Transparency With Parrot Food Manufacturers
There's been a significant rise in the expectation of transparency between pet food manufacturers and the general public. Dog food manufacturers, for example; have AAFCO, feeding trials, and an array of nutrient digestibility charts, base nutrient expectations, and sanitary guidelines to follow which a lot of brands then openly share with the public. These standards help pet parents make more active choices in what they feed their pets, tailor their pets diet to meet their individual needs, trust that their food meets a base line of nutrition, and that the food was produced in a sanitary manner. The dog food industry is far from perfect and even these regulations have their flaws and the tests aren't without fault but it is a good base for us to compare to when we're trying to sort out what we want from other pet food manufacturers. In this case I'm focusing on parrot pellet manufacturers.
I had a few different goals heading in to this.
I wanted to see how transparent pellet manufacturers would be with sharing information that is common to ask dog food manufacturers (information is not confidential, revealing formulas, secrets, etc.)
The availability of nutrient analysis charts (breakdowns of how much of each nutrient is in their pellets)
What standards parrot food manufacturers held themselves to
If any feeding trials were performed on their pellets
And to preface this with my own bias, I am pro-pellet, I currently feed pellets.
Before we get too deep in to this let's break things down a bit.
As it stands there really aren't any regulating bodies above parrot food manufacturers as far as I could find. There doesn't seem to be much of any standards when it comes to their sanitization or product quality, the best you get is the FDA/ CFIA which basically just make sure a food isn't outright toxic. As it stands there haven't been enough studies done on parrot nutrition for there to be a governing body stating what the minimum nutrient requirements are for parrot food, we simply do not actually know what those requirements are yet so there cannot be a set standard for it. This unfortunately leaves us open to a lot of problems, if there's no nutritional requirements and no standardized testing then we're really just putting a lot of trust in to a company that wants to turn a profit. We're hoping that the food that says it's nutritionally complete is what it says with no evidence to show for it, and no science to confirm it.
So with that said no parrot food can actually claim to be "100% nutritionally complete", we do not know what nutritionally complete looks like for parrots, there is no science to back up those claims.
So I set out and emailed every parrot pellet manufacturer I could think of and asked them the some questions.
"Does your company do feeding trials? If so, is that data available to the public anywhere?"
"Do you have a nutrient profile available?"
Feeding trials are very simply a test where you feed a set of animals exclusively one diet and then monitor them to see if the food is capable of providing the base essential nutrients needed to live. Usually they do blood work, urine and fecal alongside regular physical exams to monitor things like nutritional deficiency, ailments, and nutrient digestibility. This helps show that a food is capable of providing what the target animal needs to survive without causing health problems and provides vital information on what amount of vitamins/ minerals in the produced food are actually being digested and absorbed. These tests are common among well-known dog food companies and most are more than willing to share that data to give their consumers peace of mind with easy transparency.
And let me tell you I am beyond disappointed at what happened when I asked parrot food manufacturers the exact same thing.
TOPs: No nutrient profile listed on the website, does have a detailed breakdown of why every single ingredient was added though. Happily discloses that parrot nutritional science doesn't have all the data to claim any food as 100% nutritionally complete and advises for the feeding of fresh foods in addition to their food, didn't specify exactly how much of each to maintain optimal nutrition.
I emailed them three times and never got a response back from any of them.
Harrisons: Does say you can feed 20% vegetables by weight while the pellet should be 75%, has an easily available nutrient analysis on their website.
also emailed three times with no response back.
Caitec: no nutritional analysis listed on their main website, website did not state how they want their product to be fed, product packaging states that veggies should be a treat/ addition and lists the pellet as a "complete diet".
emailed three times with no response back.
Lafeber: Primarily promotes mixed seed and pellet formulas, doesn't state any risks of parrot's selective consumption (study on that problem), does promote the feeding of fresh produce in conjunction with their formulas at 20% of the diet, no nutrient analysis on their website.
emailed three times with no response back.
