What is in a bird food pellet?
A pellet contains a balance of all the essential nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, and amino acids, that seeds lack and that your bird needs to stay healthy. Pellets also are lower in fat than seeds so that they are better for your bird’s liver and cardiovascular system.
Why are pellets best for your bird?
Pellets are much healthier than seed or homemade diets for birds because they provide complete daily nutrition in manageable portions. If your bird is eating the portion size of pellets recommended for his species every day, you can be sure that he is getting all the nutrients he needs to be healthy. While you can offer small amounts of fresh vegetables and fruit to your bird to provide variety and taste, produce-only diets typically don’t provide complete and balanced nutrition as do pellets. Pellets are formulated based on results of scientific studies determining the birds’ nutritional requirements; thus, they take the guesswork out of feeding.
Why do they come in different shapes and sizes?
Just like people, birds have preferences in food shape and size. Typically, smaller birds prefer smaller-sized pellets, while larger birds prefer larger-sized pellets. There are some small birds, however, that like big pellets and some large birds that like small pellets. Birds also often have shape preferences in pellets, with some preferring round, ball-shaped pellets and others favoring longer, flatter shaped pellets. Offering birds a variety of different shaped pellets allows them to make a choice, so that they can select what they like best.
Want to learn more about changing your bird’s food program to include more pellets? Visit Avian Conversion or call and talk to one of our avian customer care specialists at 1-800-345-4767.
