Don’t Tell Your Bird She’s Eating Pellets So She Can Eat Her Pellets

Last Updated on May 12, 2023 by Catherine Tobsing

Bird food pellets developed in the late 20th century have been a definite boon to avian nutrition. They offer a fully engineered diet that can be life-sustaining for most birds over decades.

Bird food pellets offer the lowest cost per pound/calorie of any food as well as the least mess.

The flip side of that is we tell people there are no pellet trees in the rainforest so pellets can be counterintuitive to a bird. They lack the many textures and flavors that seeds nuts fruits and vegetables offer.

Feathered factoid: humans have about 9000 taste buds – birds have 350.

Avian veterinarians universally recommend pellet bird food for health maintenance. Unfortunately, the birds don’t always get the memo.

There are a number of ways to convert birds to a pellet diet which we’re not getting get into here because we have what we think are one of the simplest techniques for getting almost any bird to eat pellet bird food on a regular basis.

We start with Higgins Safflower Gold

higgins-safflower-gold-parrot-size-no-sunflower-ingredients

which has a bunch of Higgins InTune Pellets. (the stuff really smells good too!) hidden betwixt the seeds, fruits and between the nuts and veggies all of which are human-grade. close up of higgins intine natural bird food pellets

and this is what Higgins Safflower Gold and InTune pellets look from a bird’s point of view – in a video.

Editor’s note: yes I do in fact get paid to record parrots ~~walk over~~ err eat bird food.

Just don’t tell the bird she’s eating pellets

Higgins Safflower Gold Parrot Size No Sunflower Ingredient Panel and Information

Safflower Gold is now Natural with added vitamins, minerals and amino acids. Safflower Gold has no sunflower seeds and uses premium gourmet ingredients that are free of artificial colors and preservatives.

DHA and balanced Omega-3 fatty acids are added to support the immune system as well as encapsulated probiotics, ensuring a higher level of active in beneficial microorganisms for a healthier digestive system.

Vitaminized And Well Balanced – We use fresh clean seeds and grains for high palatability and our unique pasteurization to ensure that all Hookbills receive a nutritional, well-balanced diet for their maintenance and longevity.
Real Fruits And Nuts – In our Safflower Gold they are a real pleaser. Safflower Gold contains a wide variety of human-edible grade dried fruits and vegetables, nuts, pellets and crunchy biscuits.
Beautifully Packaged -Available in eye-appealing factory-sealed bags using our Air Out nitrogen-flushed bags.
Safflower Gold Large – Suitable for medium to large Parrots, Cockatoos, Amazons, Macaws, etc

Human Grade Ingredients to satisfy your birds’ needs First Crop Seeds and Grains to ensure its the freshest on the market Quadruple Air-Cleaned Ingredients to reduce the particles that can cause respiratory problems Array of Dried Tropical Fruits, Vegetables and Nuts that you can actually see in the mix and not just listed on the package.

Select Seed Embryos Pasteurized in Water Soluble Vitamins to ensure your bird is not discarding valuable nutrients Naturally Preserved with Vitamin C to be free of controversial artificial preservatives like BHA, BHT and Ethoxyquin All Perishable Products are Cold Stored to ensure freshness. All Products are Coded with a “Best Use By” Date to ensure that the consumer is getting the freshest food possible 100% Natural Citrus Extract to add a pleasing aroma for your pet and you.

Ingredients: Safflower, Corn, Whole Oats, Buckwheat, Red Milo, Wheat, Bean Flakes, Bean Flakes, Pea Flakes, Peanuts, Lentil Beans, Carrot Flakes, Pet wheat, Raisins, Banana chips, Almonds, Cashews, Pistachios, Pumpkin Seeds, Red Peppers, Papaya Dices, Pineapple Dices, Ground Yellow Corn, Cane Sugar, Canola Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols – a source of Vitamin E) Dicalcium Phosphate, Dried Egg Product, Flaxseed, Calcium Carbonate, Alfalfa Nutrient Concentrate, Sea salt, Cranberries, Apples, Blueberries, , Menadione Sodium Bisulfite complex (a source of Vitamin K activity), Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite, Cobalt Carbonate, Vitamin B 12 supplement, Turmeric, Natural Annatto Coloring, Beet Juice, Natural Citrus Flavor, Natural Banana Flavor, Natural Pineapple Flavor, Dried Enterococcus, Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus, Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Casei fermentation product.

cherries, Celery, Beets, Parsley, Lettuce, Spinach, Watercress, Brewers Dried Yeast, DL-Methionine, L- lysine, Choline Chloride, Algea Meal, Mixed Tocopherols (a natural preservative), Rosemary Extract, Potassium Chloride, Yeast Extract, Iron Oxide, L-carnitine, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 supplement, Vitamin E supplement, L-Ascorbyl-polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C activity), Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Folic Acid, Biotin, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine, Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Zinc Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate

As with any bird food keep the dish filled 1/4 to 1/3 high so the bird doesn’t think food is abundant. They will be less likely to get picky and fling unwanted tidbits onto the cage or your floor.

Keep water fresh throughout the day and feel free to share your human food.

A 60-second list of good & bad fruits for birds

Written and Approved by the Windy City Parrot Content Team

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