Funky Happenings...

Anyone who visits the site frequently or even infrequently may have noticed to odd happenings going on over this past month. The site has undergone some wacky changes, and the whole forum looks different. E-gads, whats going on?

Due to some turmoil within the administration, the original site was pulled from its server. It has been rehosted and is currently undergoing changes to make it bigger and better then ever. Look for regular updates to the blog, new site features including an interactive caique quiz, and more articles pertaining to the care and keeping of caiques.

Please check out the new forum located at http://caiquecrazy.spreebb.com and keep tuned for further features to come!

The Pet Food Recalls & Your Bird Food

I'm sure you have all heard about the dog and cat food recalls that started happening early April. Over 30 brands of recalled wet food, due to melamine contamination. Now, some dry foods have been recalled, and the list of possible contaminates just keeps spreading.

Does this affect our birds? Its my belief that its only a matter of time before it hits all animal foods. This is just the calm before the storm.

Previously, the only bad boy on the label was wheat gluten. Now, there are 6 possible contaminates. Wheat gluten, corn gluten, corn meal, soy protein, rice bran, and rice protein are all being inspected by the FDA for possible contamination. I just inspected the ingredients list of Roudybush, the pellets that I feed my birds. Wheat gluten- check. Soy meal- hmmm. Corn products, check. Roudybush rice diet, which I feed my plucker, also has rice bran, and rice protein. Comforting, isn't it?

Are you thinking- 'well, I don't feed pellets, I feed seed!'. You are not going to be happy with my findings. A quick search on the internet scouring common brand seed ingredients revealed startling discoveries. Topper Bird Ranch Seed uses wheat gluten. They have assured me that they only use US sources for all their wheat gluten (why use it at all? Wheat gluten is a cheap, unhealthy filler) so it should be safe, right? One would think... until you hear about the recall of Chicken Soup products, who is US based, and did not use imported products, but still found traces of melamine in their Kitten and Puppy Formulas?

A quick look at the ingredients of another popular food, Kaytee, shows that their seed contains Corn Gluten Meal, Wheat Middlings (don't know what wheat middlings are? A cheap way to feed cattle to fatten them up before slaughter. Don't believe me? Google it!) and Ethoxyquin . Their pellets contain - surprise surprise.. ground wheat middlings (again, cattle feed!), Corn Gluten Meal, Ethoxyquin, and of course, some sugar for good measure *insert sarcasm here*

I could go on and on, but you get my point. Just about every label reads the same. So now what? with more foods being recalled, how do we know what is safe to feed our birds?

My personal recommendation? Go organic. If you don't already- feed only organic fruits and veggies to your birds. If your pellets have any of the possible contaminates, ditch them. I've found 4 pellets that do not have any of the contaminates in the ingredients list- and, are healthy and use organic ingredients. They are:
TOP Pellets- Totally Organic Pellets. http://www.totallyorganics.com/ingredients.php
Harrisons- http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com
Goldenfeast Golden Obles- http://www.birdsafestore.com/detail.aspx?ID=1057
Foundation Formula- http://www.organicbirdfood.com/

Honestly, I plan on switching my birds over to the TOP pellets ASAP. I refuse to risk their lives because of human idiocy.

Want info on the latest pet food recalls? Click on any of the following:
Chicken Soup Recall

Specific Brand List of Recalled Foods

Site with constant updates about the pet food situation

Why Human Food Is Affected By Pet Food Recall

and of course... the scariest of the them all. Pet Food May Have Been Spiked On Purpose