Parrot just eats SUNFLOWERS!!

Hi!
Coming back with Mambo, my new Blue fronted Amazon. Today I saw that he only eats sunflowers. He its fruits in the morning and vegetables but he has a bowl with the food he had in the shop mixed with pellets (I'm trying to convert him bit by bit). So right now I just realised that he didn't have anymore sunflowers and he was in the bottom of his cage searching for others.
Is this normal? Do you have any idea of what could I do?? I felt bad for him so I've put him a little more..
Thanks!

Sunflower seeds are like candy for birds. Okay for an occasional treat or training aid, but should not be given on a regular basis. If he's eating fruit and veg, then just offer pellets after noon. What kind of pellets? My Conure likes Harrison's best or Zupreem. We've tried them all. Get some Nutriberries and put one or two of them with the pellets to get him started. Nutriberries are half seed, half pellet. Don't despair, he'll eat when he's hungry, but get him off the sunflower seeds as soon as you can.

Mambo is a beauty, by the way, and I just love his name.

lplummer52 said:

Sunflower seeds are like candy for birds. Okay for an occasional treat or training aid, but should not be given on a regular basis. If he's eating fruit and veg, then just offer pellets after noon. What kind of pellets? My Conure likes Harrison's best or Zupreem. We've tried them all. Get some Nutriberries and put one or two of them with the pellets to get him started. Nutriberries are half seed, half pellet. Don't despair, he'll eat when he's hungry, but get him off the sunflower seeds as soon as you can.

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Perfect then! For this 3 days I’ve been doing 50% seeds 50% pellets. Should I continue removing seeds slowly like this? Or should I just do it in once??
His pellets are zupreem I couldn’t find Harrison’s by here and I don’t really like that brand, they don’t really make good food for dogs ( it looks like yes but it’s not ) so I thought that for birds would be the same..

And I’m using already sunflowers as treat too, he loves them so much that even if he eats them the whole day he continues eating them[emoji23][emoji23]

And thanks!! Yes I agree he’s really “handsome”! And he was actually going to be called Jazz but I don’t know how I thought that mambo would go better with his colours.



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Regardless of pellet, the advice given by Harrison's for conversion is helpful. I followed the instructions exactly as given and successfully converted all 8 of my birds to pellets, no seeds, in 2 weeks. (the other part of their diet is fresh vegetables and fruits) Diet Conversion: Medium to Large Bird | Harrison's Bird Foods

What Scott said!
I used a version of the changeover method. 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.

As part of the Amazon Forum is a sticky Thread (Highlighted in light blue) with a Title: I Love Amazon's, ... Within this vast Thread is a Segment on diet for an Amazon! This will give you a target for providing an Amazon with a well balanced wide spectrum diet.

Understanding that Amazon are prone to Fatty Liver issues and it is commonly based on to much Protein is their diet. Sunflower seed is a major contributor as is Peanuts. As you move an Amazon from a Near all Sunflower seed diet is is important to provide a wide spectrum diet base as the target. The Why is very important to understand as variation in their Blood Testing can show that they may need to have different additives in their diet. The wide spectrum base of the diet can be adjusted.

Note: Some pellets can provide too much protein. Amazons are a very hardy Parrot. But can quickly be effected by diets that are high in protein.

I give mixes that don't contain them.

I’m here to make an update.
Mambo now that he doesn’t get seeds the whole day, he prefers to go on the floor of his cage and search between all the seeds he throws, than eating the pellets.
He even breaks his perches I don’t know if to eat them or to do what.
Did you all have this problem too??


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Perhaps you can feed the sunflower seeds only as a treat, keeping them out of the cage?

Scott said:

Perhaps you can feed the sunflower seeds only as a treat, keeping them out of the cage?

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It is what I do, but when I put him in the cage he doesn’t eat anything.
He eats the fruits and veggies in the morning. Then he doesn’t eat ANYTHING until I put him the seeds for 15 min.
He just breaks the woods :/


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I'm going to guess that you switch from one fully on sunflower seed to pellets in one day. Consider a transition over a couple of months with the volume transitioning over that time period.

