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Grandma's 18 year old, neglected cockatiel

Monaco

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I tricked Monaco with the Hari tropimix for about a minute, I hide her safflower seeds in it now, and she will pick out the tiny papaya sometimes. The Higgins naturals is what she finally ate on her own, though. She's not a cockatiel but she's a seed junkie!
 

LilSprout

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I remember I tried to give Charlie and Sawyer (lovebirds) Roudybush and they were not interested at all. They loved Zupreem and Harrison's lifetime. Sawyer was a seed junkie but he was young when I got him and he was always good with trying new stuff. Charlie was already eating pellets like a good boy.
I was surprised because I thought most birds were pretty keen on it.

If she doesn't like Roudybush I'll see what small amounts of other pellets I can get so she can try them. Is it helpful to offer a few different types of pellets and see which she prefers?
 

Monaco

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It hasn't been helpful for us, but I definitely have quite a selection since I have been trying to find something she'll eat rather than just taste. I have settled on a mix of the Harrison and large roudybush in her dry dishes. But it's taken two months to get this far, and monitoring how much fruits and vegetables she eats for breakfast. It's a long road, switching their diets.
 

Barbara2

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What a wonderful Grandaughter you are. Grandma is very lucky to have you and should be so proud!!!! Thank you for saving Grandma’s birds, they are lucky to have you,
 

finchly

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You can offer several types, as long as you offer them long enough for Fred to get over herself and taste them. LOL
My Clint is an older tiel and the pickiest ever. He also has a prior injury that makes it a little hard for him to eat. He does eat Roudybush crumbles, and I recently got some Higgins Intune for the bigger birds and the tiels were trying to eat it, so I got their size. I think he is eating it but not sure yet.

One thing I found (yesterday) that he absolutely loves. I got some chop for little beaks from Bodacious Birdie Bites. Mixed it with coconut, ground almonds, ground walnuts, dried papaya and the smallest size TOPS pellets. I put it in their dish dry. — he’s not been touching it wet — and he jumped into the bowl and sat in it eating. I have never seen him do that before.
 

fashionfobie

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Just keep at it and don't give up! Cockatiels have good reason for being picky. If you think about life in the Outback, it is important to learn what is safe from a young age and then not take many risks. It can take a very long time for these wonderbirds to try something new. Their hardiness is part of how lovely lady Fred was able to survive her situation for so long. Poor little bird. Thank you for giving her a voice.

It sounds like Fred was intended to be a toy...And ended up being a bird. I hope soon we are at a point where the bird curious can stick to YouTube videos and not get a bird, unless they discover they are bird people. Birds aren't toys or entertainment. They are intelligent adult animals who deserve respect and the freedom of choice.

I look forward to updates.
 

Gimby

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Im sure grandma doesnt realize she's been neglecting her little bird. I highly doubt it was intentional. Grandmas are stubborn and stuck in their ways. In grandmas day bird advocacy wasnt really there. Why dont you just keep grandmas bird? Tell her you fell inlove with it. Pay her for it then again, grandma may feel your taking her only house friend away if she lives alone. As far as diet transitioning a 18yr wont be easy BUT you seem your willing to not give up. Grandma on the other hand may see it as her bird not eating not transitioning. Can grandma afford pellets versus seeds in the long run. Id leave diet alone if grandma isnt willing to follow thru.
 

LilSprout

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Im sure grandma doesnt realize she's been neglecting her little bird. I highly doubt it was intentional. Grandmas are stubborn and stuck in their ways. In grandmas day bird advocacy wasnt really there. Why dont you just keep grandmas bird? Tell her you fell inlove with it. Pay her for it then again, grandma may feel your taking her only house friend away if she lives alone. As far as diet transitioning a 18yr wont be easy BUT you seem your willing to not give up. Grandma on the other hand may see it as her bird not eating not transitioning. Can grandma afford pellets versus seeds in the long run. Id leave diet alone if grandma isnt willing to follow thru.
I know she hasn't neglected her intentionally but what she's done to Fred and Greenie the conure is still really frustrating. I took another bird of hers named Kamara and she passed away at age 15 several years ago
She hasn't asked for Fred back, I returned the conure and said Fred needed more help with eating better before she could go home. She doesn't ask about how she is doing much, she likes the conure a lot better. Grandma can certainly afford pellets and fresh fruits and vegetables for the birds, the only reason she doesn't buy them is because she never took the time to get Fred or Greenie to eat them.
If she asks for Fred back, which I don't think she will as it's been like a month since I began caring for her I will offer her some money for her. I've already dropped several hundred on toys and food for Fred and I think she knows that I am very serious about Fred care. She doesn't understand why because she also doesn't know birds need toys and other enrichment
 

Gimby

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I know she hasn't neglected her intentionally but what she's done to Fred and Greenie the conure is still really frustrating. I took another bird of hers named Kamara and she passed away at age 15 several years ago
She hasn't asked for Fred back, I returned the conure and said Fred needed more help with eating better before she could go home. She doesn't ask about how she is doing much, she likes the conure a lot better. Grandma can certainly afford pellets and fresh fruits and vegetables for the birds, the only reason she doesn't buy them is because she never took the time to get Fred or Greenie to eat them.
If she asks for Fred back, which I don't think she will as it's been like a month since I began caring for her I will offer her some money for her. I've already dropped several hundred on toys and food for Fred and I think she knows that I am very serious about Fred care. She doesn't understand why because she also doesn't know birds need toys and other enrichment
In your care theyre certainly much better off and I do hope you get to keep him. A frustrating situtation. I wish you well and good luck transitioning!
 

