Conversion complete!

Following the Michigan sanctuary die-off earlier this year, I vowed to convert my fids to a healthier diet. While I ultimately consider Zupreem Fruit Blend safe, it seemed a serendipitous time. The dry component of their diet was this and a small quantity of mixed seed. Fresh veggies and fruits given 5 times/week.

I began the conversion process using Harrison's High Potency Course exactly as advised per their website. The neutral colored squares were not universally appreciated as the floor was quickly covered with the crunchies! My last holdout, Gabby, finally began to eat and seems to enjoy. Took about 3 weeks!

An observation and question? High-Potency's first ingredient is sunflower, something I had avoided for years. Harrison's advises my species should start with High Potency, and after 6 months cockatoos and amazons (my flock) optionally convert to Adult Lifetime.

For those with converted birds > 6 months, what is your technique? Wondering if best to mix equal parts High Potency and corn-based Lifetime for the long haul??

Scott,

Nike has been on High potency Coarse for 3 months now and I think she looks better than she ever did. If she still looks this way in 6 months I'm not going to switch to maintenance.

As you know I also give Nike the Harrisons Power Treats (3-4 pellets a day) and that has Red Palm Oil in it. Between the new diet and the red palm oil her feathers look great.

If it aint broke....

Thanks Bill! True, if they acclimate well, no point messing with success!

Nice work Scott I wish we had successfully made the switch. I’m thinking it’s like smoking might take Timneh and I coupl tried to quit. Lol.

Billdore said:

Nice work Scott I wish we had successfully made the switch. I’m thinking it’s like smoking might take Timneh and I coupl tried to quit. Lol.

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You can always try again... and again! Conversion is not easy, and Greys can be terribly stubborn. Definitely worth the switch!!

Gus converted to High Potency Coarse, but he didn't love it. I found out he had eaten the Adult Lifetime Pepper Coarse, and bought some as a trial. He wolfed it down like it was Thin Mints. He gets the Power Treats too and seems to think they really are treats. Got lucky there.

Kentuckienne said:

Gus converted to High Potency Coarse, but he didn't love it. I found out he had eaten the Adult Lifetime Pepper Coarse, and bought some as a trial. He wolfed it down like it was Thin Mints. He gets the Power Treats too and seems to think they really are treats. Got lucky there.

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They now all seem to enjoy the High Potency, but will branch out to some treats and also try the Pepper.

Here's my usual spiel.
Harrison's Bird Foods
I feed Harrison's, supplemented by fresh healthy treats. My first, and later, my current avian vet recommended it.
A little story... 30 years ago or so, when Harrison's was a little company, my avian vet actually called Dr. Harrison to discuss whether regular or high potency was best, and the recommendation was for High.
My bird loves the pellets now, but to get him converted, my avian vet suggested putting pellets out all day, and putting seeds (his old diet) out for two 15-minute periods a day. That would sustain him but leave him hungry enough to try new stuff. I presume the same technique could be used to get him to eat other healthy stuff, like fruits and vegetables! My guy was eating pellets in a couple of days, and now I can feed a good variety of other stuff, knowing he has the pellets as a basic. Pellets are out all day... fresh treats a few times a day. I also like Harrison's via mail because I never have to worry about out-of-date products.
Another couple of ideas...
My ol' man is an athlete and health nut. He actually EATS all the good stuff, so it's always around. I find that tossing various stuff into the food bowls at random is good... the variations and differences seem to stimulate curiosity and attention.
The other idea... if you can stand it (lol) EAT the stuff in front of the birds, yes. That encourages them. I have also found that if my ol' man eats stuff in front of the bird, the bird WANTS it for himself. Kinda a rivalry thing!

I started my Alexandrine on High Potency and at about 10 months I bought the Adult Lifetime (or whatever it's called) I just swapped them completely and he never noticed. I generally mix them now. He currently is on 50/50 HP and Adult, but I don't worry too much and sometimes he is on all one or the other. I've actually done a bit of a diet overhaul in the last 4 days and I'm giving him a better mix of veg, a tiny bit of fruit and something like chickpeas and/or quinoa daily. I put pellets in in the evening. He's not that happy with the lack of pellet access, but I felt I was relying on them too much and had got into the habit of giving the same fresh stuff and it was mainly fruit because he enjoys the sweetness... sorry...I got sidetracked...Don't think I've tried him with the pepper ones yet, but there's a bird show this weekend and I'm going to see what's there.

Popcorn showing his beak full of approval!

Perjo started out with Roudybush, the breeder said get her used to something else in case there is a formula change with what she likes now. I started mixing in Tops Pellets a little more each week. I could tell she seemed to like them more than she did Roudybush. Now she will eat either with no problem if I only have one to offer her. Probably only took 2 mos.