A single-grain feed can get monotonous fast for a bird that would naturally forage across dozens of plant species in the wild, which is the case for a mix with genuine variety in it rather than one or two dominant seeds padded out with filler.

Bucktons build this from yellow millet, whole oats, canary seed, naked oats, red millet, dark stripe sunflower seeds, buckwheat, panicum millet, safflower seed, japanese millet, linseed, hempseed, nyjer seed and oil — fourteen ingredients rather than the three or four seen in some simpler mixes. Bucktons say the range of ingredients is there for interest and stimulation as much as nutrition.

• Fourteen-ingredient seed mix for interest and stimulation
• Yellow millet, whole oats, canary seed, naked oats, red millet, dark stripe sunflower seeds, buckwheat, panicum millet, safflower seed, japanese millet, linseed, hempseed, nyjer seed and oil
• Suitable for small parakeets such as Bourke's, cockatiels and lovebirds
• 20KG sack

One thing worth knowing. No protein or fat analysis is published for this mix on the card, so beyond the ingredient list itself there's no figure here to compare it against a rival blend on paper.

Who it's for: owners of small parakeets, cockatiels or lovebirds who want a genuinely varied mix rather than a simple two or three grain blend.