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I bought a better food processor to grind up Fred's pellets. The new one turns them to dust now. She's still not terribly interested in Zupreem naturals even with seeds mixed into the pellet paste so I'm gonna try Roudybush and see how she feels about that.
Otherwise she's been eating senior nutriberries, Bitty Birdy Blend from Avian Organics and frozen corn because she'll eat all three of those. It's still not an ideal diet but it's a lot better than seeds so we're doing good so far.

Do any of you have experience with a supremely picky tiel and getting them to eat pellets because I'd love to hear what brand you tried. She only likes certain things but thankfully those certain things she likes a lot. Oh also we're going to try sprouts I ordered a new sprouting jar.
 

Love Birds

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I have a Lutino cockatiel that is 30 1/2 years old! Yes, that is a picture of him. I have had him since he was about 3 months old. Good for you getting Fred off a seed diet. I think birds are a lot like children; sometimes they won't eat certain vegetables because they aren't the texture they like or maybe they prefer them raw over cooked. Try chopping or grating a raw vegetable and offering it to your bird. My cockatiel used to like cooked butternut squash, mashed. He likes broccoli now, but he likes it best if I chop it up in small pieces. He also likes grated raw carrots. When he was young, he loved frozen mixed veggies, cooked. I think he might have liked the different colors. Some owners like their birds near them while they eat. It can encourage the bird to eat if the bird sees you eating. Or if you have other birds, sometimes your bird will see them eating a vegetable and figure out it might be something good to eat. That's what happened to my English budgie; he saw the lovebirds eat kale, and then he decided to try it. Don't give up trying to give them various veggies. My cockatiel loves Avicakes and Nutriberries. Sometimes I put the Roudybush crumbles or pellets in his food, but I don't think he eats it. You could try making a foraging toy and putting some pellets in it. Maybe the cockatiel might try eating them that way. Also, if the cockatiel gets plenty of exercise, that might stimulate his appetite to try more of a variety of foods.
 

LilSprout

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Fred received some freeze dried chop and the Roudybrush pellets today, she doesn't care for either atm but we'll keep trying. I've never fed Roudybush before, can you make it into a paste like zupreem?
Additionally I got a sprouting jar and some mung beans for sprouting the beans are soaking atm, are there any specific seeds not parrots prefer sprouted or just try whatever and see what she likes?
 

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Additionally I got a sprouting jar and some mung beans for sprouting the beans are soaking atm, are there any specific seeds not parrots prefer sprouted or just try whatever and see what she likes?
I've never had luck with mung beans. But sprouted wheat and oat groats are a favorite. Sprout people has a mix for small birds (and medium and large), and mine really love a mix called Amber waves of Grain : Amber Waves of Grain Sprout Mix
 

finchly

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Fred received some freeze dried chop and the Roudybrush pellets today, she doesn't care for either atm but we'll keep trying. I've never fed Roudybush before, can you make it into a paste like zupreem?
Additionally I got a sprouting jar and some mung beans for sprouting the beans are soaking atm, are there any specific seeds not parrots prefer sprouted or just try whatever and see what she likes?
Yes. You can soak RB in hot water or juice and make a mash. My guys like it as a bedtime treat .

You have to just try the sprouts. Since it’s a tiel, I suggest peas, lentils, fenugreek (yeah weird but they love it) Clover, hmm seems like they like the veggie queen mix from SproutHouse.
 

LilSprout

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This morning was great because Fred actually ate the Roudybush without making it into a mash or adding seeds. I also gave her some of the freeze dried chop from Christine's Chop Shop.
She's doesn't want a tremendous amount of it but she is eating it and not just picking it up and throwing it on the floor. But she did throw one of the peas from the chop onto the floor
 

finchly

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That's okay! It's progress! We'll take it!

My tiels like peas but only if they're soft so they can get into the center, was yours dry or wet? If dry it might have been to hard. However, she'll keep eating it and that's a great thing.

My guys like @Nikomania 's food better than Christine. That's just FYI, I know you're in the experimentation phase.
 

LilSprout

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That's okay! It's progress! We'll take it!

My tiels like peas but only if they're soft so they can get into the center, was yours dry or wet? If dry it might have been to hard. However, she'll keep eating it and that's a great thing.

My guys like @Nikomania 's food better than Christine. That's just FYI, I know you're in the experimentation phase.
The pea she threw on the floor was dry, I do tend to moisten freeze dried stuff for her because she seems to prefer softer foods like the frozen corn she likes so much. The pea was on top and didn't soak up all the water I added.
I bought Christine's food for my grandma's conure as well because he's quite good at eating lots of things and it will be easier for her to offer and I won't have to make him fresh food packages so often if she can offer that on a lazy day alongside pellets.
Does Nikomania ship to Canada? I bought Christine's from the parrot shop because I know she doesn't ship to Canada last I checked but the Parrot shop carries daily maintenance chop from her
Edit: does sprouthouse ship to Canada? If they do not what vendors for sprouting seeds do?
 
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finchly

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Did you try AO ? (Avian Organics)

@Nikomania ^^ question for you.
 

Nikomania

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@finchly Thanks for the tag. @LilSprout I will be providing Canadian shipments very soon! Should be towards the end of January. I'll make an announcement once it's all set up and ready to go! :bliss:
 
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