# Fish Food Pellets



## Bezz (Dec 12, 2008)

Have any one fed their birds (fish pellets) which is actually food for fish?
I have noticed that the ingredients and composition looks super.

Bezz


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

I have not, but have heard of good results if it is offerd to breeding pairs feeding babies in a seperate crock in the nest box, I do believe one of them is call aquamax made by purina mills.


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## plamenh (Aug 11, 2006)

Usually ingredients of food for certain species are composed in accordance to their requirements. Feeding it to pigeons on the short term may have positive effect, but on the long term may cause build up in their body that may have negative effect on their liver or egg laying and youngsters as well.
P.S. You can use AviPro beeding pelets for pigeons, they have everything pigeons need for breeding, or AviNutro for racing pigeons, but again, I would use it as part of their diet.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

well it is fed to the breeders to feed babies only, because of the high protein and vitamin content..this is used by RACE people, not your average pigeon keeper, so they would know more about it than we would,.... it is here in the US from purina mills, there maybe a list of ingredience online somewhere.?? also, I do not think they talk about it alot as I think it is supposed to be a "winners edge" type of thing....I could be wrong there, but that is the impression I got.


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## plamenh (Aug 11, 2006)

http://www.westerncapepigeonracing.co.za/images/avinutro/avinutro_feeding_program.pdf


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

plamenh said:


> http://www.westerncapepigeonracing.co.za/images/avinutro/avinutro_feeding_program.pdf


I bet the fish food is cheaper...lol... looks like good stuff though can someone get it here in the US?, the aquamax can be picked up at your local purina dealer.


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## plamenh (Aug 11, 2006)

spirit wings said:


> I bet the fish food is cheaper...lol... looks like good stuff though can someone get it here in the US?, the aquamax can be picked up at your local purina dealer.


And that's how you get homing salmon and swimming racer. LOL

I was answering Bez's question and he is from South Africa.


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## windyflat (Jul 19, 2007)

I've fed them and was very pleased with the YB's raised on them. I think I first heard about them from Bill Hatcher at Galaxy lofts in his interview on pigeon radio .
I use the blue seal catfish pellet free choice during the breeding season.
They look just like a vetch pea.
40% protein but a bit high in fat at 10%.
I cannot buy bulk peas locally so the catfish pellets are the next best thing for me.
Tom


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## george simon (Feb 28, 2006)

*Pigeon Green & Pigeon Gold*



spirit wings said:


> I bet the fish food is cheaper...lol... looks like good stuff though can someone get it here in the US?, the aquamax can be picked up at your local purina dealer.


*Purina makes a Pigeon Green 18% and a Pigeon Gold 14% They even have a simple feeding program on the bag. 17% or 18 % is more then enough to raise good healthy birds 14% is enough for winter maintenance.Their gold has 60% carbohydrates which is what the birds need to keep warm in the winter.These pellets are round and larger then milo and a little smaller then vetch. I agree with PLANENH you can use the fish pellets if you like but as a all year round feed I would say no. * GEORGE


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## ace in the hole (Nov 27, 2007)

*Hi Bezz

I do feed it to my breeders, but only when feeding young. The fish food I use is so high in protine I only make it about 5% to 8% of my feed mix. 

Ace*


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## conditionfreak (Jan 11, 2008)

Don't know about fish food, but I have recently started giving my birds rabbit pellets to get some greens in them. They ain't taking to it very well and won't eat it unless they are really really hungry..

We shall see how it works, ..............or not!


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## Big T (Mar 25, 2008)

Bezz said:


> Have any one fed their birds (fish pellets) which is actually food for fish?
> I have noticed that the ingredients and composition looks super.
> 
> Bezz


The deal is to get the protein from fish pellets into the growing young. So some racers mix a small percentage into the feed for the breeders ONLY while they are raising their young. Because too much protein in an older bird can cause damage.

Not my thing,
Tony


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## SmithFamilyLoft (Nov 22, 2004)

spirit wings said:


> I bet the fish food is cheaper...lol... looks like good stuff though can someone get it here in the US?, the aquamax can be picked up at your local purina dealer.


 
I don't know about the rest of the country, but the Purina pigeon products are very expensive in my location at the local dealer. I'm talking like $35+ per 50 pound bag for the Green or Gold Pellets, but they are designed as a stand alone feed. The Aquamax product, is something I do have on hand, but like many things, it can be dangerous if not used carefully and in moderation. The only application where I can see where it could be used with positive results, is when feeding breeders during the breeding season. I am not convinced that the ideal amount of protein when feeding breeders with young is really known. I suspect, that some amount higher then the traditional commercial "breeding mix" has some benefit. I also suspect, that some amount higher then that amount could cause some serious health issues. As you can imagine, just a small amount of 40% protein pellets, when combined with more traditional mixes, can quickly up the total amount of protein. Then again, there are also some items in the fish pellet, besides the protein %, that could contribute to some of the good reports I have heard.

This Aquamax product, has not been the favorite food of my birds. They must be hungry for one thing, and if provided other feed, they will over look the pellets most of the time. That, IMHO might make it a bit problematic, if you want to feed them this product, yet not letting them go hungry while feeding babies.

The concept of a pellet does appeal to me during the breeding season, since some birds will pick at some seeds more then another....and in theory, with a regular seed mix, different pairs could be providing different levels and amounts of nutrients based on what seeds the parents actually consume. And the same would be true if you use a regular seed mix, with these fish pellets. Some of my birds eat them quite freely, while others will consume much less. So, you could have a situation where one pair is getting a much higher % of protein then another. One pair may pretty much ignore the pellets offered freely in the nest box, preferring to wait for the seeds, while another pair gobbles them down. This is what I mean by problematic. At 40% protein, would not take a whole lot of extra pecks at the stuff to alter the total amount of protein consumed. Feeding 100% of the Purina Green would provide more consistant results I would think....but to be honest, I have not really figured out how I might address these issues in 2010.


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## plamenh (Aug 11, 2006)

conditionfreak said:


> Don't know about fish food, but I have recently started giving my birds rabbit pellets to get some greens in them. They ain't taking to it very well and won't eat it unless they are really really hungry..
> 
> We shall see how it works, ..............or not!


Crush them and mix them with the seeds. Rabbit pellets alone are too big and to hard for them to eat.


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## windyflat (Jul 19, 2007)

I like the green and gold pellets but like Warren said they are very expensive and I don't much care for the thought of feeding 100% pellets.
Pigeon droppings from birds on 100% pellets can be impossible to clean in the winter time.
I offer blue seal catfish pellets free choice in the breeder loft from the time the birds are on eggs until the last YB's are weaned.

The last year I had pigeons in the backyard I offered them free choice around the clock to the darkness YB's from the time they were weaned until the body moult was complete and it was'nt difficult to get them flying around the loft after adding a little barley to their mix.
After a week or so they got going pretty good. 
Tom


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