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HELP! I need to switch my cockatiel to another pellet.

jenthetiel

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My cockatiel's about a year old. She just laid 3 eggs, I believe she will lay more. (She has no mate, there is no dark places for her to be stimulated) I have seen her mating with a toy, and i thought it was just her hormones (She usually does that when she has her hormones). But when it was a little excessive, I switched the toy out for another one. She started mating with it too??

But the problem now is that, She was on a pellet diet, with zupreem natural pellets. I just bought a more healthier pellet from TOPs. Jen would not at all touch the new pellets. Even if I put it near her beak, she would just take it and drop it. I have been trying to do a gradual transition from mostly zupreem with a little TOPs to mostly TOPS with little zupreem for about a little over 2 weeks. Im still stuck on the first stage. Please help me? How do I get her to eat tops. Its for the better. Thank you.
 

.........

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@Zara might be able to help you
I do not really know about the pellets, but the way I got my lovebirds to start eating them was for around half an hour first thing in the morning when they're hungry giving them only the new pellets so they're more likely to eat them. But if she still doesn't touch them within that time then don't starve her
 

Shezbug

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Let your bird relieve its sexual frustrations on its toys (better toys than you!), there’s nothing wrong with it unless they’re physically harming themselves or totally obsessed to the point of not eating which is unlikely.

Do you still feed some seed to your tiel? Tiels should still have a small amount of seed as well as veggies/sprouts and other fresh foods- pellets alone is not really recommended.

Does your bird go outside regularly in the natural sunlight?

I won’t buy Tops again because my bird won’t eat them but he has eaten any and every other brand I’ve served up to him, tops smell weird to me but most importantly they’re lacking in vitamin D3 and my bird doesn’t get outside enough for me to feel comfortable giving him a pellet with minimal vitamin D
 

jenthetiel

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Let your bird relieve its sexual frustrations on its toys (better toys than you!), there’s nothing wrong with it unless they’re physically harming themselves or totally obsessed to the point of not eating which is unlikely.

Do you still feed some seed to your tiel? Tiels should still have a small amount of seed as well as veggies/sprouts and other fresh foods- pellets alone is not really recommended.

Does your bird go outside regularly in the natural sunlight?

I won’t buy Tops again because my bird won’t eat them but he has eaten any and every other brand I’ve served up to him, tops smell weird to me but most importantly they’re lacking in vitamin D3 and my bird doesn’t get outside enough for me to feel comfortable giving him a pellet with minimal vitamin D
i dont feed her seeds, unless you include sprouts (mung bean and chickpeas) as seeds. i also feed her fresh veggies depending on what i have. carrots are a staple. thanks for the advice on her egg laying. She does not go outside but does receive direct sunlight sometimes. (not like harsh sunlight)
 

jenthetiel

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@Zara might be able to help you
I do not really know about the pellets, but the way I got my lovebirds to start eating them was for around half an hour first thing in the morning when they're hungry giving them only the new pellets so they're more likely to eat them. But if she still doesn't touch them within that time then don't starve her
thanks, i will try that
 

mak

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i dont feed her seeds, unless you include sprouts (mung bean and chickpeas) as seeds. i also feed her fresh veggies depending on what i have. carrots are a staple. thanks for the advice on her egg laying. She does not go outside but does receive direct sunlight sometimes. (not like harsh sunlight)
It might be a good idea to add some seed to her diet.
 

jenthetiel

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It might be a good idea to add some seed to her diet.
what seeds will you suggest that i can add to her diet? I know that sunflower and peanuts arent healthy. adn most of the bird seedmixes are filled with only them or millet. i use millets as a treat so i woudnt be able to add them to her diet
 

