Pellets are being developed for parrots for many years in all attempts to replace seed diets. Some ornithologists & vets believed that Amazon Parrots & Pionus Parrots were prone to respiratory diseases, the reasons were simply lack of Vitamin A in all-seed diets. We used to believe that birds dying from egg-binding or spraddle-legged hatchlings were caused by hypocalcemia and lack of vitamin D in their all-diets too. According to Mr. Marlin Lantin, ornithologist of California Universtiy , nutritionists, veterinarians, feed manufacturers and many universities had begun to develop formulated feeds, pellets, for parrots, birds that would compensate for any disadvantage of all-seed diets. The bird feed market in the USA & Europe is very enormous & attractive that enables investors & scientists for further research since 1990.

Problems with pellets

To promote pellets for the attractive bird feed market, manufacturers claimed them complete, scientific formulated by experts in avian nutrition and should be the unique food for parrots instead of all-seed diets. Many bird owners or breeders would start pellets to mainly or partly replace seed diets due to the lack of avian nutritional knowledge and they only believed in advertisement & scientists. So they followed their instructions. Unfortunately many birds & owners, their pets were suffering from :

Some pellet formulas for some species induced nutrient excesses.
Too much long-term sustained nutrients load is neither normal nor healthy.
Artificial ingredients & favouring is no good for maintaining diets rather than natural seeds.
With anti-oxidant & colouring, pellets are not as natural as fresh seeds, fruits & vegetables.
Refusal of juveniles & some adult birds would start mal-nutrition & starvation.
Reactions to the various additives included in the pellets to make birds appealing to birds & owners as health problems involved. Many of these additives include sugars, chemical ingredients, such as dyes, preservatives, flavouring and odours.

Phytochemicals and Pytonutritions

Parrots and exotic birds only forage for natural food in the wild, so in my personal opinion, I would like giving natural food to my parrots rather than too artificial ones. Evidence demonstrates that food components beyond those established essential nutrients such as protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and mineral are definitely linked with disease prevention as more and more researchers continue to investigate the interactions of phytochemicals naturally present in the food.

Researchers confirmed that phytonutrients found in fruits and vegetables were classed as vitamins. Studies showed that as we moved away from the diet of our ancestors, we succumb to modern diseases such as carcinomas and virus infections.

Seed Nutrition

To enable a new plant to germinate, grow and get off to a good start, seeds are produced by the mother plant to provide a package of nutritents and helped to ensure that the plant species will survive forever. Nutritients needed by plants are the same by humans, birds and other animals. This is why seeds comprise part of the diet of humans, birds and all animals. As a result, each seed species will have a nutrient profile that is very ideal for its own propagation. Different seeds contribute different nutrients to those who consume them. As a matter of fact, live food should always be better than artificial ones.