Pellets
When it comes to pellets & Eclectus parrots there is always debate. We either love them or hate them. Pellets used to be known to cause many behavioural or health problems in the Eclectus & people today still seem to believe they still do. Much has been studied & changed to suit the species parrot when it comes to pellets. You can now buy 100% natural, organic species specific pellets so, they have certainly come a long way to what they used to be.
The previous pellet ingredient problems were said to be red dye, excessive amounts of vitamins & minerals & especially excessive amounts of vitamin D3. These caused many problems with Eclectus parrots such as screaming, plucking & aggression & more but one of the main problems noted was toe tapping. Today you can now buy pellets that have the correct amount of vitamins & minerals in them so there is a far less risk of your Eclectus developing any pellet related problems.
There are still some Eclectus parrots that, no matter what pellets they use or how natural they are, still end up with problems. This is more of an individual issue than it is a species related issue. Although Eclectus parrots are generally a hardy bird, as a species they’re a little more sensitive to diets than other species of parrot & some individuals appear to be even more sensitive to these sorts of man made foods. If an Eclectus is sensitive to even the best pellets on the market then it's possible they’re sensitive to other foods in their diet too.
It is known that Eclectus parrots do extremely well on natural soft fresh food diets but not everyone is able to cater for an enormous variety as well as an enormous appetite when it comes to healthy human foods. To have an Eclectus soley on a healthy human food diet, the variety needs to be quite large.
Today feeding healthy human foods in on the increased but there are some that still prefer to use pellets as a base diet & have never experienced any health issues. Generally, unless your Eclectus is more sensitive than usual to certain foods you should be able to feed him pellets.
Pellets do not need to be used as the base diet for the Eclectus. A variety of everything, including a few pellets is sufficient. Many people also use pellets to extract the vitamins & minerals the Eclectus will need daily. There has been minimal problems in regards to non pellet eaters lacking in vitamins & minerals.
If you want to try pellets for your Eclectus, go for the best. Use only 100% natural, Eclectus specific pellets such as Roudybush, Harrison's or Dr Mac's. Don’t use it as a sole diet or large base diet. Still offer a large amount of healthy human foods. Because Eclectus parrots get most of their fluids from fresh fruit, veg & sprouts, offering a lot of pellets can also cause dehydration. The recommended daily amount is 1 tablespoon a day.
When trying pellets keep an eye on your Eclectus over the next few days for any changes in behaviour. If there are changes remove the pellets from the diet, try another brand or go back to using only healthy human foods.
Avoid using pellets with colours, preservitives, high potency vitamin & minerals in them.
Coloured pellets also inhibit the production of red during the development of feathers. Red feathers of an Eclectus being fed coloured pellets can often come through with yellow or orange through them.
Eclectus Food Pyramid
Pellets