I'm a working pet-mother who doesn't like to cook. Like any good mommy, I want my baby to have a good, nutritional diet. The more magazine articles I read, the more confused I get. Everyone acts like seed is BAD NEWS for anyone who doesn't have the time to prepare lots of fruit and veggies to supplement it, and they say that adding vitamins to water only attracts bacteria. I am almost convinced to put my sweet, happy Muppet on pellets, but when I look at pellets it breaks my heart to think of depriving him of the sensual pleasure that Muppet gets from eating. His diet currently consists of a good seed mix, vitamin powder in the water, and occasional treats (millet, peanuts, fresh herbs). Here's my question: Do I need to change his diet? If so, what do you know about Nutri-Berries, which claim to be a "dietary breakthrough" and which look much more appealing than pellets. Do I have to put my tiel on pellets to ensure his good health?

Shelly R.

Shelly,

Going through the bird magazines and reading all the ads about bird food can be confusing. Each one claims to be 100% nutritionally balanced.

You don't need to cook to provide Muppet a balanced diet. Offer Muppet raw vegetables in the evening when you get home from work. You could rotate the veggies, green vegetable one night, yellow the next. Be sure to thoroughly wash the vegetables before you give them to your bird and don't leave them in the cage too long. If you will check your local grocery store, they may have bags of assorted vegetables in their produce department. Our African Grey is very fond of the stir fry assortment. Your bird can eat anything you eat except for chocolate and avocado.

Pellets are considered the best diet at this time but if your bird is receiving a good assortment of veggies, cereals (without added sugar or salt), whole wheat bread and seed, he should be just fine. We may be mistaken, but we believe the Nutri-Berries are a combination of pellets and seed. Once you add the veggies and other treats that we've mentioned your bird will be getting a well rounded diet. You also want to be sure to have a cuttlebone or mineral block available for your bird to provide the extra calcium and minerals that he needs.