Bird Seed

Are you picky about the brand of seed you get your birds, or do you just get the most affordable one?

I used to get a little more expensive brand at a pet shop before I found a much less expensive one at the grange. My birds didn't seem to care about it. I also give them millet every so often so they gets some more variet in their diet. I love watching them eat millet too, they look like they are grinning.

I just buy varies seeds and mix them up myself before feeding my budgies.

I used to use more than 6 types of seeds in the mix for my budgies. Now I just ran out of some veggie seeds, so I am down to 3 types of seeds. In the past a few days I am using 40% oats, 40% millet, and 20% canary seeds. This will change as soon as I receive more seeds. You need to understand that birds in the wild are not limited to eat only 1 or 2 types of seeds. By eating a large variety of seeds, they get a more balanced nutrition intake. We might not be able to duplicate their natural diet exactly, but we can still provide a more balanced diet than a single type of seeds.

By the way, I have tried several brands of seeds mix, but I don't find them that special. It is more economical to create your own mix and have the same results.

Here recently, since acquiring my cockatiel, I discovered that the abusive situation he was in included fouled water and only treats.
Since reading up on these birds and trolling the internet, That if I can, I will try to turn him over to pellets.
I'm not so confident about that tho. He's pretty picky and won't eat a variety of seeds let alone fresh fruits and veggies.
I worry that his habit will eventually harm him in the long run. I intend to get another cockatiel to keep him company since I work every day.
What I hope is to get a bird who is not afraid of me and will allow me to take it out of the cage and hand feed it. I'm pretty sure this will teach Jack to trust me and to try different forms of food....

Fortunately the parakeet seed bags I have been getting already have a variety of seeds in them, although I am sure the variety could be better. I have not seen additional seeds sold individually available in local shops. Maybe my local pet shops are just too small for that. I usually just pick up a bag of parakeet seeds at the grange and add millet now and then.

My birds are kind of picky eaters though. I tried so hard at first to get them to eat veggies like the books recommended, but they simply turned their noses up at it and never even tasted it. I don't know how I can convince them to eat it if they don't want to.

We just feed outdoor birds; so it is not like having parakeets where there are special seeds just for them to eat. However, the kind of seeds that we get are for songbirds , since that is what we seem to have a lot of, and also the kind that we hope to attract.
I love watching the beautiful cardinals, but I am not sure if they sing or not. The Carolina Wrens have a lot of different songs that they sing, and I like how they repeat things over and over.
I have discovered that it is almost impossible to keep the squirrels out of the bird feeders, and they not only eat the bird seed; but they spill it all over the ground as they are trying to get it out of the feeder.
While you cannot exactly call the squirrels our pets, they seem to think that they are. We got some squirrel food, and Bobby made a special feeder for them , so they can sit up there on the feeder and enjoy their treat, too.
I think that maybe it does help encourage them to eat their food and leave the bird feeders alone, and they are getting really brave at staying right there even when we walk outside and watch them.

Next time, I am going to get the large bag of songbird seed from Sam's Club. It is not a lot more for the big bag of birdseed there than it is for a couple of the little bags at the grocery store.

You should not struggle to cater for the food requirements of a pet you are raising otherwise it will suffer and cease to be a pet of become a liability. That is why some bird pets are mainstream domestic animals like geese and turkey. These are hardy and can be fed on discarded cereals from stores. I have an affinity for rearing doves because they prefer castor seeds which are readily available in my area.

---

You should not struggle to cater for the food requirements of a pet you are raising otherwise it will suffer and cease to be a pet and become a liability. That is why some bird pets are mainstream domestic animals like geese and turkey. These are hardy and can be fed on discarded cereals from stores. I have an affinity for rearing doves because they prefer castor seeds which are readily available in my area.