what to do about my bird 'cherry picking' her food (she only eats what she likes

this might seem like a strange question, but how can I get my bird to eat more of the stuff from her seed/pellet mixture? She eats all the sunflower seeds and corn and leave the other seeds, pellets, etc. I am not worried about the cost, I am worried about her health suffering. I have the stuff she was being fed when I bought her, but I have a bag of higher quality stuff for when that's done. I hope to rectify this so that when I crack the better stuff, she isn't wasting all of the healthy stuff she needs.

I give her fruits and veggies every day too, and she used to eat it all but now she doesn't. I don't want to just give her the bowl of remnants the next day because I figure it's better for her to eat some of the stuff that should only be a portion than it is for her to eat nothing.

does anyone else deal with this?

I would offer ONLY fresh foods (veggies and fruits) in the morning. That is when your bird will be hungriest and most likely to eat that healthy, fresh stuff if it is the only thing around.

In the afternoon, throw all that away. It's not good any longer -- been sitting out of the fridge for too long.

You could re-offer a new batch of fresh foods now (especially if she is actually eating the good stuff in the morning). If she really isn't eating it, you might want to offer her pellets at this point just to make sure she is getting enough food.

If she is really cherry picking the seeds and leaving the healthy pellets, I would start adding more pellets to the seed mixture (I'm assuming pellets are what you have when you say you have a bag of healthier food?). Every day, add more of the good pellets and less of the unhealthy seeds. Once you've got her weaned off of that, you can reserve seeds as more of a treat.

My guys all get seeds when they go to bed.

You can also try things to make the pellets more appealing if you really can't get her to eat them. Try adding a little bit of 100% fruit juice to moisten the pellets and add flavor. She might even go for it if you just add some water to make them mushy. Birds seem to love mushy foods..

this is the stuff I was given when I bought her

Grreat Choice® Large Bird Food | Food | PetSmart

and this is the stuff that the breeder I boarded her with when I had to go away swears by.

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/HIGGINS-466119-Nederlands-Parrot-25-Pound/dp/B0040B80D4]Amazon.com : HIGGINS 466119 Higg Nederlands Vita Seed Parrot Food, 25-Pound : Pet Food : Pet Supplies[/ame]


I also have these, but she doesn't seem interested in them. I tried putting some in her bowl with some water to soften them but no go


Hagen Tropican Lifetime Parrot Granules by Windy City Parrot

I also have nutri-berries but she won't touch them. I wish she would, as I understand most birds go crazy for them

Yeah, the stuff they gave you looks like it is just chock full of sunflower seeds.

You can try going to the pet store and asking for sample size packets of pellets, and see if she takes a shine to any of them.