Diet Options

Paco has still not really taken to pellets. He still seems overweight too. I have tried a lot of different techniques to give them to him but he is very stubborn. I have also tried 4 different types of pellets. Is there a seed mix that is better designed for amazons? The sad thing is that I have witnessed him eating the zupreem nutblend pellets. He dips them in his water and seems to enjoy them. But that was only on 2 or 3 occasions and he won't touch them now. So that makes me thing that he knows pellets are food. He will eat fresh foods pretty reliably but he will only pick at certain things depending on the day. But he still eats mostly seed. I would like to gradually reduce the seed and increase the fresh foods and hopefully he will start taking an interest in his pellet mix. Can anyone give me some advice? I know I've posted like 3 times on this subject but I really don't want to see Paco get sick over being stubborn and picky with his diet. My goal is to have him eating pellets instead of seed and using the seed as a reward. I still have to get a gram scale but they are hard to find around here.

ETA: I've just been thinking about something. There's a chance that he has been eating the pellets and I just haven't noticed. I filled one of his bowls half way with mixed pellets about 3 weeks ago. I then put seed in with it and it turned into a seed bowl. But when I emptied it today I noticed that one or more shapes of the pellets is missing while others are still there. I didn't notice them missing because I kept topping it off with seed. And his water bowl was dirtier than usual the last few weeks. He does dip the pellets when he eats them. But how can I catch him or get better evidence that he's eating them? And also if he is eating them what is the next step?

I would perhaps start weighing the pellets you feed him once you get a scale. Weigh it prior to feeding and after feeding, and it'll give you an accurate reading as to how much he really is eating. Alternatively, start measuring the exact amounts you feed him. Avery and Shiko get exactly one tsp of Roudybush and one tsp of Harrison's a day, with three tbsp of mash each for breakfast or supper, and then random fresh fruits and veggies through the day (generally morning and night). I monitor their food and if I find they've eaten everything, then they get one more tsp of Roudybush before bed.

I recently bought a small food processor and it is MAGIC. You can chop up pellets, put them in a mash, and see how Paco takes to it. You could also try making your own birdie bread. There's quite a lot of parrots here who don't take well to pellets overall but will eat them in a different form.

There's also a member on here that has a security camera on the cages with a feed that goes directly to their phone. It seems a bit extreme for just monitoring pellets, but that's the most exact way you'd be able to tell.

get the gram scale and start weighing him. They don't cost that much and are pretty easy to find. it sounds like you need to make pellets more available and seeds less available. lots of older threads about converting your parrot to pellets.

Here's a thread that may be helpful for you- it has a bunch of wonderful ideas you could try [emoji4] http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...7-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html

I also second Dinosrawr on running them through a food processor and adding them or dusting other foods you feed with it. I have been doing this with Chili's pellets because she won't touch them otherwise... But! I just ordered some TOPS pellets (Totally Organic Pellets) and hoping she'll actually eat them lol

The issue might be because you are feeding him too much food.


Instead of filling his bowl up and topping it up each time it gets low, only feed him enough food to last one day. That's usually about 10-15% (or up to 20%) of his body weight in *dry* food per day. (keep feeding him as much fresh foods as he'll eat, though!)