Picky eater won’t eat pellets! 🐤

[Safamirza🤍]

Hello 👋 I have a male cockatiel named Kiko.

We decided to transition Kiko from seeds to pellets and today I got him some.

At first I put a little bit of pellets on the counter and let him play around them. He sniffed them and tried to taste them but rejected them immediately. I then put some pellets in his food bowl and now he won’t eat from it at all. The pellets also have a strange smell which is stronger and different from his seeds. Could the smell also be a reason he won’t eat them? How should I positively introduce them to him again? I thought when he gets really hungry he will have to eat the pellets but I cannot watch him stay hungry 😭

I know that I have to be patient and it will take time for him to start eating pellets, but how will he even try them if he always has access to seeds?

Thanks to anyone who replies 💕 🐦

 

[zERo]

Hello 👋 I have a male cockatiel named Kiko.

We decided to transition Kiko from seeds to pellets and today I got him some.

At first I put a little bit of pellets on the counter and let him play around them. He sniffed them and tried to taste them but rejected them immediately. I then put some pellets in his food bowl and now he won’t eat from it at all. The pellets also have a strange smell which is stronger and different from his seeds. Could the smell also be a reason he won’t eat them? How should I positively introduce them to him again? I thought when he gets really hungry he will have to eat the pellets but I cannot watch him stay hungry 😭

I know that I have to be patient and it will take time for him to start eating pellets, but how will he even try them if he always has access to seeds?

Thanks to anyone who replies 💕 🐦

What kind of pellets are they?

You could soak a few pellets until very soft like mush, then mix seeds in so he has to taste the pellets in order to eat the seed.
Will he eat anything other than seeds?

 

[saxguy64]

Great suggestion above. You could also try crushing up the pellets into basically powder and mixing it in with the seeds.

Also, the old thought that "he'll eat it if he gets hungry enough" does not apply. Parrots can and will starve before they'll eat something they don't want.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Hello 👋 I have a male cockatiel named Kiko.

We decided to transition Kiko from seeds to pellets and today I got him some.

At first I put a little bit of pellets on the counter and let him play around them. He sniffed them and tried to taste them but rejected them immediately. I then put some pellets in his food bowl and now he won’t eat from it at all. The pellets also have a strange smell which is stronger and different from his seeds. Could the smell also be a reason he won’t eat them? How should I positively introduce them to him again? I thought when he gets really hungry he will have to eat the pellets but I cannot watch him stay hungry 😭

I know that I have to be patient and it will take time for him to start eating pellets, but how will he even try them if he always has access to seeds?

Thanks to anyone who replies 💕 🐦

I doubt it has anything to do with the smell because most birds have a poorly developed sense of smell. It may not be possible to convert him to pellets since he's spent his whole life eating seeds. Small birds can starve if they go too long without eating. Does he eat any veggies or fruit?

 

[zERo]

I doubt it has anything to do with the smell because most birds have a poorly developed sense of smell. It may not be possible to convert him to pellets since he's spent his whole life eating seeds. Small birds can starve if they go too long without eating. Does he eat any veggies or fruit?

I’m a firm believer than nearly any bird can be convinced to eat almost anything as long as you’re consistent and offer the food in tons of different ways.
My cockatiel Romeo came to me 12 years old eating nothing but cheap seed and now he’s on a proper diet, the conversion took about 4-5 months for him.

I agree with you on the smell part though, unless the smell is reeeally strong or something, I wouldn’t think it would bother Kiko.

 

[Safamirza🤍]

What kind of pellets are they?

You could soak a few pellets until very soft like mush, then mix seeds in so he has to taste the pellets in order to eat the seed.
Will he eat anything other than seeds?

Here is a pic of the bag:

They are tiny little granules and you can barely notice them when mixed with seeds. But he seems to notice them in his bowl and won’t eat from it. I will try out the suggestion you made but I don’t know if he will eat them. He is so stubborn he will stay hungry for hours but he won’t eat something he doesn’t want to. Other than seeds, I give him some leafy greens but even those he won’t eat everyday. He is very picky!

 

[Safamirza🤍]

I doubt it has anything to do with the smell because most birds have a poorly developed sense of smell. It may not be possible to convert him to pellets since he's spent his whole life eating seeds. Small birds can starve if they go too long without eating. Does he eat any veggies or fruit?

He does eat some veggies but we are still working on him eating chop or a lot different veggies everyday. It is so difficult to not give up on his diet because he just doesn’t like anything.

He came to us when he was around 2 months old and I’m assuming he only ate seeds. I’ve tried lots of different tricks like pretending to eat in front of him and offering veggies in different forms but he just doesn’t care. His diet and health matters a lot to me but I just don’t know what to do at this point.

 

[zERo]

Here is a pic of the bag: View attachment 49975
They are tiny little granules and you can barely notice them when mixed with seeds. But he seems to notice them in his bowl and won’t eat from it. I will try out the suggestion you made but I don’t know if he will eat them. He is so stubborn he will stay hungry for hours but he won’t eat something he doesn’t want to. Other than seeds, I give him some leafy greens but even those he won’t eat everyday. He is very picky!

I’ve heard those pellets smell like oranges or bubble gum, though, I’ve never used them.

 

[Safamirza🤍]

I’ve heard those pellets smell like oranges or bubble gum, though, I’ve never used them.

I was recommended this brand by some people on this forum and some people that I know. It’s a Canadian brand so it’s easy to find as well. And yes, it has a rather sweet or fruity smell to it.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I’m a firm believer than nearly any bird can be convinced to eat almost anything as long as you’re consistent and offer the food in tons of different ways.
My cockatiel Romeo came to me 12 years old eating nothing but cheap seed and now he’s on a proper diet, the conversion took about 4-5 months for him.

I agree with you on the smell part though, unless the smell is reeeally strong or something, I wouldn’t think it would bother Kiko.

I’ve heard those pellets smell like oranges or bubble gum, though, I’ve never used them.

Those granules look a lot like the Harrison's superfine ones that my Budgie Rocky eats. I handfed Rocky so he associated me with food. I mixed the Harrison ones into his formula while he was weaning and that made it easy to wean him onto them. He eats some seed but not very much. It's definitely harder if the breeder doesn't wean a cockatiel or budgie directly to pellets. Keep trying.
It's great that he eats some veggies. Most birds like broccoli.

 

[Safamirza🤍]

Those granules look a lot like the Harrison's superfine ones that my Budgie Rocky eats. I handfed Rocky so he associated me with food. I mixed the Harrison ones into his formula while he was weaning and that made it easy to wean him onto them. He eats some seed but not very much. It's definitely harder if the breeder doesn't wean a cockatiel or budgie directly to pellets. Keep trying.
It's great that he eats some veggies. Most birds like broccoli.

Just to confirm, I SHOULD NOT just fill his bowl with pellets and expect him to eat them when he’s hungry?

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Just to confirm, I SHOULD NOT just fill his bowl with pellets and expect him to eat them when he’s hungry?

I wish it was that easy. It MAY work You could try for a couple days but any longer and he will NEED to eat.

 

[Keet_Krazy]

Definitely give it some more time. I also recommend if you continue to not have any success switching brand, I have never forced my birds to eat a brand they don't like for some reason.
I think it was about four months and 3-4 pellet brands before my Galah was eating pellets.