How to change my Congo African Grey from Seed, Sunflower etc to Pellets of higher nutrtion?

[Chuckie]

My African Grey is 34 years old this year and he has always eaten a seed mix. That is what they had him on when I purchased him and continued to feed him. The companies that mix the seed will either go out of business or start mixing really bad fillers and I wind up throwing most of it to the doves, redbirds etc.... Squirrels too. Great Companions made a good seed mix, no oats or milo. They went out of business. Ordered two different kinds of mixes and of course they had oats, wheat and milo. Lots of corn. I am so tired of the high percentage of filler grain to get the pounds up with a small amount of the seeds he will eat. He seems to pass on any of the pellets that are in the bowl.

As soon as the temps go up above 60 and no north wind and sun is out, he goes outside to h is cage in the tree. He always asks to go outside. I try to make his life good, and just want him to be healthier.

If any of you had to change your bird over to a pellet after years of seed mixes, how did you convince them to eat it??

I need a really good quality pelleted feed that he will like. Not sure after being 34 years on seed mixes if he will go on a hunger strike. I would like to hear from some of you about a really good food that he will like the taste and enjoy eating. I see all the pretty colors and such, and what is really healthy?? They all claim to be healthy, but are they really?? He is not a consistent eater of the same foods and I get scared when he seems to not be eating as he doesn't want new food. Any comments would be of great help. Thank you in advance and I may have some questions too.

 

[Vampiric_Conure75]

Ah yes, the conversion challenge! Greys can be quite stubborn when it comes to switching foods. Do you know how to do a slow conversion from seeds to pellets? The best pellets are the ones your fid will eat. I feed Tropican and Tropican Parrot Mix and converted my other birds to it. It can be expensive at first, buying food your bird won't eat, but a slow conversion, where the bird is eating mostly pellets and some seed, can be helpful.

 

[osklvste81]

Any parrot especially large are picky about food change. Pellets are acontroversy among owners. I feed Harrison. As above if he eats it you both win. Do you what he will eat consistently? Any fruits, veggies, treats, bread, nuts? If you eat something in front of him will he ask for a taste? If he will and actually eat it you maybe have a better chance to convert. There are recipes for birdie bread here, online, bird food companies. They're healthy. Especially those from reliable bird food companies. You can pretend or actually eat a piece. If he'll eat a bit you when. Does he likes soft foods? Mashed cooked sweet potatoes, baby foods? A small amount of the powdered pellets you choose.

 

[Chuckie]

Ah yes, the conversion challenge! Greys can be quite stubborn when it comes to switching foods. Do you know how to do a slow conversion from seeds to pellets? The best pellets are the ones your fid will eat. I feed Tropican and Tropican Parrot Mix and converted my other birds to it. It can be expensive at first, buying food your bird won't eat, but a slow conversion, where the bird is eating mostly pellets and some seed, can be helpful.

Thank you Vampiric_Conure. It would be nice if they would offer small sample packs of the pellets. All I can do is buy the smallest bag and give it a try. Just start mixing it in and he probably will eat his seed first then maybe eat the new pelleted type. I will look for the Tropican Parrot Mix. I noticed some of the pellets have a fruity smell. He will eat grapes, sometimes apples. He loves raw white potatoes. Hardly will eat a raw sweet potato. He does eat table food. If I cook stew, I put him a big spoon and he picks out what he wants. Carrots, peas, potatoes, etc...

 

[Chuckie]

Any parrot especially large are picky about food change. Pellets are acontroversy among owners. I feed Harrison. As above if he eats it you both win. Do you what he will eat consistently? Any fruits, veggies, treats, bread, nuts? If you eat something in front of him will he ask for a taste? If he will and actually eat it you maybe have a better chance to convert. There are recipes for birdie bread here, online, bird food companies. They're healthy. Especially those from reliable bird food companies. You can pretend or actually eat a piece. If he'll eat a bit you when. Does he likes soft foods? Mashed cooked sweet potatoes, baby foods? A small amount of the powdered pellets you choose.

Thank you for answering Osklvste!! I did not realize there were bird breads. I do have Lefeber's parrot cakes. It contains small seeds and pellets compressed. He takes spells of eating it, or taking a bite and throwing it down. Then I pick it up and take it out to the squirrel. Throws down a lot of the fruit I give him. He does like grapes, but often will take a bite of each one and then drops it.

The change of a good bird seed vs. the companies cutting the cost by adding milo, corn, oats , red peppers, (which I have never understood unless they want to use it as their source of vitamin C) peanuts and wheat instead of nutritious food. Then they want to charge crazy prices for the red peppers, peanuts. He does not eat any of these that I just listed. So he picks out the sunflower, safflower seeds.

I am noticing that the bird seed companies advertising always pick through their seed mix; showing the best part on top and do not show you the tremendous amount of oats and milo etc in the mix. You actually cannot see that it is probably 75% of the mix. The ingredients are listed, and now I know that their mixes are really bad.

When it is time to eat, he gets part of what we are eating at supper. He is all about that. But still, I need for him to eat during the day as well.

