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Need tips on converting to healthy diet!

Simourg

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Joined
10/20/17
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Baku, Azerbaijan
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Fira
Hello everybody!

I was gone from the forums for a while trying to gain trust of my rehomed CAG Jo-Jo. It's been already almost two months since he is at our place, and now he is more comfortable with me being around and he is even accepting treats from the open palm of my hand (before he would take them only when between my fingers). I also keep target training him daily, but my lack of experience and difficulties with motivating him to train makes the progress really slow, if even present.

We have different kind of minor problems, but my biggest concern is his horrible diet. He eats only dried corn and shelled sunflower seeds. He also loves grapes, but it's a seasonal fruit, so we can't find it fresh in the markets anymore.

I cook buckwheat, chop some green, yellow or red bell peppers and carrots and mix it all with sunflower seeds and serve in a bowl everyday. I found similar method of converting in the internet, and it said that the this way the parrot would try other stuff eventually while searching for seeds. But I feel like he is only picking seeds from the mix. Maybe I missed some important step in this method?
I also provide him with pumpkin seeds, corn and pellets altogether in a second bowl. He ignores pellets and pumpkin seeds and eats only corn. (I will try a new type of pellets, it's just a bit expensive to ship it in our country, so I have to choose wisely). I offered him pistachios (other nuts, too), and he would throw away the nut and chew on the shell only. I sprouted sunflower seeds for him, but he also would reject them as soon as he realized the texture of the shell and seed itself is different.

I tried turning his pellets into a wet mash and mixing it with sunflower seeds, but is's always the same: he picks sunflower seeds and leaves the mash.

I can't scale him because he doesn't come to me (I don't have bird scales, too), so I need to be really careful to not leave him starving.

I know the main thing is to never give up and keep offering him new foods in various forms and trying to attract him to it somehow. But it's a very generalized piece of advice, and in my case he just walks away when I try to offer him something new. And because he doesn't trust me that much, I feel really restricted in the means of creativity.

Also, searching the web I could only find methods that usually apply to parrots that are bonded with their owner, and those methods usually are not appliable to my still untame feathered friend.

So you're very very welcome to share your experience! And it would be even more fantastic if it was as specific as an everyday routine with gradual changes! :)
 

Simourg

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Joined
10/20/17
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Location
Baku, Azerbaijan
Real Name
Fira
A little update! I just reread the pinned thread with a lot of useful tips on converting to healthy diet (thank you so much, Monica!) and thought maybe I should try going cold turkey? I would like to avoid using this method, but it seems to me that Jo-Jo wouldn’t try anything new until I leave him without his favorite foods? I just really want to switch him as soon as possible so he wouldn’t develop any health issues...
Also does anybody know how long can you keep Harrison’s pellets in refrigerator?

And I regret creating a new thread and not posting directly in the pinned thread where the tips are provided! That would be less of a mess and confusion! Sorry for that! If you find this thread useless I wouldn’t mind that you delete it :) But I still would be happy to hear your stories of success with your picky eaters because it really helps to keep me in high spirits and not giving up!
 
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taxidermynerd

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So for just a little bit of reference, it took me 8 months to get Chirp to eat pellets, from the first day I bought a bag of pellets to when he finally ate pellets of his own free will.

I used a lot of the tips in that pinned thread. When I finally got my butt into gear, I started by taking out the seed at night and putting in pellets. That first night, he sat at the bottom of his cage, where there was a little 2 inch gap between the blanket and the bottom of the cage, until 3 am (bedtime is at 8pm). He just sat and stared at me, peeping angrily every now and then. I felt really bad, but I didn't waver. The next night I did the same, and it was understood that he wouldn't be getting any seed.

In the morning, before I took out the pellets to put seed back in, he started eating them on his own! So for the next 3 days or so, I made him a mash of pellets (by softening them with water) and that was his food. I slowly weaned seed back into his diet, because I didn't want him to stop eating pellets altogether. And now, almost a year later, he gladly eats pellets! In fact, he's actually tried to climb into the pellet jar before!

Persistence is key! :D
 

CrazyKozmo

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Rebecca
You could try to chop up the sunflower kernels (like in a food processor) and sprinkle a pinch on the food you’re trying to switch him to. Chop up some vegetables (my caiques love carrots, sweet potatoes, sweet peppers, and kale) and sprinkle chopped sunflower seeds on it. Maybe pour a little apple juice or blackberry juice on the mix. I know it can be stressful and frustrating changing diets, but don’t give up. It took me 2 years to get a special needs budgie to try vegetables...he finally decided to like peas! Good luck!
 

Simourg

Meeting neighbors
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Location
Baku, Azerbaijan
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Fira
I am very very happy to announce that Jojo switched to pellets! Thank you for your support, because it really helped me to stay in high spirits! I must agree, persistence is definitely the key, and trying different pellet brands and types also matters a lot. I purchased Roudybush small size pellets and Jojo switched to them in an instant! It took no more that three or four days to switch him to pellets completely.
Moreover, he is now in love with sprouted sunflower seeds, but I stopped sprouting because they mold and spoil very quickly and I don’t know how to deal with it yet and make sprouting 100% safe. :(
I found out that the key to getting him try new foods was restricting him in his favorites, so he would be hungry enough to compromise and eat a sprouted seed instead of a dry one, or nibble on pellets. ;)
We still have a long way to go with introducing sprouts, grains and veggies, but this is a good start!
 

Tiel Feathers

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That’s great news! What a relief to you I’m sure. I got all of my birds to switch to roudybush crumbles in just a couple of days too. I couldn’t believe how easily they ate it, since every other pellet I tried besides Zupreem fruity was met with major resistance.
 

javi

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That is great. For the sprouts you can spray with a little vinegar and that helps kill of molds and bacteria growing on them. Then just rinse with water. Been sprouting for 11 years and never had a mold issue.
 
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