Extruded pet bird food is the best for complete nutrition

This post is one of a series of informational posts written by Dr Randal Brue for one of our great sponsors, KAYTEE. For more information on Dr. Brue, click here.

A processed diet undergoes a tremendous transformation from its beginnings which preserves the important nutrients and delivers them in a highly palatable form. An extruded diet for example, combines raw ingredients such as:

• Eggs
• Corn
• Wheat
• Oats
• Amino acids
• Vitamins
• Minerals

These ingredients are combined into a mash, which is then cooled at very high temperatures. This cooking process destroys most bacteria and makes the diet highly digestible, so it passes into the bloodstream easily, carrying all the necessary nutrients. The extrusion or cooking process also makes the diet more palatable. Pelleted diets are manufactured similarly, except at lower temperatures that are not as effective in killing unwanted bacteria.

Sometimes these diets do require a conversion process and pet birds such as parakeets and finches many not recognize it as a food, looking instead for seed. Because these birds are small, with a rapid metabolism, they cannot go for long periods without food. So watch your pet closely when feeding these diets until they are readily eaten. The advantages once converted, however, are that your pet bird is receiving all the known nutrients in a form that is lower in fat. Typically, less is wasted which helps offset the higher cost as compared to seeds.