SailBoat said:

I'm going to guess that you switch from one fully on sunflower seed to pellets in one day. Consider a transition over a couple of months with the volume transitioning over that time period.

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Okay. So you think I should continue doing how I do? Always pellets and 3-4 times a day seeds for 15 min? Or would you suggest another way of doing it?


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This is the food he was eating before I got him. And it is what I’m trying him to stop eating.. as you see it’s full of sunflowers and MOREOVER he chooses them!!! He leaves the other food and he almost only eats sunflowers..
If I remember well, there’s also some baby food mixed.
I thought that adding a picture could help [emoji4]




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That is a good base. Start with that as is. Each day, remove more sunflower seed from the offering over the next days, weeks and months, until the number of Sunflower seeds reduces to zero. At that point it is only provided as a treat.

During that period, the other seed, grains nuts and other bits are sampled by your Amazon. Surprise your Amazon will begin adding the other items to the daily diet.

Never starve an Amazon! It will introduce behaviors that become very difficult to reverse.

Yes, you will be feeding the outside birds for at least three to five months.

Scott said:

Perhaps you can feed the sunflower seeds only as a treat, keeping them out of the cage?

Click to expand...

Its what I try to do but he will not eat.. He doesn't eat at all if there are no sunflowers

noodles123 said:

I give mixes that don't contain them.

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Best advice that can be given about diet!!!

I have always fed a main staple of a Natural pellet AND supplement the pellets as the main staple with a healthy, low-fat, varied Seed-Mix that contains no sunflower seeds at all of any kind (regular, black-oil, etc.), as well as no nuts of any kind. Bird's bodies, specifically their GI Tracts, are designed to eat seeds and grains daily, so feeding them a small amount of a healthy, low-fat seed-mix every day is good for not only their physical health, but also their mental health. Pellets are healthy for them, yes, because they provide the perfect amount of all nutrition they need daily...However, pellets do not exist in nature, and as such, bird's bodies nor their minds are not meant to be eating them and them alone. They need to eat seeds, grains, legumes, etc. to keep their GI Tracts (gizzards specifically) healthy, and keep their innate need/want to eat these pulses satisfied. The key, as Noodles wisely mentioned, is to ONLY provide captive birds with a healthy, low-fat mix of seeds, grains, legumes, etc.

Sunflower seeds, any type of sunflower seeds, as there are many, the common ones in parrot seed-mixes are the regular black and white striped ones and then the black oil ones, provide them a lot of protein, they aren't without their good properties. However, they are extremely high in fat, and the number one reason that captive birds develop early Fatty Liver Disease and die long before their expected lifespan is due to them eating fatty seeds and nuts every day. They aren't wild birds, so they don't have the same protein, fat, carb, etc. needs as wild birds who fly an average of 10-20 miles every day do.

There are plenty of very healthy, low-fat seed-mixes out their that contain no sunflower seeds or other extremely fatty "junk" seeds, no peanuts or any other nuts, as well as NO CORN, but do contain a healthy, low-fat mix of seeds, grains, legumes, dried veggies and fruits, etc. Some of the more common brands/mixes include Tropimix (which also contains Tropican pellets in it), Higgins VitaPrima mixes without sunflower seeds (their VitaPrima California Blend is excellent), Sunseed VitaSeed without sunflower seeds, among many others, It's all about reading the ingredients...If you look at a seed-mix and it contains ANY types of Sunflower Seeds, Nuts, or Corn, DO NOT BUY IT!!!

****If you don't give it to your bird, they can't eat it!!!****

****A great way of looking at this seed-mix thing is like this:

-Cheap, junky seed mixes (as well as a lot of expensive seed-mixes) contain Sunflower Seeds, Safflower Seeds, Sesame Seeds, Peanuts, and Corn...

-The types of OILS THAT WE COOK WITH/FRY OUR FOODS IN INCLUDE Sunflower Oil, Safflower Oil, Sesame Oil, Peanut Oil, and Corn Oil...

-Oils = Fat, and Fat is stored in the bird's liver...

****Fat stored in your bird's Liver = Fatty Liver Disease!!!