Sun Conure won't eat pellets

Can anyone give me any advice please?

Have tried Harrison's, Tropican and now Totally Organics Pellets.

Erik my two year old Sun Conure will eat the pellets when I hand feed him out of his bowl. When I leave the pellets in his cage he won't eat them. I feed him pellets first thing in the morning, I feed him seed later in the afternoon and fruit and veg all day.

I feed him the pellets in the same bowl as the seed. I've tried mixing the pellets and seed, but he just eats the seed.

Has anyone any ideas how to get him to eat the pellets when he is on his own?

Thanks,

Jane

I can't really offer too much input on that subject but I have seen that people will put pellets into a food processor and then mix them with seeds and add a little bit of water. To make the pellet powder stick to the seeds. I know that's not a direct answer to your question but I hope it helps.

I believe there's a thread started by MonicaMc regarding conversion tips. Look her up under the members list under Community tab, and look through her posted threads. I think it's pretty old, so you may have to look pretty for back. You also may be able to find it (and other posts on the subject) under 'Search'.

I guess I've been lucky with that. Every bird I've ever had (including Budgies) took to pellets right away. A few brands. I've heard that many birds do not. Good luck with Erik!

Have you tried pretending to eat them in front of him? I've gotten a few of my birds to eat pellets that way. Fill a bowl or plate with pellets every morning and have breakfast with your bird. Pick up the pellets, crumble them up in your hands, and make a big fuss about how great they are. Make a lot of noise and act really excited. Offer some to him. Do this everyday until he's eating them full-time on his own. You'll feel ridiculous, but it works.

It also helps to cover pellets in some sort of sweet food you know he likes. If he'll eat sweet potato or applesauce, mix it up with the pellets and serve it to him that way.

I also like to offer two seperate dishes-- one for seed and one for pellets. Keep the pellets in his usual bowl and put the seeds in a dish on the bottom of the cage. Only offer seeds for a short amout of time and make the pellets available to him all day.

one of my parrots has a damaged beak and greatly prefers mashed foods to solids so i make a pellet mash for him. i take his pellets (laffebers) and put them in a dish and pour a little bit of hot water over them (about equal parts water and pellets, slightly more pellets to water, or vice versa depending on how thick you want it to be) and cover the dish with a glass plate for about 10 minutes or until the pellets are soft and mushy. then i mix the softened pellets with fruit and vegetable baby food and other good stuff like a tiny bit of plain oatmeal or chunks of fruit and vegetables. i serve it slightly warm and just plop it in his dish, he absolutely loves it. he eats like such a pig
you can also try making bird bread using ground pellets as flour.
My bird bread recipe:
the measurements and baking time is more of a ball park, i never follow a strict recipe but whatever i make usually falls along these lines
3 jars of baby food of your choice (i like sweet potato, apple, and garden vegetable (peas carrots green beans)
1 1/2 cup chopped vegetables, fruits, greens, sprouts, safe legumes
1 to 2 eggs (depending on how moist or dry the batter is) including the grounded shells
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup of whole wheat flour
1 cup of ground pellets
1/4 a cup of plain oat meal
about 1/4 a cup of water or more depending on how moist or dry the batter is
combine all ingredients and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
good luck to you!

Try a Nutriberry. I don't know one bird that doesn't go hob nob over a Nutriberry.

Thanks for all of your replies. I will try them all, and let you know how it goes.

I have tried eating (just 2or 3!) some of the pellets in front of him in a bowl and made a fuss over how delicious they are. He does eat them when I hand feed him.

Putting some in the food processor and mixing with seed is a good idea and the apple sauce.

The Baby food is a good idea too. I'll definitely try making the bread. Thanks for the recipe.

Erik loves Nutriberries. Could I could feed him them instead of pellets if all else fails?

Thanks again,

Jane

SoCalWendy said:

Try a Nutriberry. I don't know one bird that doesn't go hob nob over a Nutriberry.

Click to expand...

You haven't met my birds .... I'm afraid to try Nutriberries again, because they come in such a large container and aren't cheap. Last time I did that, no one liked them and a whole bag was wasted Also, unless we have large or multiple large birds, the smallest package of Nutriberries is too big unless you feed several every day, which I don't. They DO like a similar looking treat by Kaytee, it comes in a small bag.

RavensGryf said:

SoCalWendy said:

Try a Nutriberry. I don't know one bird that doesn't go hob nob over a Nutriberry.

Click to expand...

You haven't met my birds .... I'm afraid to try Nutriberries again, because they come in such a large container and aren't cheap. Last time I did that, no one liked them and a whole bag was wasted Also, unless we have large or multiple large birds, the smallest package of Nutriberries is too big unless you feed several every day, which I don't. They DO like a similar looking treat by Kaytee, it comes in a small bag.

Click to expand...

Yes, they come in smaller pkgs. The price range is from $7-10 for the smaller pkgs. both my birds love them. I've never fed them exclusively as a food source, except as a treat.

Both my birds eat Harrison's. Only one of the likes TOPS.

RavensGryf said:

I believe there's a thread started by MonicaMc regarding conversion tips. !

Click to expand...

Here's the thread.

http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...7-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html

Thanks for posting a link

Erik has been eating the pellets in his cage by himself. I sat him on my knee with his bowl and he continued to eat his pellets out of his pot. I told him how good he was, and pretended to eat some myself. He started his funny Sun Conure mumbling and danced in celebration to the ABC song! (It's his favourite)

I am going to try the bread mix too.

Thanks for all of your help and advice. We couldn't have done it without you

Norman has been eating the TOP pellets too. Fingers crossed they Keep eating them. I am so happy I have found a pellet they will eat, I was so worried about them eating seed.