Hi Everyone,

Just curious to know what everyone uses for "treat" seeds and which ones your birds go ABSOLUTELY nuts over? My birds go crazy and NUTS for sunflower seeds. The two hand raised ones were brought up on these and get all twitchy and vibrate when I even go NEAR the container with the sunflowers. My older pigeon, Eggbert, never really seemed interested in these and probably never had them on the farm, so he didn't recognize them as a food source. However, after watching his young go crazy for these seeds for so long, he's finally become addicted to them as well and within the last year.

My birds go completely bonkers over safflower. I feed the safflower by hand and I will have pigeons up both arms, trying to get to the seeds.

DynaBMan wrote:My birds go completely bonkers over safflower. I feed the safflower by hand and I will have pigeons up both arms, trying to get to the seeds.

LOL...I can just see that! Mine love safflower seeds too, but not nearly as much as the sunflower seeds. They do what you described with these and more. Eggbert was never a tame bird, but even his "hunger" for these seeds has him eating out of the palm of my hand...literally!

My old birds and breeders love peanuts. I don't have a local source for them any more except the grocery store and I won't pay $4 for less than a pound. WHEN I have them, even my wildest birds will come to me.
My young birds love everything right now.......having to keep them on the hungry side for training and such, so when they see me, they come running or flying hoping I've got something, anything............... even barley........

Lovebirds wrote:My old birds and breeders love peanuts. I don't have a local source for them any more except the grocery store and I won't pay $4 for less than a pound. WHEN I have them, even my wildest birds will come to me.
My young birds love everything right now.......having to keep them on the hungry side for training and such, so when they see me, they come running or flying hoping I've got something, anything............... even barley........

Hi Renee...LOL:)

Peanuts are something I could never get my birds interested in...funny how that works eh? I tried them several times with them and even the peanut pieces and hearts but they just never took to those.

Good job your young birds are coming to you even for barley! Best not to spoil them yet so that they still are eager for food from you, any food.

Here's a couple of birds taking peanuts.

Renee, I love your photos! Your birds are so cute ...and they eat peanuts!!!!!! My two wouldn't eat peanuts, they are so big! Jax is especially fussy and does not eat 'big' seeds, peas of any description, or corn. Hemp seeds and safflower seeds are favourites :tongue: that I mix into their food mix in moderation. My pigeons least favourite is barley. They will eat everything and leave all the barley at the bottom of the bowl.

Lindi

Great photos Renee that peanut looks huge! but the pigeon doesn't seem to think so

The pij's here love bl. sunflower and safflower, they only get it in the fall and winter. The doves love the bl. sunflower and they get it through out the year

EgypSwiftLady wrote:Great photos Renee that peanut looks huge! but the pigeon doesn't seem to think so

The pij's here love bl. sunflower and safflower, they only get it in the fall and winter. The doves love the bl. sunflower and they get it through out the year

They don't care how big they are. They LOVE them.............

Jax&Paddy wrote:Renee, I love your photos! Your birds are so cute ...and they eat peanuts!!!!!! My two wouldn't eat peanuts, they are so big! Jax is especially fussy and does not eat 'big' seeds, peas of any description, or corn. Hemp seeds and safflower seeds are favourites :tongue: that I mix into their food mix in moderation. My pigeons least favourite is barley. They will eat everything and leave all the barley at the bottom of the bowl.

Lindi

Barley is every pigeons least favorite food. Aside from it being good for them, as it non-fattening...........it helps us racers gauge how hungry our birds really are. If they eat the Barley, they're hungry. If they ACT like they're starving but won't eat the barley........they're just pullin' your leg.........

Jax&Paddy wrote:Renee, I love your photos! Your birds are so cute ...and they eat peanuts!!!!!! My two wouldn't eat peanuts, they are so big! Jax is especially fussy and does not eat 'big' seeds, peas of any description, or corn. Hemp seeds and safflower seeds are favourites :tongue: that I mix into their food mix in moderation. My pigeons least favourite is barley. They will eat everything and leave all the barley at the bottom of the bowl.

Lindi

Hi Lindi....I definitely agree...who could resist that cute little face



Great pictures Renee

Renee - great pictures...too cute!

I feed the ferals a general wild bird food seed mix I get at Walmart...nothing fancy, but better than the garbage and scraps that they usually have to survive on, I figure.

I notice that they all go straight for the sunflower seeds, eating them up first w/o fail.

A special treat are peanuts....most of them just love them, and like Renee said w/ her birds.....If I have peanuts and they know it, even very skittish ferals will come very close hoping to get some!

Linda

They seem to pick these out of the mix first. There aren't many in the mix but the birds gobble them up right away. Just exactly why, I don't know.

They also seem to like sunflower seeds and I don't feed them very often but the birds seem to like them.

My ringneck doves seem to go for the popcorn seeds first, which are in the dove mix. Seems odd that they want corn even in the summer. My pigeons don't want hardly any corn now that it's warm out and I am mixing feed without corn in so that there isn't too much corn. Kaytee with corn has alot of corn so I thin it with condition feed.

I've mentioned this before but when I raised parrots and parakeets, you had to be careful not to feed too much sunflower seed or the birds would get fatty tumors. They ate them first and acted like they were getting a treat or candy or whatever and would overdo it on sunflower seed. This has always worried me about feeding them to pigeons and I normally don't feed them at all. Pigeons eat them whole and most other birds only eat the meat of the seed. This difference could be enough to keep them from developing a problem, I don't really know.

