Switching from seed to pellets

[Billy29]

My baby yellow shouldered amazon loves seed and not pellets so much. I want to switch him to a pellet diet and today before work I have him just pellets. When I got home he didn't touch them and seemed hungry. I gave him the seed mix just so he didn't go hungry.

What is the best way to switch him over?

 

[getwozzy]

Which pellets have you tried so far?

You could always try different brands and see which one(s) he likes- some people mix multiple brands in one bowl.

 

[getwozzy]

One thing you could do is contact various pellet companies and request samples- that way you're not wasting money if mango ends up not liking that particular brand.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

When transferring Rosie to pellets I bought several different kinds and mixed them all together. When I finally got her off of seeds completely I then started working on getting he to eat the best pellets.

One thing out birds will learn is if they refuse and refuse they will eventually get what they want. Not that you should starve your bird, just try lots of different pellets, try wetting them, and try eating them yourself. Maybe your bird doesn't know they're edible and seeing you eat a few(or just sticking it in your mouth and hold it in your cheek) wi show them it's worth eating.

I offered Rosie two separate bowls. One with just the pellets, and the other with pellets and seeds together.

 

[Kalidasa]

The easiest way to get them to eat them in the beginning is to handfeed....eat (or act like it) a few in front of him, acting like they're the most delicious thing in the world. He might not recognize them as a food source and will have to be shown. Good luck.

 

[SandyBee]

Try offering by hand as treats,it actually does work for some.

 

[MonicaMc]

Check out this thread! I put some ideas in it for converting 'seed junkies'!

http://www.parrotforums.com/general-health-care/23367-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html

 

[getwozzy]

'seed junkies'!

LOL! Seed junkies! Haha

Ugh.. Jackie was a seed junkie -I think his seed-only diet may have been a contributing factor in his untimely death it's like the equivalent of one of us eating fast food all day, every day.

 

[MikeyTN]

Monica's method is a good method but it does go bad rather quickly. Unless you can be there to observe and dispose the whole time. Otherwise do a bowl of pellets and a bowl of fresh stuffs during the day. At night I offer less then a table spoon fullbof seeds during evening time.

 

[MonicaMc]

'seed junkies'!

LOL! Seed junkies! Haha

Ugh.. Jackie was a seed junkie -I think his seed-only diet may have been a contributing factor in his untimely death it's like the equivalent of one of us eating fast food all day, every day.

It's possible that Jackie's diet did contribute to his death, but likewise, it could have been genetic or something else entirely... maybe a heart attack, stroke or even a blood clot. Even if birds are on the best diet possible, you can't prevent freak accidents or occurrences. You can only strive to do the best that you can.


MikeyTN, the pellet paste mixture that I used seemed to work well. I didn't add a lot of water so it tended to be on the thicker side, and living in a dry climate, it dried up quickly, too! So it wasn't sitting around in the cage all moist and getting gross.... Once they got the taste of pellets, it really wasn't that difficult to just feed them pellets as is, no crushing or adding liquid to them.

 

[MikeyTN]

I will have to give it a try on the next stubborn parrot....lol.....I've been converting them pretty easy....but never hurt to try new things.

 

[MonicaMc]

The last few "seed junkies" that I got were actually very easy to convert and I didn't even have to try!

I used that method because at the time I wasn't feeding pellets very much within my flock, so they were accustomed to seeds and fresh foods. I could occasionally get the little guys to eat pellets, but not reliably, so I needed to find a way to get them to eat them a whole lot better! And it worked!


And it has seemed to help a few others, too!