> Also, can I safely feed wild bird seed to parakeets or do I have to
> buy the pet shop stuff with the extra goodies in it?
No - don't feed wild bird seed unless it's an emergency and you're
out of the good stuff. Get the high-end mixes that have seed and
lots of veggie/fruit type things in them - the mixed diet is better for
the bird (they're not just seed eaters in the wild). Avoid Hartz and
other all-seed mixtures. I prefer a specialty keet diet with daily
small (thumbnail size x 3 or 4 pieces) servings of fresh vegetable,
nibble of apple, etc. Too much fruit or lettuce can cause diarrhea.
Wild bird seed is nowhere near a complete diet, even for the wild
ones. It's just supplemental to their regular foraging.
Sharon Allsup
sallsup_at_mindspring.com
<former keet breeder>
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