The old pellet question…

[Free as a bird]

Yes, I’m definitely not trying to eliminate seeds from his diet just trying to get his diet a little more balanced. As you can see from the second picture, he really enjoys his seeds . Changing him to a higher quality seed blend has helped improve his feathers some, so I’m hoping it’s diet related, but time will tell.

My bird is a fussy eater too. Here are some of my birds favourite foods besides seeds that you can try. Bread, rice, potato, egg, pasta

 

[GambotheGreyt]

View attachment 56189
Free as a Bird, here he is making a mess with his seeds

Is JJ getting baths/showers/misted? His feathers look like a good cleaning/preening might whip them into shape.

 

[pebbles1553]

Read the book "Twelve Weeks To the Perfect Parrot." It has a method I used to transition pebbles to pellets and it worked very well! She hated vegetables before pellets, and now she will eat some of them with fruits. It uses a method that you didn't mention you tried. I highly recommend it! It is called the Rissole method.

 

[GambotheGreyt]

Hi all,
So I know the topic of transitioning birds from seeds to pellets seem to come up on this forum just about every week, but I swear I’ve read almost every thread on this topic and I’m still stumped. Ever since I got JJ just over a year ago he has had kind of rough plumage and he also suffers from occasional seizures. There is a good chance both of these things are linked to dietary deficiencies. He came to me with a taste for seeds and human junk food. I’ve tried every trick under the sun to get him to eat fresh veggies with almost no success. I continue to try, but I also thought that getting him to eat some fortified pellets rather than just seeds would also be good. I’ve been trying to get him to eat pellets for about 6-7 months now and no dice.

I have learned three things:
Pellet size matters. He definitely has more interest in small ( but not too small!) pellets.

If he doesn’t like something right away, forget it. He never seems to acquire a taste.

JJ seems to be one of those rare birds who would rather starve than eat something he doesn’t like. I’m serious.

I’ve tried Tops ( he will nibble at these a little) Harrison’s ( hates them with a passion) Zupreem naturals ( takes them from my hand then drops them) and Nutriberries ( chucks them out of his dish).

I’ve tried:
Mixing pellets with seed.
Offering pellets in a separate dish.
Hand feeding pellets.
Pretending to eat pellets.
Offering only pellets in the morning when he’s hungriest.

Offering a variety of pellets.
Mixing seeds with wet pellet mash ( some succces).

Putting pellets in his favorite eating spot and seeds in his least favorite spot.

Sprinkling pellets on the floor of his cage for him to “ forage.”

Any suggestions on different pellet brands to try or tips/ tricks to get him eating pellets? Do some birds never, ever like pellets? Should I just focus on getting him to eat veggies? Thanks a million to anyone who has read this very long post!!!

I have only read this post so far, but yep, this is us, along with mixing them in chop.

What kind of bird do you have?

I'm hoping to read some miracle answer in your responses

 

[Jcas]

I have only read this post so far, but yep, this is us, along with mixing them in chop.

What kind of bird do you have?

I'm hoping to read some miracle answer in your responses

I have a Quaker parrot. I wish I could give you a miracle response, lol! What I can say is that grinding the pellets and sprinkling them on other food so that he gets used to the taste is the best strategy I have found so far. My bird still isn’t a big pellet eater but I mix them in his seeds in addition to leaving a little out in a separate dish all the time and he definitely eats some of them at this point. My Quaker is definitely the most opinionated bird I’ve ever had Best of luck with your lovely grey!

 

[wrench13]

@Jcas - try getting a few Habanero peppers, dice them really fine, realllly fine and mix with the seeds and a few pellets (whole or crushed up). Wear gloves, these f-ers are HOT! With luck, he will like the taste (most parrots do) and now you have a window to experiment with other ingredients. Good luck!

 

[Newbe]

Salty, has giving me good advice so try what he's saying. I have been lucky changing my 2 Jendays from just seed to pellets (Harrison). I'm still having a problem getting them to eat their veggies but salty advised to throw some seeds into their chop, that does get them to eat from the chop cup but not sure if they're eating any of the chop. My 2 GCC eat a bit more of their chop but still not their favorites. Good Luck with your Bird it's all good...