I am going to check out what you have listed and look at your Harrison's food as well.

 

[osklvste81]

Peppers are actually good for birds. Eat (pretending and looking) enjoyi bird healthy each bite he takes is good. Bird metabolism is high. It is a bird trait to fill up in the evening. Some more than others. My Grey has been an evening eater since 4 months. I'd prefer daytime too. She is also a one bite and drop eater. If she likes it the next is eaten.

 

[willowjx]

For the healthiest pellets (no fake colors/dyes), Harrison’s (High Potency Coarse) and Roudybush are the gold standards vets recommend.

To trick him into trying them:
• Pretend to eat them yourself (they always want what we have!)
• Mix them with warm water or a splash of unsweetened juice to make a warm mash
• Give him pellets first thing in the morning when he’s hungriest, but give him his seeds later so he stays full.

 

[osklvste81]

Mine love Harrison pepper. I think it's the spicy blend.

 

[Chuckie]

Peppers are actually good for birds. Eat (pretending and looking) enjoyi bird healthy each bite he takes is good. Bird metabolism is high. It is a bird trait to fill up in the evening. Some more than others. My Grey has been an evening eater since 4 months. I'd prefer daytime too. She is also a one bite and drop eater. If she likes it the next is eaten.

Those dried red peppers, he scoops out on the floor of his cage. But he does like a fresh green pepper or sweet red pepper. Does anyone have a parrot that eats the dried hot peppers? I know they have vitamin C in them and wondered if that was how they were able to claim they added vitamin C to the filler. Some have dried fruit that Chuckie will not touch either. I tried a pinch off of the fruit to see why he does not like them. The dried Kiwi is total sugar coated. The other dried fruit is really sweet too.
Odd how he loves carrots and then he hates them. But always likes table food.
He love crackers and bread. Now I must find the bread recipe that is posted on this site.
When he is outside in his cage in the spring, summer and fall with the temps being above 60° and no wind out of the north, sunshine, he eats quite bit outside if it is his favorite. Often I give him a whole apple to eat on or just to tear up so he can get some nutrition from that. Then he ignores the apple and I give it to his squirrel friend. Chuck baby talks the cats and dogs inside the house, so I figure he baby talks the squirrel when he comes to eat the peanuts I put in the hole of the tree. Chuck refuses to eat the nuts in his mix. What a brat he is. Reminds me of a real picky eater that doesn't want what is normal. I want to tell him he has to eat his meal or he can't watch TV or go outside and play. Ha-ha!

 

[osklvste81]

The joy of parrots. Nameliss is the reverse. She eats dried peppers. Refusing fresh. She won't eat dried fruit. Even dried naturally except apples that I do myself. Nameliss enjoys watching TV snacking on her vegetables. Nameliss doesn't like nuts in her mix. So preferences are just that. The love today hate tomorrow is the one thing I wish I could change or at least prolong for at least a week.

 

[Tman]

My African Grey is 34 years old this year and he has always eaten a seed mix. That is what they had him on when I purchased him and continued to feed him. The companies that mix the seed will either go out of business or start mixing really bad fillers and I wind up throwing most of it to the doves, redbirds etc.... Squirrels too. Great Companions made a good seed mix, no oats or milo. They went out of business. Ordered two different kinds of mixes and of course they had oats, wheat and milo. Lots of corn. I am so tired of the high percentage of filler grain to get the pounds up with a small amount of the seeds he will eat. He seems to pass on any of the pellets that are in the bowl.

As soon as the temps go up above 60 and no north wind and sun is out, he goes outside to h is cage in the tree. He always asks to go outside. I try to make his life good, and just want him to be healthier.

If any of you had to change your bird over to a pellet after years of seed mixes, how did you convince them to eat it??

I need a really good quality pelleted feed that he will like. Not sure after being 34 years on seed mixes if he will go on a hunger strike. I would like to hear from some of you about a really good food that he will like the taste and enjoy eating. I see all the pretty colors and such, and what is really healthy?? They all claim to be healthy, but are they really?? He is not a consistent eater of the same foods and I get scared when he seems to not be eating as he doesn't want new food. Any comments would be of great help. Thank you in advance and I may have some questions too.

I just came across this.
To help you with the different pellets, try this email each company and tell them what you are trying to do. Ask them if they wouldn't mind sending you a small sample, so you can get your parrot switched to pellets. And see what they do.
I will guess there is a good chance they will send you a sample.
Good Luck.

 

[AMD75]

Trying to convert any bird from seed to pellet is a long road. We rescued a B&G years ago that was on human junk food and sunflower seeds. It took a long time to convert her to good foods. Trial and patience. As for the birds liking different things. ALL of mine have their own likes and dislikes just like humans. BUT ALL of mine like the dried red peppers that I special order for them. Good luck with your food conversion.

 

[Chuckie]

Chuckie is driving me nuts with his refusal to eat things. I love him but he can be a brat. Ha-ha! He goes outside each day in a huge cage that hangs from the tree, and argues with the Red Birds, Jay Birds and anyone else he mimics. He drives the territorial birds crazy throwing back their song.