Zupreem (Compana Pet Brands): did respond back but they phrased their response in a way to dance around the subject, after some pushing they confirmed they do not do feeding trials. Encourages use of fresh foods with their formula, at least 60% pelleted diet recommended. Had an extremely small nutrient profile that just skipped over the important nutrient requirements like the Ca:Ph. I asked for a nutrient profile which they did not want to provide but were able to tell me that the naturals pellets have 0.59% calcium
Roudybush: Says fresh foods can be fed but "as a minor part of the diet", does say that science doesn't have enough information to make a product tailored to each species of bird, did make changes to their formula recently to remove menadione in favour of alfalfa due to it's potential toxicity. does seem to be evolving as science progresses. Ingredients list wasn't listed on the website, nor was a nutrient profile.
did not reply to any emails.
Tropican (HARI): I was hopeful for this one by the way their website boasts about their feeding trials and research. So so hopeful.
Talks about doing feeding trials openly on their website, recommends 70% pellet to 30% fresh foods (by caloric content not weight) but mentioned that their birds eat 100% pellets. Easily accessible albeit basic nutrient profile but it covers the main things.
After my email Mr. Hagen actually ended up calling me and what I was hoping would be a motivating call ended up being very hostile. Whenever I asked questions about data or results of a feeding trial I was immediately shut down, the topic was changed, I was interrupted mid-sentence over and over again. I was able to get small tidbits of info that were as vague as "we've fed multiple generations of birds on this food" and "we do annual weigh-ins". He would casually mention data from a study he had done but then dart away if I asked for the name of the study so I could read it later. It was an extremely off-putting phone call. Completely unwilling to say how many birds were in a trial, how many years the trial went on for, if there was bloodwork or nutrient digestibility charts, nothing at all. He also casually mentioned that once the birds are old enough they get sold to stores which was very unnerving to me.
So I guess they maybe do legitimate feeding trials but they will under no circumstances offer that data to the public? I don't know. They wouldn’t provide any published articles or data to actually prove that the trials exist and I will definitely not be contacting them again to find out. They suggested I was trying to steal their formula and lying about my identity. I'm not going to try to get a simple answer out of them again.
Mazuri: recommends 20% fresh foods 75% pellets, nutrient profile available on the website.
did not reply to any emails.
Pretty Bird: Does not do feeding trials, prompt to reply, at least knew what a feeding trial was. Couldn't find feeding recommendations on the website, no nutrient profile aside from the generic guaranteed analysis having a few add-ons but still skipping on the important nutrients you'd want to know about.
Kaytee: Did not know what a Feeding Trial was. Thought I wanted samples and offered me a coupon. I had to explain to this animal food manufacturer what a feeding trial was. Unsurprisingly they do not do feeding trials. Website had no listing of a nutrient analysis. Recommended 70-90% pellets to some fresh foods. In their own published article they went over how damaging seed diets are for parrots but then they also sell seed-only diets with the ingredients they were specifically bashing in their own article. When I asked for a nutrient profile this is what I was given:
"Nutrient levels are calculated based on ingredient data, feed compendium tables and direct diet analysis. Actual levels may vary slightly due to ingredient and analytical variation."
Kaytee exact naturals cockatiel pellet:
"0.4% Calcium
0.2% Available Phosphorus (non-phytate P)
0.1% Magnesium
120 ppm Zinc
140 ppm Iron
700 IU/kg Vitamin D3"
and that's just extremely limited information. I'm glad they were willing to provide something but in comparison to some of the others it's just not a lot of data.
Psittacus: advises for the use of grit in parrots, recommends 100% pellets but says you can feed a minimum of 70% to make room for fresh foods. Their response to feeding trails was really vague: "our products have been evaluated and tested in our centre as well as collaborating centres. This information is for internal use and it is not published anywhere". Wouldn't say what tests were done or elaborate further than that in any way. I then inquired for a detailed nutrient analysis chart saying that Mia's calcium has been a bit of a struggle (since it has been), curious if their brand may have more calcium than the ones Im using now to help her out to which they replied with "our food contains the calcium levels appropriate for him/her". (you literally cannot say that, you haven't run tests on my bird, you haven't worked with my vet regarding my bird, you cannot guarantee a blanket statement like that.). They did offer me a link to this catalogue which has more detailed info on their pellets production and a more thorough nutrient analysis chart.
