I'm trying to get my birds to eat pellets. Should I switch up the brand?

[Njjeppson]

I've been trying to get my quaker and cockatiel to eat pellets, and I'm about to run out. They've started nibbling on them when offered by hand, but it doesn't seem like they eat it very much when it's in the bowl with their seed. Should I try buying them a different brand of pellets, or should I stick with the kind that I've been using for about 2 months? I've been giving them Roudybush.

 

[Ira7]

You have to keep trying different brands, but research them. Not all pellets are all that great.

Me?

My zon won’t touch them, and I have to take out a second mortgage to keep experimenting.

I use Nutriberries...supplemented with pistachio, almonds and walnuts, no sunflower or peanut...but I ain’t saying this is a great diet. I feel it’s okay because he’s such a good veg eater. The plain Nutriberries offer much of the nutrition of pellets.

I got all excited the first day I gave Archie Harrison’s pellets and he was gobbling them up! Every day after that, he looks at me with disgust and won’t touch them.

 

[Scott]

Pretty much what Ira stated above! ^^^^

Parrots are finicky eaters and may not recognize pellets as food. Sometimes they'll sample a bit and toss them out, particularly when fed together with seed. Pellet quality and nutrition varies, generally the "best" pellet is the type your bird will actually eat. I easily transitioned my flock to Harrison's using their conversion protocol. Not pushing the brand, but their technique ought work well with any variety. Bottom line is to feed for a period of time each day as the only food. Never starve a bird into submisson!
Large birds: https://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/using-our-foods/large-bird-conversion/
Small birds: https://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/using-our-foods/small-bird-conversion/

 

[Flboy]

If your little ones hang outside their cage with you, offer the pellets at treat stations!
My JoJo’s selections are, TOPS, Zupreem fruity, and Natural! He only accepts TOPS in his cage! Over half of my freezer is dedicated to seed and pellets!

 

[Laurasea]

Agree with everyone.
My partots current favorite is oven baked bites. I like Tops they like Tops but it looses thst freshness then they don't eat it very well


My experience with rowdy was it went rancid quick. But others have been happy with it.

I also feed Mazuri, and zooprem, and the nutri berries. And seeds and lots of veggies ect

 

[fiddlejen]

(1) Are your birds chew-ers? I bought some Lefebers "parakeet food" which is their form of pellets, blenderized into a powder, mixed with water into a paste, shaped into sticks and baked on low-ish until they were hard. My chew-crazy albino 'keet Calliope was happy to chew on these, and this was the first point when my budgies started accepting Any pellets at all.

(2) My birds refuse pellets in their regular food dish.
(2a)The budgies will use the playstation atop my conure's cage. (My conure, Sunny, does not.) And, budgies will eat pellets from the playstation dish, or occasionally from Sunny's cage. Pellets in their Own food dishes get rejected.
(2b) Sunny will not eat pellets from her regular food dish. She has a smaller food dish, other side of cage, which I keep stocked with Harrison's. She treats them as a Snack, like Doritos. Usually I refill it once or twice a week.
(2c) Sunny LOVES tropical nutriberries. She mainly just digs out the safflower seeds to eat, but I know she is getting lefebers pellet-nutrition at the same time. She is definitely ingesting SOME other bits of the nutriberries whilst picking thru for seeds. (Also, she has a slight claw-disability, and holding the nutriberry to dig thru is physical-therapy for balance issues.) The budgies Love to eat the leftover crumbles from the nutriberries. At that point, they are mainly small seeds and pellets together. Again, another way to get some pellet-nutrients.

(3) I give everybody fresh veggies, pretty often. (Probably not as often as I should.) NOT as "chop," but large-ish pieces of veggies clipped in their cages where they can chew or eat them at will.

(4) I give them "good quality" seed mixes that contain various nutrients, other "goodies" besides just seeds, and bits of dried fruits & veggies. (Current bags are "Sunburst" mixes from Higgins.) I believe they mostly just pick out their preferred-seeds from these mixes.. but I'm sure they're ingesting some of the good-stuff too. Also I buy dehydrated veggies for birds from AvianNaturals.Com , which I usually give them as dry, added to their seed mixes, but sometimes as re-hydrated. (These are human-grade, bird-safe dehydrated veggies. You could happily eat them as a soup yourself.)

My own opinion, at this time, is that giving pellets as an Option, especially once you can see they are eating them some of the time, is a good way to feel confident they are getting the nutrients/vitamins they need, while giving them lots of choices is good for their mental health. In the wild they would eat fresh foods only, which pellets are not. Feeding seeds-only would be bad, but at this point I'm going with an opinion I've seen elsewhere, that the good seed-mixes available nowadays are pretty good for them.

At this point, even if I could get my birdies to eat pellets-only, I would not feel so happy about that. You would be fully-dependent on the quality-control of that pellet manufacturer and all their suppliers. Pet foods rarely get recalled when maybe they should. It takes some seriously documented & publicized problems & deaths before a recall Might occur. Whereas, with a variety of options, IF there was a problem with one pellet, HOPEfully since that is not their Only main source of nutrition, the birds might have a better survival chance. Potentially if some contamination, with multiple food sources, at worst it will not be in 100% of their food. OR IF happens that birds can taste a problem, they can be their picky little selves and might even eat around a problematic food. SO at this point, in My Own Opinion, i feel it is much safer to provide multiple food sources and Not attempt to convert them to pellets-only nor even pellets-mainly.

 

[plumsmum2005]

Agree with everyone.
My partots current favorite is oven baked bites. I like Tops they like Tops but it looses thst freshness then they don't eat it very well


My experience with rowdy was it went rancid quick. But others have been happy with it.

I also feed Mazuri, and zooprem, and the nutri berries. And seeds and lots of veggies ect

I used to freeze TOPs and just take a small amount out to use up. It kept well this way.

 

[Jottlebot]

You might just be unlucky and have chosen the one brand they don't like - for mine it is TOPS. Anything else is accepted quickly (oh, just remembered, apart from Harrisons Peppery EVERY other Harrisons is fine), but TOPS was an absolute no no. They do smell like cardboard though, so I'm not surprised! That's probably why they're thought to be the healthiest too.

If they are starting to nibble them though I would stick with the ones your using, maybe feed them in the mornings and feed seed in the afternoons?

 

[Tman]

Here is my thought. Get a pepper grinder,
Grind up some pellets to a fine powder. Now cook some brown rice. Since it's a small bird, just make up a little put some rice in his bowl and then the powder in the bowl mix together. Make sure you put plenty of powder in the bowl. And feed that to him. One thing is don't put a lot of seed mixed in with the pellets. When you go to feed him put just about 8 seeds in the bowl the rest pellets. And leave that in his cage for about 3hrs. He gets a little of what he wants then he will need to eat the pellets. After about 3hrs. Put a little more seeds in the bowl.