Tired of trying to switch mine to pellets

I've been trying to switch my African Grey (20 yrs. old) from seeds to pellets. It's been 6 months and she still won't eat pellets. Isn't it better to give her a quality seed mix instead of her barely eating? She tends to scream if she doesn't have food she likes. I've tried every method I've read to switch her over and I think she deserves to eat.

Have you tried crushing up the pellets to a powder in a mortar and pestle, then sprinkling it over your bird’s food? I once had a VERY stubborn cockatiel who would almost have preferred to starve to death rather than convert to pellets. I tried every suggestion from my vet, from the interweb and from the pellet manufacturers and she point blank refused to even recognise them as food. Finally I ground them to a powder and incorporated them into her food just to get her accustomed to the taste and voila! Almost overnight she was eating them like she’d done so all her life! Now your grey might be smarter than your average cockatiel (though Twinkie was a pretty smart girl!) and others may have better ideas, but even if it doesn’t work she may inadvertently get some of that nutrition into her without realising?

Add pellets to warm oat meal, or scrambled eggs, after adding a little warm water to them .
Does he eat veggies?

What pellets have you tried?

Well totally different type of bird but despite all these good suggestions and others, my budgies still refuse to consider eating any type of pellet, no matter how presented. Someone on here did suggest a slightly different seed mix, from which they are at least eating more than one kind of of seed (instead of just picking out only the millet, which they were doing before). So a good-quality seed mix, as you mention, is at least one baby step if your birdie, like my budgies, still refuses any pellets.

However. What I do in addition to their seed mix, is give them lots of veggie choices. Many people on the forum do "chop" for their birds. My budgies would refuse that. Instead I clip a variety of veggies around their cage for them to forage. My Sunny gets veggies also. Pieces of Romaine and Broccoli tops are the basics for my budgies -- sometimes I call them Lettuce Piranhas because now and then they will quickly devour the lettuce - and I switch it up so recently they've been getting Endive and Watercress, etc. My Sunny also likes green beans and orange bell peppers, and carrots.

Along with these fresh veggies (I think of it as "birdie salad") clipped around their cages, I also have ordered some freeze-dried veggie & bean mixes from Avian Naturals. That way if I run short on the fresh I still have some kind of veggies handy.

For me, I figure since my budgies stubbornly refuse all attempts at pellets, and I haven't had the heart to increase my Sunny's pellet percentage up to where it should be, at least I can do my best to get them to eat a Variety of healthy foods. (Along with their beloved seeds.) At least that way they're getting Some of the nutrition they should get from pellets. Also by getting lots of variety it is potentially closer to what their natural diet might have been.

So - all this to say - my own appx 1-year experience with my budgies tells me it is indeed possible for birds to absolutely & entirely refuse pellets. But, my stubborn budgies do eat veggies eagerly -- when attached around the cage as chew toys -- and so perhaps your African Gray might do so also?

Watching YouTube.com there was a "Grey" of wingsNpaws that dunked her pellets in water to soften them up. Se re-read the above suggestions, maybe you will see a way to combine some of the. For instance will he eat bread? Make a muffin for him and use the ground pellet mix as a filler". Don't be bashful above using these idea's with your knowledge of your bird. Lots of veggie's of diff kinds is essential. jh

A quality seed mix! Compared to the standard ho hum pellet? Smart bird!

I would say yes, a good quality seed mix that's properly thought out is better than a starved bird!!

My Alexandrine has eaten every type of pellet I've ever put in front of him other than the one I really wanted to feed him last year because it seemed general opinion was it was "the best"! He would not TOUCH it!!! I gave up.

We have to try and do our best for our birds, but there is also a limit and sometimes we can't get them to do what we feel we "should", even when it's for perfectly good reasons!

If you have tried all the advice above and more and have not gotten anywhere you have to just find the best alternative. Don't feel bad about it, you're working with the reality of having a creature in your life that knows it's own mind!

1oldparroter said:

Watching YouTube.com there was a "Grey" of wingsNpaws that dunked her pellets in water to soften them up. Se re-read the above suggestions, maybe you will see a way to combine some of the. For instance will he eat bread? Make a muffin for him and use the ground pellet mix as a filler". Don't be bashful above using these idea's with your knowledge of your bird. Lots of veggie's of diff kinds is essential. jh

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She was on pellets for many years before I gave her seeds. She always used to dunk them in water but she won't even pick them up now. That won't make her like them.