He is not touching the pellets I fed him so now I am going to order Harrison's. He is getting where he won't eat fruit. Bad boy!! I try them all and wants only table food I eat which I do give him. He stopped eating the Ezekiel Bread.

I am reading where people put feather up vitamins in baby food in a syringe. He loves fruit juices from a straw, but I know they can contain a lot of sugar.
Is anyone feeding baby food in a syringe and if your bird is eating this, what flavor or food is he eating? I want to try slipping in a small amount of vitamins in the syringe once he begins to eat it. When I put the vitamin on wet food, it smells extremely strong of iron. He does not like this and it turns his food orange.

He is driving me nuts feeling like I am not doing enough for him as he just looks at it in his bowl and will go all day without eating. I have been mixing a few pellets in his seed mix. But he hates pellets.

Going go order the Harrison's now.
I love this bird and often I look at him in the cage, knowing he is a bird and I wish that he was free. He has these great wings and I have taken the ability away from him to use them. He flaps them so wildly on his perch outside of the cage. Sometimes he walks around on the floor, but I have to stay with him as he wants to tear things up. I always keep a cardboard box in his cage in the corner for him to tear up. He also likes going inside the box and starts talking. I think he likes the echo of his own voice.
Do any of you ever have that feeling of guilt that they cannot soar like God made them to do? At times, if I had of known I would feel he is in prison, I might not have bought him 34 years ago. But I do really love this bird. He will always be with me.

Going to the grocery store to see what they have in baby food that he might like. He will eat a carrot from time to time and a few bites of a banana. Throws it down. I think the term is "spoiled." But so be it.
Thank you everyone who has answered my question. It just takes time to see if he will take up with different pellets.
Harrison will be the flavor when it arrives. Let's see if he will eat some of these.

 

[osklvste81]

I wish you luck. It's so difficult to get any bird to switch.

 

[texsize82]

I have a new to me CAG with a similar problem.
She eats sunflower seed mix and peanuts.
She does eat fruit but won’t touch vegetables.
I’m trying to slowly blend in the non sunflower seed mix the rest of my flock eat.
It’s Higgins California blend.
But I also recently found and tried out a new pellet and my amazon parrots took to it right away.
To soon to say if they are won over by it but I will keep my eye on them.
Not sure if my CAG likes it or not.
Here is a pic.

 

[HarleY 0624]

whatever your bird likes to eat, and is continous in eating, should for the basis of how you make changes/introduce what you want for your bird/s.
If your bird likes exhibit A, read the label, and find out what ingredients are used. . . of course if it is sunflower seeds, then whatever you want to end up as staple feed will include sunflower seeds. Its just that every "prototype feeding", you try will be adding/removing different nuts/vegs/fruit, whatever based on input from forum, friends and otherwise. Try to find owner/carers of birds similar to yours.
Long project - needs to be diaried everytime, so you don't lose the plot, . . and the reactions of your bird/s will tell you, as you go, how you are going.
Addendum; how your feeding prototypes are presented should be considered; i.e Sunflower seeds can be whole, can be crushed, can be sprouted . . same with nuts/ vegs/fruit -- can be souped(in water) or meatballed, or just as they are. the better they are individually hidden in the presentation, will stop any picking only what he/they want
good luck

 

[Chuckie]

The joy of parrots. Nameliss is the reverse. She eats dried peppers. Refusing fresh. She won't eat dried fruit. Even dried naturally except apples that I do myself. Nameliss enjoys watching TV snacking on her vegetables. Nameliss doesn't like nuts in her mix. So preferences are just that. The love today hate tomorrow is the one thing I wish I could change or at least prolong for at least a week.

I am glad to hear other parrots like watching TV. If I leave home or go outside to work and the weather is bad, like low temps or raining, he has to stay inside, I turn on youtube, and there are so many videos of birds in the wild where people feed them. I turn the TV so he can see it well as it is close. So many bird sounds and Chuck really tunes into this channel. Often when the birds begin their calls, he starts in on the ones he learned outside. Often the TV has some beautiful bird calls and I hope he picks up on those as well.

 

[HarleY 0624]

chuckie - you need to tape the bird sounds, then do what the radio presenters do - they doctor what they don
t want. If you have a good library of what sets your bird off; Bonding, TRAINING and association become all that easier.
I sing to mine, more than frequently, and results astound me, as when any one, at any time wants a one on one session, i get somewhat of a song. Thats connection, a part of bonding. Not all birds are similiar, and those that are usually bond for life. I have 2 B&G's that are priceless to see. He is so masculine towards her, and she is so possesive of,and to him - they haven''t bred yet, and I hope not soon, as the dynamics will change, both to their relationship, me to them, and the others in the flock
The male (Bluey) best one yet is the other night before lights out I asked " How much is the Doggie in the window?" (bearing in mind I have sang many times the song to them)
He responded "One"
so there you go!!