Help with pellets!!

Breeze

New member
Dec 27, 2017
138
10
Australia
Parrots
Duckie -( passed ) 1.5yrs Yellow-sided GCC

Eden- 14/8/2017 High-red pineapple conure

Indi- 12/11/2017 White bellied caique

Asher- 15/1/2018 - Black capped conure

Wolfie- 21/10/2017- Alexandrine
Hi all,
I adopted a five month old alexandrine who was on a all seed diet.
He now loves fruit and veg but i just cannot get him to eat pellets. I have been trying for just a little over a month. I have been diving his food into 2 parts seed and 3 part pellets and adding warm water to make the seeds stick to the pellets but he will not touch them. Any advice thanks
 

MonicaMc

Well-known member
Sep 12, 2012
7,960
Media
2
43
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Mitred Conure - Charlie 1994;
Cockatiel - Casey 2001;
Wild Caught ARN - Sylphie 2013
What pellets are you using?


Have you tried making something akin to a "Nutriberry" with the seeds and pellets?
 

GaleriaGila

Well-known member
Parrot of the Month 🏆
May 14, 2016
15,059
8,781
Cleveland area
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The Rickeybird, 38-year-old Patagonian Conure
Here are my thoughts...
Harrison's Bird Foods
I feed Harrison's, supplemented by fresh healthy treats. My first, and later, my current avian vet recommended it. 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 I also like Harrison's via mail because I never have to worry about out-of-date products.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!

Good for you, for reaching out and wanting to make these important changes!
 
Apr 3, 2013
944
23
MD, USA
Agreed with the above technique.
When converting my birds to anything, they get that item early in the morning, and that's all they get all day. Around 6 pm, I will give them a small amount of other stuff to make sure they are eating and getting nutrients.

Has always worked for me.
 

Caitnah

Active member
Mar 24, 2018
267
65
Upstate New York
Parrots
GCC Pineapple
As mentioned above, keep trying and definitely try different brands. Besides fruits/vegs, my Conure would only eat a blend of different items which also included pellets.
He would occasionally eat the pellets.
I then switched him to some Zupremes fruit pellets. He took to them right away, even though I gave these sparingly. I tried Roudybush which was fairly successful.
I then gave him Harrison's pellets and he didn't touch them for a few days. Now, he loves Harrison's and will not eat the blend or the Zupremes...which is okay with me.

So, definitely try a few different brands. My bird store has many brands of pellets which you can buy by the oz., so this makes it financially doable. Not sure you can do this.
 

Scott

Supporting Member
Aug 21, 2010
32,673
9,792
San Diego, California USA, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy
Parrots
Goffins: Gabby, Abby, Squeaky, Peanut, Popcorn / Citron: Alice / Eclectus: Angel /Timneh Grey: ET / Blue Fronted Amazon: Gonzo /

RIP Gandalf and Big Bird, you are missed.
The Harrison's site quoted posted above gives guidance for conversion. Separate techniques for small and large birds. I used the advice precisely when transitioning my flock about 2 months ago, and it worked well.
 

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