Should I be switching them over to pellets? How?

[itzjbean]

Edit: I contacted hem and they said they only ship to the States. :/

Shoot!! Hopefully they will expand their market in the coming years, it is a relatively new company so maybe not in their means now but maybe in time they will expand to include Canada. With the money I shell out every month to them I think they will only keep growing...

 

[NightEule5]

They did say they're going to at some point, but for now they only ship to the US. If they're a newer company than that makes sense.

But it really doesn't matter too much, as I'll most likely be moving to the US in the near future anyway.

 

[NightEule5]

So, I got the pellets today. It took a while, but we finally went to town today. I bought the ZuPreem FruitBlend because I figured I'd start them on that and work towards Natural. I think I'll put some in their to see what they think. I'll definitely be taking your advice!

Edit: I put some in their food dishes and they're both curious about it. I don't know if they're eating it though. I guess we'll see. Maybe I'll try crushing them up tomorrow.

 

[NightEule5]

An update: As they didn't crush very well, I opted for the paste method. That didn't work completely either, but it worked better than powdering them up. I sprinkled some seeds into it and put it into their cages.

One of them went right for it (he was hungry) only to find that it wasn't the seeds he was used to. He looked at it for a bit from all angles, and decided to try it. He tried to pick the seeds out and got a taste of pellets, and I guess he's decided they're gross. So he perched on the food dish in the usual way (butt facing it, in protest I'd imagine) and looked at me. The other one hasn't realized there's food there or isn't hungry yet, but we'll see. I'll just keep doing this paste stuff until they eat it I guess.

 

[Scott]

Sorry I just found this thread!

Buddy, you don't know what you don't know! Birds do not come with an instruction manual, so we depend on "experts" and in the case of kids, our parents. What matters is you assumed responsibility for the lives of these birds, and creatively found the answers online. More proof why your generation is going to make a *big* difference in the world!

Zupreem Fruit Blend is probably the most appealing pellet. While it has added sugar and dyes, it is better than an all-seed diet. (Caveat, Jenphilly posted Budgies need some seed) My personal choice is Harrison's, but there's always time to experiment later.

I have zero experience with Budgies, but most parrots consider you to be a flock member. That is why many have suggested eating vegetables and fruits in front of them. Really works! Eating a Milkbone.... kinda dry and almost tasteless, until you read the ingredients.... animal by-products! Safer than a Tide Pod, tho!

 

[UlyBirb]

I also just found this thread! I have recently converted all my birds to a pelleted diet, and this method has worked for all 6 of them. It’s on Zupreem’s Pellet Conversion page.

Place a few bowls of pellets around your birds’ cage, with one being close to their favourite perch. In the morning, give a small meal of seeds. In the afternoon, as they get hungry, they will be tempted to try the pellets. In the evening give another small meal of seeds. Throughout all this continue to give fruits and veggies.

After a few days to a week, once your birds are familiar with this routine, stop giving seeds in the morning. Once you see they are eating pellets by themselves, take seeds away at night too. All of my birds were converted to pellets within a week after following this routine. It should also encourage them to eat their veggies as well as they will be a bit hungrier than usual

 

[NightEule5]

Thanks Uly and Scott! I ended up making them into a paste with seeds mixed in. They were mad at me for a while, but then the one started eating it. He has the evidence on his beak, lol. One of them has yet to eat it through.

I didn't actually think to look on ZuPreem's website, I'll have to try that. Maybe if this doesn't work with the other one I'll try that method.

 

[UlyBirb]

Glad to be of help! Once they’re on a pelleted diet you will see a big change in their demeanour. Much more energy, brighter eyes, shinier feathers with Zupreem, you may want to consider adding a pink mineral powder to their diet as well. Just sprinkle over the pellets every other day. Zupreem is much better than seeds but the vitamins and minerals are synthetic as opposed to natural, and adding a pink mineral powder will cover that for you. If you’re ever in Edmonton you should check out Baker’s Bird Shop. The owner is an avian nutritionist and knows his stuff and only carries natural products. If I have any question pertaining to the health or training of my birds, I go to him.

 

[NightEule5]

Ok, good to know. I'm about 4 hours from Edmonton and don't go there often (maybe once or twice a year). But if I'm ever there I'll check them out. Nice to see yet another person from Alberta, lol. What area are you in?

 

[UlyBirb]

I’m in the Edmonton area!

 

[Scott]

You can also moisten the pellets with a bit of natural fruit juice. A bit more added sugar, but it might encourage them to eat and you can reduce later. Or even crush a bit of apple and apply to the pellets.

 

[NightEule5]

Good idea Scott! Although, they didn't seem to like Apple last time I tried, I'll try that again to see.

 

[NightEule5]

So, I've been following this on ZuPreem's website:
ZuPreem - Slow and Steady

I don't know how well it's working, they don't seem to be eating the pellets still. If it doesn't work I'll try something else.

But with this conversation process, it says to put seeds in their food dishes at certain times of day. I've been following it ok, but it got me thinking. What would happen if I put some seeds in my hand? I couldn't resist. They've been not tame for so long. I've been following reeb's thread (thank you for that btw!) about taming budgies, but nonetheless I tried it.

So here's what I did: I opened the cage door of the more tame budgie (the one that doesn't bite) and put my hand, with seeds in it, close to the opening. He, of course, had finished the daily allotment of seeds I gave him as part of the recommended routine, so he obviously wanted more. He perched on the bottom of the cage door and willingly ate out of my hand with one foot on it. I praised him and while doing so I tried to inch my hand away from the cage door. He kept backing away back into his cage, but came back to me. Anyway, after a few attempts, I got him out of his cage! This hasn't happened in years! After eating all the seeds out of my hand, he jumped off onto the top of the other budgie's cage. To get him back into his own cage I had to give him more, but this is quite the accomplishment!

The other budgie won't be so easy though. I tried the same thing on her and she just kept biting my finger. :/

So, in conclusion, I set out to get them onto pellets and got a different outcome than what I was expecting!

 

[Scott]

Hmmm, unintended consequences!

Food for thought... pun intended... here is a link to pellet conversion from Harrison's. A bit different from Zupreem, maybe helpful?
Diet Conversion: Small Bird | Harrison's Bird Foods

 

[NightEule5]

Ok. There was some useful info in that. Thanks!

 

[Terry57]

I know you don't get to Edmonton often, but Meika's Birdhouse in Sherwood park will ship an order to you.
They don't have a lot listed on the website, but you can call or email and they can let you know if they have something available, they carry a huge variety of things for birds.

Meika's Birdhouse in Sherwood Park

 

[NightEule5]

Ok, cool. I'll check them out!