I am shocked by the responses I received. I am disappointed in parrot food manufacturers. I am frustrated with parrot food regulations.
I knew I wouldn't get much out of these emails since the standards for parrot food are so low but the amount of companies that just pretended not to get my emails or didn't even know what a feeding trial was is ridiculous. The amount of companies that were making claims that science can't back up, or making claims that science actually disagrees with is astounding.
The complete lack of transparency is terrifying.
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my collection of rejects
Kal "Call on the Emperor" Immanentize - Fanatic Zealot
Anywhere from late twenties to early thirties, but really... who can tell. 5'5" and mad about it. One of those he/hims. Got impromptu top surgery due to a frag grenade... not mad about it. Gets caught up in his worship, frequently forgets to eat, drink, and sleep. Fortunately he has his strike team to dunk him under a tap when he gets too stinky.
Rite - Savant Psyker
Rite is anywhere from late thirties to early forties... trending to early forties. Not as short as Kal, but he's got that petite Psyker physique. A former Enforcer, he's... well he's... he's probably as nice as a reject can be, honestly, more idealistic than he deserves to be, and able to ignore most of the nastiness flung his way. Due to his... playstyle, he spends most of the time trying to fend off the Warp, anyway.
Zeta-198 "Zed" - Professional Veteran
It's a Krieger! Zed is... it is sixteen, and has been a soldier since fourteen. It's a Krieger. They do the child soldier thing. Zed is very proud of serving the Emperor as a juve, at least until it gets made fun of. Certified shrimp. 5'3'. Despite this, that's just tall enough to behead scabs with an axe, so who's the real winner here? After losing its entire squad, being transferred to a regiment of non-Kriegers, losing that squad too and finally breaking protocol to save the lives of its third squad, it got charged with dereliction of duty and sent straight to a penal unit... located on the Mourningstar courtesy of their Commissar, who happened to be a friend of Morrow. It/its user. Won't somebody throw it a birthday party?
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follow up vet today! Tiber’s been doing much much better. he still yanks his paw away if you try to touch it too much, but the swelling has gone down to nearly normal and he’s no longer actually limping.
we had our usual vet today, whom I like much more than the vet we saw last time. she took another thorough look at his paw, and examined the lump a little more closely. she thinks he probably just stepped on something hard while running, and is pleased with how well he’s been doing, especially without the oral pain/anti-inflammatory meds.
(we didn’t administer the oral meds because he had diarrhea after the shot the vet gave him, and we were instructed to stop if he had diarrhea or vomiting)
vet would like us to try the oral meds again but on a full stomach + probiotics so that we know for sure if he can’t have the meds entirely or if the oral version is tolerable for him.
only other changes we’ve noticed besides the pain/limp improvement is he’s needing to potty a lot more often. we walked him like 8 or 9 times yesterday. I think he’s also napping a slight bit more than usual, but not to a significant degree.
Tiber did really well at the vet too. he started a little shaky and nervous today, but warmed up really quickly. he likes our usual vet and the other lady vets—i’m thinking that having the male vet last time spooked him a little, since he doesn’t like him as much. (we’ve noticed Tiber vastly prefers interacting with women than men and this guy is also a pretty blunt person who doesn’t baby him like the other vets do lol)
he’s been growing! he’s 13kg now. almost getting as big as his dad.
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Crush List
I use to have a crush list on my first pinned post but I ended up deleting it to save space and sense then have been pretty indecisive about bringing it back just because I didn't feel it was useful information and the concept was too broad and more and more excuses of the like.
Then my OCD got stuck in list mode so here we are anyway.
