Best timed feeder for African Grey Parrots

An 8-year-old African Grey with specific seed-to-pellet ratios — that's a genuinely tricky brief for an automatic feeder. Most pet feeders are built for dry kibble, which flows freely and predictably. Mixed diets that include seeds and pellets of different shapes and densities are far more prone to jamming, bridging in the hopper, or dispensing wildly inconsistent amounts. The most important things for your situation are portion accuracy, a hopper that handles mixed textures without clumping, and something easy to clean — seeds go rancid quickly and mould is a real health risk for parrots. Can you tell me: are you primarily using this for when you're away overnight or for daily scheduled meals while you're at work? And what's the current ratio — roughly how much of the portion is pellets versus seed mix?

That's really helpful. Two scheduled meals with a pellet-heavy mix and a known history of jamming tells me you need something with a drum or paddle wheel mechanism rather than the auger-screw type — augers are almost always what jams with pellets and seeds together. You also need reliable app or timer scheduling with at least two meal slots, and a hopper that you can actually dismantle and wash properly. What size portions are you dispensing per meal — roughly how many grams or tablespoons? That'll help me make sure the feeder's minimum portion size is fine-grained enough for a parrot rather than a labrador.

That's on the smaller end, which matters — a lot of feeders have minimum portion increments of 10–15ml, and with a mixed pellet and seed diet some of that measurement relies on consistent density. Given everything you've described, the feeder I'd point you to is the Torlam Automatic Pet Feeder (the 4L version available on Amazon UK). It uses a rotating drum mechanism rather than an auger, which handles mixed textures significantly better than most. You can programme up to four meals a day with portion sizes down to single servings, and it has a twin-power setup — mains with battery backup — so a power cut won't mean a missed meal for your Grey. Critically, the hopper and food tray both detach fully for washing, which matters enormously with seeds. It's not marketed as a bird feeder specifically, but the drum mechanism and small portion increments make it one of the better fits for this use case. One thing to do: pre-mix your pellets and seeds in a sealed container before loading so the ratio is consistent in every scoop, rather than loading them separately and hoping the feeder blends them.

Honestly, bird-specific automatic feeders for parrots are a very thin market — most of what's marketed as 'bird feeders' are outdoor garden feeders, not timed indoor dispensers. The few parrot-specific ones that exist are either very expensive aviary systems or cheap plastic units with the same auger jamming problem you've already experienced. The Torlam works well here precisely because the drum mechanism was designed to handle varied kibble shapes, which maps closely onto your pellet-seed mix. The one genuine limitation is that it won't suit very fine seed mixes like millet sprays or anything powdery — but for Harrison's pellets and a standard seed blend, it handles the texture well. I'd keep the hopper no more than half-full to reduce the weight pressure on the drum, and clean it every four to five days given how quickly seeds can turn.

Good luck with it — and keep the first week manual so you can cross-check what the feeder actually dispenses against what you expect. African Greys are sharp enough to notice if portion sizes shift, and it gives you a chance to dial in the settings before you rely on it fully.