switching food

I got my cockatiel a couple months ago from a "breeder" who thought she knew EVERYTHING about birds and since joining this parrot forum I've come to find out she was giving me THE WORST advice ever!

Anywhoooo ... she had Opi on a purely seed diet for two years, with unlimited access to sunflower seeds. I've gotten him weaned down to a few sunflower seeds per day (he used to SCREAM bloody murder if he didn't have sunflower seeds in his dish). However, he still refuses the pellets I offer him that I mix with the seed based food she gave me. I've been trying to wean him over to pellets, but it's just not happening. I know that with a dog, "they'll eat when they're hungry" applies, like with my 3 year old and dinner hold-outs. However, I wasn't sure if this applies appropriately to birds. I know with cats, if they don't get the proper food amount daily, it can cause problems with their organs, so you can't just hold tough and wait for them to eat. I wasn't sure if they same applies to my cockatiel??

Suggestions? Thoughts?

Thanks!!

Does he eat any fresh veggys or fruit yet? If he does you can take the seeds away and offer the pellets. with my amazon when i got her she was eatting sun flower seeds and peanuts only after she started the fresh food i took the bad stuff away. She had one day she hated me but by 4pm she was eatting the pellets like she had been eating them her whole life.

I have the same problem with my budgies. Try adding a certain amount of pellets per day. Increase it weekly! maybe that will work. Good luck!!

melinda said:

Does he eat any fresh veggys or fruit yet? If he does you can take the seeds away and offer the pellets. with my amazon when i got her she was eatting sun flower seeds and peanuts only after she started the fresh food i took the bad stuff away. She had one day she hated me but by 4pm she was eatting the pellets like she had been eating them her whole life.

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Opi acts like anything I put in his cage is going to kill him. It's bizarre. He will pick at broccoli, but nothing else.

Are you currently mixing pellets with his seed?

If so, how long have you been doing this? For some parrots they take a bit to accept a new food item, but once they get used to seeing it, they'll sample it. Then a couple days after sampling (perhaps they're waiting to see if they get sick from it) they'll suddenly start eating it.

Auggie's Dad said:

Are you currently mixing pellets with his seed?

If so, how long have you been doing this? For some parrots they take a bit to accept a new food item, but once they get used to seeing it, they'll sample it. Then a couple days after sampling (perhaps they're waiting to see if they get sick from it) they'll suddenly start eating it.

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I mix it all in one dish. Started offering pellets 3 weeks ago.