Why Senegalese Millet is a Game-Changer for My Parakeets - And What I've Learned Along the Way

I've got to say, the old saying that pets resemble their owners is spot on for my little family. I'm a total fast food junkie - give me a Big Mac and some crispy fries any day, and don't even get me started on how hard it is to stick to a healthy diet (sigh); my cats are picky eaters, they turn their noses up at Royal Canin and go for those stinky Felix jelly treats instead, and my cockatiels... they're a bit of an odd bunch, they prefer their Senegalese millet to all that healthy stuff like oats, fruits, and veggies. I mean, it's basically fast food for birds - you've got to cook or soak the oats, peel the apples, remove the citrus peel, and wash and dry the greens. But this millet is ready to go. But is it any good for my feathered friends?

Senegalese Millet from Rio

senegalese millet for birds, benefits and drawbacks

You can find Senegalese millet at any pet store, I think. It won't get lost among all the honey sticks and regular birdseed, you'll spot it easily. I picked it up online at [link] (offline store) in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast - shameless plug for my hometown, I know).

Price: 99 rubles (used to be more expensive, actually).

Volume: 100 g.

I'm one of those people who gets frustrated with Haski owners who lock their dogs in the house and don't let them run for 4-5 hours a day - that's just not right for the breed. I've always called those owners irresponsible, but I've repeated their mistake myself. Back in the 90s, Cockatiels were all the rage, and it seemed like every other family had one. Now, I think they're making a comeback, thanks to internet memes and social media groups (just like the cat community, there are now big groups dedicated to Cockatiels and Corellas). Honestly, I got swept up in the craze. I thought it would be great to have birds at home. I mean, they're just little Cockatiels - what do they need? I gave them oats and just let them be, and I'd take pictures and enjoy the show. When I first got them, I don't even remember what food I bought. I mean, it was some kind of birdseed, and who cares? It's just birds. I figured I could just give them some bread with seeds and call it a day. But then I saw this Sengalese Parrot Grass, and I thought it would be a great treat for them.

Sengalese Parrot Grass review Sengalese Parrot Grass from Rio (which, by the way, is the main diet recommended by ornithologists) comes in a package with these cute parrots and finches on the label. You can't miss it.

Senegalese millet Rio, reviewWhat's the deal with Senegalese millet, and what's the benefit? The packaging has all the details on the back, so I won't add anything else here.

Senegalese millet Rio, reviewCheck this out: the new packaging of Senegalese millet, and the mess of grain bits already falling out. It's super dusty, but you can get the millet stalks out without losing all the grain bits. There are tons of grain bits on the stalks, though. The problem is, opening the packaging isn't super convenient - you'll inevitably spill some grain on yourself and the floor (or that's just my luck!).

Senegalese millet for parakeets, benefits and drawbacksLooking at the main photo of this review, you'll see a long braid of Senegalese millet. When I feed my parakeets, I usually cut off about as much as you see in the photo below:

Senegalese millet for parakeets, benefits and drawbacksDon't freak out - this isn't the daily millet ration! I'll get into that later.

Senegalese millet Rio, how to storeHow and where to store Senegalese millet for parakeets? I store the 'cut ends' of the Senegalese millet in a jar with a tightly sealing lid. It wasn't always this way, but I learned to do it after realizing the importance of proper storage. I used to store it in the same bag I bought it in, but that's not ideal.

Senegalese millet Rio, reviewThe millet spike is a solid, dry stem with flower clusters that resemble small balls with fuzzy seeds. The husk is soft and transparent and comes off easily. Everything is very dry and ready to crumble in your fingers. I've been buying food from Rio for a while now, including Senegalese millet in spike form, and I've never found any moldy seeds, rot, or foreign particles. Maybe that's why experts recommend this brand.

Lolo wants it, but's too scared to eat Rio Senegalese milletHow do parakeets eat Rio Senegalese millet? From the get-go, when we first started sprinkling small millet stalks into their cage, we realized that Senegalese millet was a huge hit with our parakeets (at the time, it was just the two of them - Lolo the blue one and Pepé the green one). They wouldn't leave it alone until the stalk was completely gone. They ate it clean! They even got a little aggressive over it (in a totally non-serious way), chasing each other off. And we were just thrilled! Our little birds have a great appetite - we need to give them more! So we did.

Why the term 'millet mush'? We started calling Senegalese millet 'millet mush' almost immediately after seeing all the funny posts online where people referred to it as such. Now, it's just what we call it. 'Did you give them millet mush?' 'I bought millet mush!' 'Check out how they went crazy over the millet mush!' (this is just real-life parakeet stuff).

