Diet change failure, any advice?

Taprock

Member
Oct 22, 2015
279
2
Northern l.p. Michigan
Parrots
Buzz - CAG,
Ziggy - Nanday/Sun Conure,
Jasper - Goffin
Loki - Starling
Gloria - Foster CAG
When we originally got Buzzy he was on an all pellet diet (kaytee exact large parrot). We added some seed, nut and grain mix to his pellets. For a while he picked out seeds then it balanced out. We tried fruits and veggies and he is VERY fussy. He likes radishes, apples and occasionally a carrot. I made him a good birdie bread and he loves that, he also loves pork. Enter Ziggy, we were told he would eat anything but never told what his diet was so we just did the same as Buzz. Ziggy eats less fruit and veggies and doesn't like the birdie bread.

I decided it was time to make a change and bought both fine and coarse Harrisons pellets. Now Buzzy will not eat the pellets and Ziggy eats a few and throws the rest out of his dish. It's been three days now and I've put in a few of the old pellets along with more seeds. Do they sometimes refuse a change in pellets? How long do I continue to try or do I keep trying different brands?
 

JerseyWendy

New member
Jul 20, 2012
20,995
24
Donā€™t give up, please. Sometimes it can truly take MONTHS to completely convert our fids.

Iā€™d offer some of the ā€˜oldā€™ pellets, the one that were readily accepted. And if you can, monitor their weight during the diet change.

Gosh, they can be so ā€¦. Stubborn, canā€™t they?

Hang in there. I wouldnā€™t call it a failure by any means. :)
 

Aquila

New member
Nov 19, 2012
1,225
1
Philadelphia
Parrots
Sydney - Blue Front Amazon
Gonzo - Congo African Grey
Willow - Cockatiel
RIP:
Snowy, Ivy, Kiwi, Ghost - Parakeets
Berry - Cinnamon GCC
This has been my trick, I use a pea sized amount of coconut or palm oil and mix mix mix until all the pellets are shiny. It really doesn't take much at all.

I've had success with both of my greys so far with this, as well as just being persistent about it. I'll offer it first thing in the morning as well, and I'm only using maybe two heaping tablespooons of pellets at a time, so I'm not wasting much if they don't eat it.
 

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