Birds in general are pretty good about knowing what they need to stay healthy but they do depend on us to provide them with what they do need. Cheap feed or feed that was not intended for the type of bird that we have may not provide them with what they need. I have found it best to use good name brands or trusted feed makers to give the proper nutrition for my birds.

I've never been a big treat giver with my pigeons. I've almost always had too many to do this. When I raised cage birds, I gave treats in the form of spray millet, greens and green seeds and for some birds mealworms and I tried soaked rice for awhile. Some of these treats (maybe all) are beneficial to them and aid in their health as it can be difficult to provide them with everything that they need or would get in the wild.

As for the pigeons, I don't know how much extra that they need beyond good pigeon feed but there is no question that they relish certain things and I would imagine that they are prone to going for what is actually good for them. At least, I'd like to think so.

Bill

Squeaks, Dom and Gimie are REALLY spoiled!

For their afternoon treats, they get a small mixture of Songbird mix, Parakeet Grains & Greens, Safflower and Hemp. Of course, the last two are personal favorites.

I'm always surprised at the big things that Squeaks swallows! Those Canada peas disappear quickly along with cat pellets he steals from the cat dishes when the urge hits. REALLY funnly to watch him with those pellets. He picks one up, nope, not right, and drops it. Picks up another, nope, same thing, picks up another, down it goes. He's quite picky! Yet, he will eat three or more if the mood strikes! One would think the bird is hungry...NOT! He eats QUITE well, thank you very much! Then again, he IS a member in good standing of the SRPs (Spoiled Rotten Pigeons)! :lol:

Renee, your peanut pictures are a riot! I see a contest entry...

Shi

Hey Bill...that's good advice you gave. I agree that many of these "treat" seeds and nuts are very fatty and overly not the greatest for the birds. I think most of us know that they should be given in moderation. You also pointed out that birds seem to know what they need, which you tend to think is true, but I wonder also if they are like kids and just have preferences and would gorge themselves on things that aren't the greatest for them or even needed. For myself, I only offer sunflower seeds that are already shelled and raw.

Shi....that's funny that Squeaks likes the cat kibble...I'm sure it's got something in them that he could benefit from, maybe the extra protein perhaps. I find that when watching my birds eat, they can be fussy with certain grains and seeds they choose. It's almost as if they are trying to select just the right shape and size of seed that'll go down the hatch easiest,

I don't think it's necessary for you to feed only the sunflower meats as they are very happy to eat the whole seed and I actually wonder if it isn't better for them. I have fed the black oil seeds once in awhile and they do seem to love them. It is entirely possible that they are good for them as well. I just wouldn't over do it. You will notice if you feed the whole black seeds that it will cause their droppings to be stained black which can be alittle alarming at first but if you think about why it happens, it's just the seed.

As to certain foods being like candy making birds too fat, this is definately a possibility and appears to be what happens with the hookbills and sunflower seeds. I like to think that pigeons are smarter than that but you never know.

Bill

jbangelfish wrote:I don't think it's necessary for you to feed only the sunflower meats as they are very happy to eat the whole seed and I actually wonder if it isn't better for them.

As to certain foods being like candy making birds too fat, this is definately a possibility and appears to be what happens with the hookbills and sunflower seeds. I like to think that pigeons are smarter than that but you never know.

Bill

Hi Bill,

I don't go out of my way to provide my birds with sunflower hearts, I buy them this way. There is a great bulk food store near my house, actually a couple from the same chain that sell all sorts of seeds and grains raw, shelled and saltless. I buy my birds these shelled and raw sunflower seeds from there and also get quite a few other things I need and want to add to my pigeon's feed or give as "treats".

About your comments whether a pigeon is smarter than a hookbill in regards to what it instinctively knows it needs, I'm not so sure. I think all animals are on an even playing field when it comes to instinct. And hookbills are well known to be EXTREMELY smart avians. I personally believe that all animals have preferences and those choices aren't always what is best for them, nutritionally.

Saying that though, most seeds and grains that are raw offer many beneficial vitamins and minerals. There is a lot of "good" in all these types of seeds, nuts and grains in their raw state. It's just that some tend to be more fattening than others. However, and with the new research, it's usually the "good" fats (omega fats) that these seeds contain not the "bad" fats anyway that we humans consume, cook with and indulge our bad food "habits".

Organic hulled raw sunflower seeds, I like em too! A bite for you, a bite for me.......

Peaches

Oh those little faces are just so cute..!




Mine get a good 'Pigeon Mix' augmented with additional White Safflower, Finch Seed Mix, Sunflower 'hearts'...and sometimes tiny dried ( Sulfite free ) Cranberrys and Elderberrys.


I know the ferals can eat 'Olives' which fall from Olive Trees around here, and Yeeeeesh! those things are HUGE!


Scares the heck out of me just thinking about it..!



Phil
l v

I feed my Jack the Kaytee Supreme Morning Dove Mix, and I mix it with Zupreem Cocktiel Fruit and Vegetable Mix. The fruit and veg. mix are three different colored little round pellets. Yellow, Orange & Green. I am assuming the green ones are the vegetables.
Jack being the spoiled piegon that he is will only eat the orange & yellow. Tosses all the green ones out of the cage. Just like a kid, he doesn't live his vegetables.

Hi, ya all!!!
Regards,
Louise