[johnzimm]

I am wanting to make my own custom seed recipe for my breeding cockatiels. I have access to several seeds in bulk, but I am having trouble finding examples of what others have done.

They eat pellets, and a variety of other goodies, but I do not like the majority of commercial seed mixes out there.

Thank you!

 

[johnzimm]

This is the recipe I am considering:

1#Japanese Millet
2# Straight Canary
1# Niger
1# Red Proso Millet
2# White Proso Millet
1/2# Flax
1# Oat Groats
1/2# Hemp
1# Safflower
1/4# Sunflower

 

[tielfan]

It's not possible for a seed mix to be nutritionally balanced, because seeds are deficient in too many nutrients. So the main rules in making your own seed mix is to use seeds that your birds will actually eat and go easy on the high-fat seed (hemp, safflower and sunflower). Among those three, hemp is more nutritious than the other two by a wide margin, and sunflower is more nutritious than safflower (more protein, higher quality protein, and a ton of Vitamin E).

I have an article section here with a chart that shows the nutrient levels in all three side by side: http://www.littlefeatheredbuddies.com/info/nutrition-seeds.html#comparison Further down the page I compare the nutrient levels in hemp and sunflower to tree nuts, and hemp and sunflower win: http://www.littlefeatheredbuddies.com/info/nutrition-seeds.html#magical