Long post under the cut, thankyou for your attention
Canon Crushes
Crushes that are canon to my Self-Insert's story (either I have a crush on them or they have a crush on me), some of which are also on the F/O list, but they're still in the crush phase to me <3
Katsuki Bakugo - My Hero Academia
Reedus Jonah - Fairy Tail
Usopp - One Piece
Makoto Katai - Komi Can't Communicate
Souichi Nishimura (Ironman) - Baka and Test
Junta Hayami - Romantic Killer
Franky Franklin - Spy X Family
Chieko - Princess Jellyfish
Masato Hanzawa - Sasaki and Miyano/Hirano and Kagiura
Baron Humbert von Gikkington - The Cat Returns
Arrietty Clock - The Secret World of Arrietty
Pearl - Steven Universe
The Beast - Over the Garden Wall
Ash's Sirfetch'd - Pokemon Anime
Guzma - Pokemon Masters
Doctor Mario - Super Mario
Metal Mario - Super Mario
Wardell - Animal Crossing
Spyke - Splatoon
CQ Cumber - Splatoon
Chara - Undertale
Flowey - Undertale
Gaster - Deltarune
Phineas Filch - Ace Attorney
Maugaloa Malosi - Overwatch
Luca Blight - Suikoden 2
Just can't be bother to make an S/I
For various reasons including; Already have too many S/Is for this media, There's a ship I like that already has the dynamic my S/I would have with them (including friend's self-ships), Haven't had a good S/I concept yet, etc.
Pantherlily - Fairy Tail
Taurus - Fairy Tail
Mayaya - Princess Jellyfish
Hilling - Ranking of Kings
Marco Pagot - Porco Rosso
Palo Barrrows - The Titan's Bride
Noppo - Drifting Home
Randall - Monsters University
Jasper - Steven Universe
Rose Quarts/Pink Diamond - Steven Universe
Padparadscha - Steven Universe
The Titan - The Owl House
Grime - Amphibia
Maddie Flour - Amphibia
King Andrias - Amphibia
Hugo Oak - Kipo and the age of the Wonderbeasts
Jamack - Kipo and the age of the Wonderbeasts
Black Hat -Villainous
Bobert - The Amazing World of Gumball
The Nomad - Nomad of Nowhere
Brock - Pokemon Anime
Cilan - Pokemon Anime
Ren - Pokemon Anime
Ingo and Emmet - Pokemon BW
Nanu - Pokemon SuMo
Mega Swampert - Pokemon
Regirock - Pokemon
Regice - Pokemon
Mega Lopunny - Pokemon
Dusknoir - Pokemon
Giritina - Pokemon
Blacephalon - Pokemon
Magnazone - Monster Mind
Bowser - Super Mario
Dimentio - Super Paper Mario
Grilby - Undertale
Damon Gant - Ace Attorney
Bobby Fulbright - Ace Attorney
Junko Enoshima - Danganronpa
Chihiro Fujisaki - Danganronpa
The Ultimate Imposter - Danganronpa
Gundham Tanaka - Danganronpa
Winston - Overwatch
Mako Rutledge (Roadhog) - Overwatch
Akande Ogundimu (Doomfist) - Overwatch
Jean-Baptiste Augustin - Overwatch
Richmond - Suikoden 2
Don't know enough
Either a non-major character I got a little too attached to or Their source material is too small to inspire me or I literally haven't directly interacted with the media they are from
Lapointe - Fairy Tail
Sanji Vinsmoke - One Piece
Usopp - One Piece
Bartholomew Kuma - One Piece
Bepo - One Piece
Kitsune - XXXHolic
Dream Seller - XXXHolic
Otori-San - I Like Otori-san!
Tomoki Inohara - Melt at Night
Satou Jun - Mimasaka-kun to Mayoeru Kobuta
Yuzuru Tachibana - Drifting Home
Metauro - Villainous
Caine - The Amazing Digital Circus
Data - Star Trek
Harvey Hornswoggle - Drawtectives
Animatronic - Drawtectives
Callagan - Pokemon the Power of Us
Pumpkinmon - Digimon
Noblepumpkinmon - Digimon
Tubba Blubba - Paper Mario
Ganon - Legend of Zelda
Meta Knight- Kirby
Galacta Knight - Kirby
Morpho Knight - Kirby
Magalor - Kirby
Roche - Dokapon Kingdom
Gaster - Undertale
Light Field (Snake) - The Nonary Games
Shamura - Cult of the Lamb
Ralph - Detroit; Become Human
Jerry - Detroit; Become Human
Bloodhound - Apex
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