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Question:

October 14, 2019

kaytee honey flavor treats


I BOUGHT KAYTEE HONEY FLAVOR TREAT STICKS YESTERDAY – AND TODAY, THE PARAKEETS ACT LIKE CRACK ADDICTS. I placed their normal diet on the cage floor today and they immediately went to it. I then removed the paper liner from the elevated feeding tray that had held the Kaytee Honey Flavor Treat (which they devoured almost instantly the previous day.) There was nothing under the paper but dust and seed casings. They all immediately left their breakfast and starting pecking at the tray where the treats previously were set. They were fighting over territorial rights to peck away. It looked like addiction. Have you ever heard of this? What ingredient could cause such behavior? I have three more sticks, but am hesitant to use them. The birds are still going back to pick at the tray!


Answer:

Hi Em,

I think the key here is the fact that it is a treat and it contains a lot of seeds and sugars. If your parakeets normally eat a pelleted diet, then it is normal for them to react this way to seeds. Wild parakeets eat a lot of seeds. But the difference is the seeds are fresh and still have all of their nutrients. Most seed sold for pet birds is not very fresh and has lost most of the nutrients. Anything that is added is lost when the bird hulls the seeds. Wild parakeets will also encounter some sugars in their natural diet, but treats often have a high sugar content and need to be offered sparingly. So when offering a treat like this, no more than once a week is recommended. Especially if it is keeping them from wanting to eat their regular food.

If your birds eat a pelleted diet, you might want to try them on some of our diets. All of our daily diets are nutritionally balanced the same as a pellet, but they contain fresh whole, hulled seeds along with other whole ingredients and supplements, including a balanced amount of sugars that are similar to what they would encounter in the wild. These diets offer foraging exercise which is more natural for a parakeet since they spend most of their energy during the day foraging for food in the wild. Pellets are fine, but don’t offer the flavors they crave of any foraging exercise. We also make a nutritious treat, Popcorn Nutri-Berries, which can be offered daily in small amounts as long as your birds eat their regular diet also.

Here is a bird food guide where you can learn about nutritional needs and more about our diets.

Bird Food Guide

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda

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