Snell's 77 Softfood Base for Budgies

Developed in collaboration with World Champion Exhibition Budgerigar Breeder Chris Snell, Snell’s 77 Softfood Base is a premium soft food blend created specifically for dedicated budgerigar breeders looking to build their own fresh feeding programme around a proven nutritional foundation. 

Combining a selection of Haith’s most trusted soft foods with carefully chosen ingredients including blue mawseed, niger seed, linseed, hempseed, micronised soya, dried whole egg, and Robin Red®, Snell’s 77 provides a rich and versatile base upon which breeders can create their own unique soft food mix.

Enhanced with rapeseed oil and aromatic aniseed oil, the blend has an attractive aroma and texture that birds readily accept.

Chris often describes the soft food base as the foundation of a house. If the foundation is right, everything built upon it becomes stronger. That’s why Snell’s 77 has been designed to provide breeders with a dependable, high-quality base before any fresh ingredients are added.

How Chris Prepares Snell’s 77

Chris begins by squeezing the juice from a fresh orange directly into the Snell’s 77 Softfood Base. The squeezed orange halves are then placed in the aviary, where the birds enjoy chewing and exploring them.

He then prepares a selection of fresh fruits and vegetables, typically led by organic carrots, whilst also using ingredients such as spinach, apples, broccoli, curly kale, celery, mint, dried chickweed, kiwi fruit, strawberries, and raspberries, according to the season and the needs of his birds.

The fruits and vegetables are roughly chopped before being placed into a blender and processed into a fresh, nutritious mix. This fresh blend is then gently folded into Snell’s 77 Softfood Base.

The aim is to achieve a slightly damp consistency rather than a wet mixture. The soft food base absorbs the natural juices from the fruits and vegetables, creating an attractive texture that birds readily consume. If the mixture becomes too wet, birds are often less inclined to eat it.

Every breeder will develop their own approach, but Snell’s 77 provides the foundation upon which that feeding programme is built.

Flexible and Personal

One of the strengths of Snell’s 77 Softfood Base is that no two breeders will necessarily prepare it in exactly the same way.

Some breeders may choose a simple combination of fresh orange juice, organic carrots, spinach and apple. Others may create more elaborate seasonal mixes using a wider range of fruits, vegetables and greens. The soft food base remains constant, while the breeder adds their own finishing touches.

This flexibility allows breeders to adapt the mix according to the season, the breeding cycle and the individual needs of their birds.

Feeding Guide

During the breeding season, Chris feeds his prepared soft food daily.

Outside the breeding season, it is typically offered once per week as part of a varied feeding programme.

If more food is prepared than required, the mixture can be frozen in portions for future use.

Watch Chris in Action - watch the video. 

Watch Chris prepare Snell’s 77 Softfood Base for his own stud of more than 300 exhibition budgerigars.

In the video, Chris takes you through his complete preparation method, from squeezing fresh oranges and preparing vegetables to blending ingredients and achieving the ideal consistency. It’s a valuable opportunity to learn directly from one of the world’s most successful exhibition budgerigar breeders and see how he prepares soft food throughout the breeding season.

Designed for Serious Breeders

Snell’s 77 Softfood Base has been developed primarily for dedicated budgerigar breeders and larger breeding setups, particularly aviaries operating five or more breeding cages.

Built upon decades of experience and refined by one of the sport’s most respected breeders, Snell’s 77 offers a practical and proven starting point for breeders wishing to create their own fresh soft food programme.

Key Features

• Developed in collaboration with World Champion Exhibition Budgerigar Breeder Chris Snell.
• Premium blend of selected Haith’s soft foods.
• Contains blue mawseed, niger seed, linseed, hempseed, micronised soya and dried whole egg.
• Enhanced with Robin Red®, rapeseed oil and aromatic aniseed oil.
• Designed as a versatile base for personalised feeding programmes.
• Perfect for combining with fresh fruit, vegetables and greens.
• Ideal for breeding, rearing and conditioning.
• Supported by a step-by-step preparation video featuring Chris Snell.
• Used as part of the feeding programme for a stud of more than 300 exhibition budgerigars.
• Suitable for breeders operating multiple breeding cages and larger aviaries.

 Built by Experience. Prepared Your Way.