I haven't done that. I'll try it. I'll try almost anything

You might try Harrison's conversion protocol regardless of brand. I followed precisely and switched my flock of 8 within two weeks.

Important consideration is to provide just one type food at a time. Most critical is do not "starve" or coerce a bird into submission.

Speaking of Harrison's...
The Rb has been eating them for over 30 years!
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!
http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/

LaManuka said:

Have you tried crushing up the pellets to a powder in a mortar and pestle, then sprinkling it over your bird’s food? I once had a VERY stubborn cockatiel who would almost have preferred to starve to death rather than convert to pellets. I tried every suggestion from my vet, from the interweb and from the pellet manufacturers and she point blank refused to even recognise them as food. Finally I ground them to a powder and incorporated them into her food just to get her accustomed to the taste and voila! Almost overnight she was eating them like she’d done so all her life! Now your grey might be smarter than your average cockatiel (though Twinkie was a pretty smart girl!) and others may have better ideas, but even if it doesn’t work she may inadvertently get some of that nutrition into her without realising?

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My Grey (Tiko) began eating the pellets today. I kept giving her a small handful regardless of her throwing them out.Case solved. Thank you for your help.

chris-md said:

What pellets have you tried?

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Every brand I could. I even tried Tops and she won't touch them. It's giving me anxiety and stress.

Your bird needs to eat...period. You can try fruit/veg/grains/pellets...but just seeds= not okay...Granted, it's preferable to starvation!

My parrots really like oven baked bites, tgey sell st Pet Smart .

The more the parrot tries new stuff the better tgey will be at trying new stuff. Its making their thinking more fluid.

They way that works for me, and has worked in 2 budgies, 4 quakers, and 2 GGC all of diverse backgrounds. So I'm starting to think its a good system!

First I don't limit their seeds. ( after they are eating everything, months of eating veg, then I do offer seeds only in the afternoon )

I start out feeding seeds by hand , off and on throughout the day. ( even tho seeds are in their dish ) when they always come running to me for the seed, I start to offer new things by hand. At first I choose stuff that most parrots like. Like a tiny crumb size piece if Apple. Then i put the slice in a shallow dish , and let them find it. Oh and I still offer a seed here and there to during all this. Next I might offer a kernel of fresh corn, then put some out. Then maybe a grape. Or a piece of banana, or a pea.. now they are conditioned to come and see what I offer, and are predisposed to think it will be yummy. I start to offer every new veggies this way, and then out it in the dish. They may not eat each new thing from my hand at first, but they all come and check it out and usually will at least beak touch it. O aldo find spreading out parrot foot size chunks in a slow dish on top of the cage helps, tgey can explore it when they want. I never stop giving things by hand a few times a day, it could be a pellet, or. a seed or tiny piece of veggies.

Pretty soon they love to explore and eat all the vegetables i put out.

But you can also puree some cooked vegetables, or just small cut up pieces of cooked add to rice and offer like its human food still warm, or with a little pasta.

I also have little dishes of pellets set out. Once they are do good at trying new things, they seem equally happy to try new pellets, or just gett a hankering for them I guess.

Hope it helps you

I just ground some up and put them in her smashed banana. She ate it. I also sprinkled it on her seeds and saw her eating them. Will this help switch her to pellets?

tikobird said:

I just ground some up and put them in her smashed banana. She ate it. I also sprinkled it on her seeds and saw her eating them. Will this help switch her to pellets?

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Re-reading your thread, realized I mentioned Harrison's pellet conversion tips and forgot to post link! Worked well for my flock of 8 and suited for any brand. So belatedly.... https://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/using-our-foods/large-bird-conversion/

Excellent thread discussing techniques for healthier diet: http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...7-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html

Adding to banana certainly helps, but not sure it will lead to recognition of pellets as source. Long term, your bird needs to recognize pellets as desirable.

I do not see a reason why to convert them onto pellets. Why? Do you have enough good seeds or also grass seeds? I think pellets charges the kidneys.

Ivan.Vanca said:

I do not see a reason why to convert them onto pellets. Why? Do you have enough good seeds or also grass seeds? I think pellets charges the kidneys.

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Seeds vs pellets is a comparison with endless opinion and evidence. Many of us chose pellets as supplement to fresh veggies and fruits. Not all pellets are produced to a high standard, there are many with mediocre ingredients, high in sugars and artificial dyes.