don't. I carry a scythe in the car with me. When I am out in the country with work & see an area on the side of the road that has grass that has seeded I stop & cut what i can take home with me. Throw it in the cage & let them go to it.!!!

[Courtzrocks]

Keep the sunflower seeds to a minimum for the galah. Our Galah was passed down to us and she had a massive cyst near her pelvis cos of the fatty sunflower seeds.

[BOSSTOE]

Seeds are much better for galahs than pellets. Sometimes I grow the bird seed for my Galah and then feed him the grass, oats, barley etc and he loves picking them up and eating the seeds and chewing up the stems. it keeps him entertained for ages.

[dustbunny86]

I don't feed nuts or sunflower seeds at all. As a treat, I do sometimes give low-fat seeds/grains such as spray millet, parakeet seed, and oat groats. However, I've been keeping seeds to a minimum though in order to keep the fat in the diet low. I feel a little confused because when I first started researching, I read and was told that a low-fat pellet and greens, veggies/fruit, and beans would be best. Now I'm being told that seeds are best.

My question, though, was regarding the Umbrella cockatoo and whether they are prone to the same problems as Galahs if given a diet too high in fat. Should Umbrella toos be fed a low fat diet as well?

[Herby]

Dustbunny, trust me. Australian cockies are NOT fruit eaters. They will have a bite or two but will most likely leave 90%. Seeds are their primary feed. Yep, greens in the form of lettuce leaves, celery sticks but do not make this kind of feed their primary source. Pull out grass/weeds from your garden, roots & all & give it to them. Beans are fine also. I give mine dried beans from the supermarket as a side treat.

[dustbunny86]

Originally Posted by Herby

Dustbunny, trust me. Australian cockies are NOT fruit eaters.

I never said they were. I never even said I fed her much fruit, only as an occasional treat a couple times a week.

So are you all basically saying she should be on a primarily seed diet with occasional greens and NOT pellets now? Everyone tells me something different. I have been told that dried (uncooked) beans are bad because they have antinutrients that cause red blood cells to clump, destroy vitamin A and the natural enzymes used to digest starches and proteins. This is why I feed her the cooked beans and now I'm being told she should have dried beans. I was also told that she should get a low-fat pellet to ensure she gets the vitamins she needs (which could be unbalanced if she was given a seed-only diet) and supplement daily with cooked grains/seeds, greens, and ocassionally with fruit and now I'm being told that she should get mostly seeds and grains.

It seems like there is a lot of conflicting information regrading their diets. I just try to give her a good variety of foods in addition to her pellets so I don't leave any nutrients out... she lets me know what she doesn't like though.

[SDavid]

"However, I've been keeping seeds to a minimum though in order to keep the fat in the diet low."

I do the same with my Galah.


"....she lets me know what she doesn't like though"

That's probably the wrong approach to use on birds. Birds don't have the ability to intentionally eat a well balanced meal in the way that humans do. Given variety they'll eat whatever they prefer (and only that) regardless of whether they are getting the nutrients they need in their diet. Kind of like someone sitting on the couch all day and eating chips because it feels better than exercising and eating healthy. You have to regulate the amounts of the different foods you are offering them. If you offer seeds and pellets everyday, they'll probably eat the seeds only and wait for you to put more in their cage.

Exercise and diet go hand in hand. I think that when deciding on a diet for your bird you should take into consideration how much exercise he is getting and how many calories he's burning. A flighted bird in an aviary can eat more seeds but a cage bound/wing-clipped bird should get less seeds. Generally speaking. Point being, the lifestyle of the bird makes a difference.

[dustbunny86]

Well, the foods she is finicky about tend to be the "extras" such as the fruits and certain veggies. She'll eat her pellets, greens, seeds, and beans, no problem... but she hates banana and apple, and she despises carrot. If I pretend to eat it and then give some to her, she'll follow my lead for a few bites, but then she throws them down, lol.

I do need to take into consideration her exercise habits though. That's a good point. She is clipped and does not live in an aviary so her exercise comes from climbing the cage and toys, playing on the the "playground", walking and playing on the bed, climbing the furniture, etc.

[oONightFireOo]

Rosie... our Galah... is also on a pelleted diet of Harrisons. I also give her fresh fruits and veggies (although she likes apples every now and then - any other fruit is just a waste of money and ends up getting thrown out of the cage). However, I did consider putting her on Roudybush's Low-Fat formula, but after doing research and talking with a vet who sat in on clinical tests on the Roudybush diet - I decided that I didn't really need to. And then - instead of using Roudybush, I decided to use Harrison's instead.

I only feed seeds if they are in some of her snacks, and sometimes... on an extremely rare occasion... she'll get a peanut. But I do try to make sure her diet is not very fatty, as Galah's are extremely prone to those nasty tumors.

I also try to make sure that she gets plenty of exercise. She's not that active, so I do flying exercises with her. I do not clip her wings anymore, but get her to fly back and forth between David and I. She's never really excited about flying - but she loves the attention she gets when she does.

~Kevin