food woes

[McBird]

Leaf was on an all seed diet, basically, when he was adopted from his previous family. the woman who had him before I got him got him started on pellets but he seems to only really like the Tropican while I'm trying to switch him over to Harrison's as well as getting him used to fresh veggies. later today, the girls (my dogs) will be going up and I'm going to try to "trick" him into eating veggies and fruits by eating them with him. or should I change up the way I do things? like just put it in his cage?

I've only had to wean one other bird off of seed and that was my stubborn Cockatiel who screamed and pitched a fit and just generally was a miserable, grumpy man until he got over himself and realised: hey! millet is not everything in life! but apparently millet was like crack to him.

so, should I pretend to eat the stuff or actually eat it with him out or should I put some in a bowl in his cage? right now he's in a small travel cage until his home cage arrives in the mail (idk when that will be).

 

[Cockatielmamaw]

I have just recently converted all five of my tiels to an all pelleted diet. I don't just offer one brand or type. I'm currently giving them zupreem colored pellets as well as crumbles. In the beginning I put their seed cup on bottom of cage and just sprinkled a little seed in their cups covered by the pellets. They are on only pellets and crumbles now. Some of their favorite veggies are, fresh kale, broccoli, corn, white breast of chicken. Just gave them cantelope and blueberries today. They are all picky eaters. Mine chirpped and squawked when I took the seed away. They needed to lose some weight due to too much seed diet anyway. They are all doing well.

 

[Mizzely]

Some birds are super resistant to switching brands. My quaker is one of them. In the morning I offer him only the new pellet I want him to try, because that's when he's hungriest. After an hour, I give him chop to pick through. Finally, after another hour, I let him have a little bit of the pellet I know he will eat. I don't want to starve him, so that's why I do it that way. You definitely can try to "eat" it. You could also designate a "treat bowl" in his cage, which you only put his absolute favorite things in. After he knows that good things come from that bowl, which could take a few weeks, you can add in some of the pellets you want him on to see if he at least tries it.

Another option is to soak the pellets in juice or water, and then mix in something he is eating. That way when they are rummaging through, he's getting a taste of the pellet with each bite, and it makes it less "alien".

 

[Cockatielmamaw]

Mine don't really like soft food. But maybe if I soak the pellets and add a little millet, that might encourage them.

 

[Monica]

You might get some ideas from this thread!


Converting Parrots to a Healthier Diet - Tips | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum

 

[Tiel Feathers]

I would do both, you can try to put some in his cage and eat some. I got a cockatoo to eat pellets by actually eating them in front of him. I can see why many parrots don't like them! I would also put them on my family's plates at meal time, so he thought everyone was eating them. (Don't worry, I didn't make my family eat them!) Since Leaf is new to your home, now is a good time to get him to try some. He's going to want to fit in with his new flock. Once my bird ate a few, I knew that he knew they were food. After that I just gave him less and less seed and more and more pellets in his dish.