What kind of seed?

[CanaryLover]

What kind of seed should I buy for my new parrotlet? Parrot, or cockatiel or something else?

[CanaryLover]

I know that pellets are best, but I just got her Sunday and I don't want to change too much stuff at once.
The lady that I bought her from gave me a cup of seed, but didn't tell me what kind.

[Peanutbutter]

What kind of bird is she? You ask about 'lets, tiels, and birds in general.

Does the seed she came with have any pellets mixed in? If so, what do they look like?
Maybe we can decipher what brand it is...

If we can't figure out what food she came to you on-- buy her new food ASAP & start mixing some new w/ the old. Help ease the switch.

(I use volkman seeds and zupreem/roudybush pellets.... fresh food daily & a treat now and then.)

[Monica]

Go with parakeet/budgie seed.

Ideally, parrotlets should not be fed more than 25% pellets, if even that, since they are one of the species that are more sensitive to pellets than other birds.

[CanaryLover]

She is a parrotlet. Her food now looks kind of big! Like parrot food I think. It has sunflower seeds in it and corn and pumpkin seeds and looks like some kind of pellets.

[CanaryLover]

So cockatiel seed or parakeet seed? I gave her some parakeet seed and she has no interest in it.

[Monica]

Some of the cockatiel mixes are rather too big for a parrotlet... and parrotlets are smaller than budgies, so I'd say a budgie mix would be best, along with fresh and cooked foods, sprouted seeds, etc.

[LovelySydney]

I feed half seed/half pellets (Oliver is a PICKY eater) along with sprouts. Parrotlets (& most birds I have) LOVE sprouts. They are very easy to manage so I highly recommend them!!

[Brookysmom]

My pair gets a seed mix. i mix a small parrot seed with Volkmans Parrotlet mix.

I also feed a small amount of Roudybush crumbles, They get egg food (dry in the cage all the time) They get fresh vegetables and fruits and i cook dinner for them each evening. rice, pasta, couscous beans etc.
I also feed pro grow Bird bread with my own added goodies.

One does not sit down to eat dinner in my home without a little green pickle and his little blue fuzz ball friend coming to eat with them.

I also offer different treat type things like Treat Petite and beak appetite for the small birds and fruits and vegetables from Just Tomatoes etc etc

Brooklyn has a lil fat tummy and he loves mommy to kiss and get his fat tummy

[Lori~D]

I have to disagree with Monica on this one. Cockatiel mix is in fact the ideal size for parrotlets. They are in fact smaller than budgies but they dont know that. I fed all my parrotlets (i used to raise them) a good variety Tiel mix with dried fruit and vegis in it. Roudybush pellets and egg food. They myth about parrotlets and pellets is this. Mutation parrotlets in colors other than the natural green is where there was a problem feeding pellets. There are two types of pellets ...Cold pressed and Extruded. The cold pressed are not really "cold" pressed but made at much lower temps and not as "Processed" as the more cereal looking types (extruded) like Exact and Zupreem. Artificial colors, sugars, preservatives and over-processing of these types of pellets is what didnt work well with MUTATION parrotlets. If you keep a dish of quality Tiel Mix (parakeet mix never has enough variety in it) and Quality pellets like Roudybush or Lefabers and a few others along with plenty of fresh foods your bird will thrive. Parrotlets NEED sunflower seeds more than some species as it adds the higher fat content these little birds need. Dark Oil sunflower seeds are better than the big striped ones. I in fact made my own "Tiel style" mix By finding a higher quality parakeet blend that had dried friut and vegis in it and added my own amount of DARK Oil sunflower seeds and safflower seeds as well as other added dried goodies like coconut, and dried greens. Parrotlets LOOOOOOve sweet corn on the cob and strawberries but watch out they will make a bloody looking mess with the berries,lol, and you will think someone got hurt!!! So If you have a Blue, Yellow, white or any color other than green - fresh and seed is best and stay away from the processed foods. If you have a green parrotlet you can leave seeds and quality pellets in the cage 24/7 and feed fresh as it suits them and you