Shezbug

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i dont feed her seeds, unless you include sprouts (mung bean and chickpeas) as seeds. i also feed her fresh veggies depending on what i have. carrots are a staple. thanks for the advice on her egg laying. She does not go outside but does receive direct sunlight sometimes. (not like harsh sunlight)
I haven’t actually given any advice on the egg laying, only the physical activities with her toys which are perfectly normal, healthy and fine.
Your bird being a tiel really should have some seed in her diet as well as the pellets and fresh foods.
Direct sunlight through windows or window/fly screens is not the same as actually going out into the sunlight. The regular sunlight needs to be unfiltered if you’re going to feed Tops pellets. Maybe get a small cage to take your bird outside safely for half an hour each day.
 

finchly

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This is from the TOPS FAQ page:

There is natural Vitamin D and artificial Vitamin D. The Vitamin D in most pellets is artificial. When taking artificial Vitamin D you need to increase the liquid intake, meaning you have to drink more which is difficult to get a parrot to do. The Vitamin D in TOP’s pellets is provided by seaweeds and alfalfa, which are natural forms of Vitamin D. From this natural form of the Vitamin D the body can absorb as much as it needs and no increased drinking is necessary and therefore no danger of kidney damage.
 

jenthetiel

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can i also get some help on how i can convert my bird into the tops pellet. I really want to switch her as some of the ingredients in zupreem include sugar and salt, although not harmful, it is unhealthy.
 

mak

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When introducing Tooky to pellets, I pretended to munch on them in front of him and when he showed interest I gave him one like a treat. He took to them right away.
 

Zara

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I pretended to munch on them in front of him and when he showed interest I gave him one like a treat. He took to them right away.
Oh. I ate the pellets with them :ummmm:

TOPs never did interest me, so I don´t know what they smell or taste like. If your bird likes veggies and sprouts, you can mix the pellets in with them fresh food. My lovebirds like pellets that way.

Another thing to try would be bird bread. You can use the pellets and add veggies.

Offering early in the morning give the best chance your birds will eat.

Another one to try;

Some recipes; Just try hiding pellets in things;
 

sunnysmom

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I help with a bird rescue and we always joke- What's the best pellet? The one your bird will eat. ;) I agree with you though about Zupreem but it's better than not eating any. My cockatoo came to me on Zupreem and I switched him to Higgins Intune. It's still fruit flavored but with natural colors, etc. So a bit healthier. He started eating them right away. If this is the first time she's laid eggs, I don't know if I would worry too much yet. Birds lay eggs with or without a mate. You just don't want her to do it excessively. Now that she's laying, I think you just have to let her finish this time. In the future, you can try frequently rearranging her cage. That sometimes discourage egg laying. Also, this article may be helpful: Cockatiels, egg laying process, chronic egg laying in cockatiels and single birds, female cockatiels laying eggs,chronic reproductive syndrome, single birds laying eggs, how to stop a cockatiel and other birds from laying eggs, how avian bird eggs are fertilized, avian female reproductive system. (cockatielcottage.net)
 

Mizzely

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There is SO little D3 in alfalfa. The isolation and identification of vitamin D2 and vitamin D3 from Medicago sativa (alfalfa plant) - PubMed

And seaweeds have their own potential issues:

Obviously you are free to feed whatever you want :) I've only had one bird out of 5 even eat a bit of it. Zupreem is not a bad food, especially the natural. Yes it has some sugar but it's a small amount. Less than 3% of the food is sugar. Any fruit is going to have more than that!



There are other pellets too you could try if you want to get away from Zupreem. Pellets for Parrots
 

jenthetiel

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There is SO little D3 in alfalfa. The isolation and identification of vitamin D2 and vitamin D3 from Medicago sativa (alfalfa plant) - PubMed

And seaweeds have their own potential issues:

Obviously you are free to feed whatever you want :) I've only had one bird out of 5 even eat a bit of it. Zupreem is not a bad food, especially the natural. Yes it has some sugar but it's a small amount. Less than 3% of the food is sugar. Any fruit is going to have more than that!



There are other pellets too you could try if you want to get away from Zupreem. Pellets for Parrots
Thanks for the valuable information everyone!
 
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