When your parrot does you proud

I thought I would share my story about introducing pellets to my African Brown Headed Parrot, Hugo. I had to take him to the vet as he got the sniffles. The vet is really good with parrots and had good advice and she knew what she was doing - she had passion for parrots. She explained that Hugo needed to be on pellets which I had learnt about on this forum only last week. I had always been told to feed parrots a seed mix but Antionette had advised me about the pellets and even sent a pic - lol, thanks dol!!! Anyways, the vet explained how hard it can be to change a parrot from one specific food to the other. She told me to try feeding by hand, mixing with the other food etc. She painted a pretty challeging task which I was grateful for because I probably would of ended up getting stressed if he had rejected it.

I got him home and after he had settled I fed him a pellet from my hand - he gobbled it up and wanted another one. I was surprise as he had been eating the seed mix for over a year. I then decided to put a bowl of it in the cage next to his seed mix. LOL He gobbled that up and left the mix. He has never looked back - proud of you boy!!!! I swear he had a look of mischief in his eyes because he totally surprised me. Clever boy!!!

Great to hear, congrats.

Thanks Auggie's Dad

You are lucky that Hugo took so fast to the pellets. What kind are they? It took me about 2 weeks to make the changeover. Now I ask why do the breeders even start them on seed?? Kind of like giving your baby gerber french fries and hamburgers. I also make a much of cornbread and baby food vegies and a small bit of flax seed oil in the mush for the pm meal. Rosie loves it, especially the peas and carrots.

Im in South Africa so not sure that the brands are the same - the pellets are called Avi-Plus Maintenance and are a sandy colour. I couldnt believe my eyes as I expected him to spit them out, I still have the old food in another bowl in case but on regular occasions I saw him eating the pellets. The baby food sounds like a very good idea - havent heard of flax seed oil, will go in search of it, how much do I put in. I give Hugo his veggies in a bowl and fruit on a kebab and then his pellets and seeds in other bowls. I dont change the food until the evening - please forgive me but Im still learning. Is there a better way to add variety, you speak about pm feed. Do you give different food at each meal?

I do like to give a variety because their nutritional needs are so specific. Do you have baby foods in SA? I do that because Rosie seems to play with most of the organic vegies I offer her except for the kale which you must be careful not to give too much of because of the calcium levels needed from the organge/yellow vegies. That is why I give them in a mush form in the cornbread. The flax seed or hemp oil is just a few drops about 2 X per week for feather health. The pellets are so good for them you just need to offer the fresh food. I go the extra step because my bird loves for me to hand feed her. And, I love it too. She still coos when I feed her that way. If you have a health food store in SA you might find the oils. Don't forget that sprouts and so good for them and you. You can get sprouting seeds in many places on the internet and sprout them yourself. Are the African birds in SA wild cought or from a breeder?

Hi Spiritbird, We do have baby food which is like a mush. Um, cornbread - like bread? Sorry if Im being dumb - lol. Organic veggies are still a very new thing here and very expensive. I feed Hugo cooked veg, should I rather give him raw veggies? Are there any sprouts that are not good for them? We do have numorous breeders across the country but being Africa there are many caught for breeding out of the Congo as well as within South Africa, Mozimbique, Tanzania etc. Getting them across African borders is easy and can be very cheap. Not sure if you read my thread: Permits - Do we have a right? Im beginning to wonder if there ever was a breeder who raised Hugo. I dont have any proof and just want my permit!!! There is alot of underground selling happening I have never heard of anyone receiving a pet parrot who was caught out of the wild but Im guessing no-one would tell them if it was. I can say that there are many pet parrots who are the first generation in captivity as there are streams of wild birds being caught every year. We do have many established reliable people who are involved with breeding and uphold the law - My heart just goes out to the parrots in the African Countries who are wild and there are civil wars going on.

I followed the mess in Rowanda because I also love the mountain Gorillas. Dianne Fossey was a hero. I do not have much knowledge of the African bird trade except to say we pay high prices for them here. Nice chatting with you and Mishka's mom too. I am sure your bird will be healthy because you care.

Thanks, Spiritbird. Shot for the advise about the feeding, will go and check out the sprouts and baby food - sure Hugo will love them.