Lolo and Luna chomping on Rio Senegalese milletFast forward to today, and we've got four parakeets: two boys and two girls - Luna (a sky-blue beauty) and little white Juno. And guess what? Every single one of them loves chomping down on millet mush for all it's worth. Big thanks to a super helpful author - b2ty - who suggested a fantastic resource on parakeet care, and now I know that Senegalese millet shouldn't be a main staple in their diet and should be given in moderation!

Parakeets munching on Rio Senegalese milletHow much Senegalese millet should I give my parakeet per day?

Ornithologists recommend no more than 1-2 millet balls per day.

I'm not gonna lie, my partner and I have been feeding them around five times that amount almost daily, and so far, so good! We've yet to encounter any negative consequences like vomiting, impacted crop, or poor droppings. Our little parakeets haven't turned into fatballs either. The thing is, Senegalese millet is a heavy food that can negatively impact the liver (just like how the most delicious foods are bad for our livers!).

What's good about Senegalese millet? For one, parakeets can't get enough of it! They'll eat it even when they're stressed, even when they're a bit picky, even when they've just eaten, or even when they've just gone through a rough handling session (like when we're treating them for mites). They'll always go back for more. Always.

Parakeets munching on Rio Senegalese milletOur female parakeets have been with us for less than a month, but the males have been around since December. None of them have been tamed to the hand yet, but we're planning to use Senegalese millet as one of our methods to tame them.

Ruffled parrots munching on Rio Senegalese milletThis is the only treat that all our parrots are eager to eat from our hands.

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Ruffled parrots munching on Rio Senegalese milletThis little girl is currently in quarantine, she's already a bit of a wallflower, and now she's sick, isolated from her flock, and limited in her flying, but she still can't resist the millet from our hands. I like that. My hand cramps up from holding it for her.

Juno the parrot munching on Rio Senegalese milletAnd then there's Pepé, our bravest parrot (he's willing to try new foods from our hands and even a finger on his beak) - he actually jumped onto the feeder where I'd placed the Rio Senegalese millet. Unfortunately, that's as adventurous as we're getting for now. We'll have to catch up on lost time.

Pepé eating Rio Senegalese milletThere's always plenty of grains left over in the packaging - you can simply pour it into the feeder as part of their regular diet, or use it strategically...

Sudanese millet for parrots: the benefits and drawbacks...trying to lure parrots to a food that's not exactly their favorite, but is actually good for them. For instance, sprinkling millet over oatmeal - that's what the experts and experienced bird owners recommend. In our case, it's not going too smoothly so far - they mostly eat the millet and leave the oatmeal, only occasionally picking up a few grains. But we're hopeful that things will get better)

Sudanese millet reviewThe downsides of Sudanese millet, apart from its high fat content that needs to be given in moderation, are pretty obvious - the mess. There's a lot of waste from the hulls, but owners of African greys won't be put off by that. All the grain has a hull, and birds love to scratch at their food, anyway. Plus, they poop around 30-50 times a day - and that's completely normal. No amount of mess can outweigh the joy of watching these little feathered characters.

By the way, here's a video of our little beauties in action. Just don't go tapping on the glass: the cage is a mess, for two reasons - a) the video was taken before the big clean, and b) four birds, folks!)

I've found that the Senegalese millet from RIO is more than enough for my four birds, even with the recommended serving size of 100g per pack. It's amazing value for money, and the birds just love it when I bring out the millet. Some of them even get excited and try to fly down to my hands, but then they remember where they are and fly back to their cage.

I have to admit, I was pretty clueless about birds and their care when I first started, and I was basically winging it. I didn't know what was good for them and what wasn't, and I was giving them millet almost daily in huge quantities. But, as I've learned, birds are like kids - they'll eat just about anything that looks tasty, without knowing what's good for them. It turns out that Senegalese millet is a great supplement during molting season and for young birds, according to what I've read. And, of course, it's a great tool for taming birds. Now that it's summer, we're trying to give them more leafy greens and fruits, but they still love their millet, and we use the oil as a treat after mite treatment - we want them to see us as friends, not enemies.

As for the Senegalese millet itself, I don't have any complaints. I'm not sure if RIO is to blame for the fact that it's a bit dusty and messy, or if it's just the nature of the product. Either way, it's a great value for the price, and it's recommended by experts. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a good millet supplement, and I'm happy to have it in my birds' diet.