FAQ: Food for birds

No. Mixes are made for particular species, such as budgies or canaries. The pack says which.

Use the price per kilogram — it compares small and large packs directly.

A budgie mix is based on various millets and canary grass seed, with oats, linseed or other small seeds added. A good mix contains few fatty seeds such as sunflower or hemp.

Sunflower seeds are very fatty, and birds love them and pick them out first. If a mix has a lot of them, the bird may eat almost nothing else and gain weight or miss out on other nutrients.

A good mix is dry, nearly dust-free and smells pleasant, with no clumps, webbing or mould. The seeds look whole and glossy, and the pack lists the composition, the species it is for and a best-before date.

A simple way is a germination test: keep a few seeds on a damp paper towel for several days. If most sprout, the seeds are viable and fresh; if hardly any do, the food may be old.

Enriched mixes may contain extra vitamins, minerals or pellets, but honey and syrups are mostly for taste and binding. Look at the composition and nutritional values rather than the name on the front of the pack.

Coloured pieces are usually bits of enriched pellets or biscuits dyed with food colouring. Colour is not necessary for birds, so if in doubt, choose naturally coloured food.

Parrots and canaries are used to hulling seeds themselves, which naturally keeps them busy. Hulled seeds spoil and turn rancid faster, so an unhulled mix is the usual choice for most pet birds.

Birds naturally choose the tastiest, often fattiest seeds and leave the rest. If you top up the bowl daily before the rest is eaten, the bird keeps eating the same thing, so give a measured portion and let it finish the remaining seeds the next day.

Pellets are pieces made by mixing grains, legumes, vegetables, vitamins and minerals and then pressing or extruding them. Every piece has the same nutrient content, so the bird cannot pick out only the fattiest parts.

Extruded pellets are made at high temperature and are lighter, porous and often in varied shapes, while pressed ones are denser and look like small cylinders. Both can be complete; what matters most is a composition and size suited to the species.

Many avian vets recommend that pellets make up the larger part of a parrot's diet, with the rest being vegetables, greens, a little fruit and seeds. The exact proportion for the species and the bird's health is best discussed with a vet.

Start by mixing a small amount of pellets into the usual mix and reduce the seed share over several weeks. Crumbling or moistening the pellets, or the owner ‘eating’ them alongside, helps, but check daily that the bird is eating and weigh it.

Some birds need only a few weeks, while others take several months of patience. Do not rush: if the bird loses weight or stops eating, go back to the usual food and consult a vet.

Manufacturers usually grade pellets by bird size: the smallest for budgies and canaries, medium for cockatiels and lovebirds, large for African greys and macaws. A bird may ignore or scatter pellets of the wrong size.

Yes, there are small pellets for small birds, but not all birds accept them, and canaries and finches more often eat seed mixes. Pellets can be part of their diet alongside a good mix and greens.

The dyes in coloured pellets can tint droppings redder, greener or orange. This is harmless, but it makes real changes in the droppings harder to spot, so some owners prefer naturally coloured pellets.

Moistened pellets are more easily accepted during a diet switch or by young and older birds. They spoil quickly, so remove a damp portion after a few hours and wash the bowl.

Organic foods use organically grown ingredients, usually without artificial colours and preservatives. What matters most for the bird is a composition suited to its species; organic is an extra choice.