Linnie Diet Conversion

[Joelle]

Hi everyone,
I am trying to convert my 2 linnies from a diet of seeds to pellets & fresh foods. So far without luck.
The linnies have been with me for over a month and it's clear that they've never eaten anything but seeds and millet. The sanctuary where they came from had mixed in Zupreem pellets with seeds, but it seems they eat around the pellets and I am trying to get them on Harrison's pellets. So... here are some things I've heard can work, and I'd love to hear what's worked with other members!

• crush pellets into a powder and sprinkle on seeds for a few days to give them a taste of new food
• place a 10 pellets in dish with some seed and see if they eat any of them by counting remainder
• offer seeds in morning and evening and only pellets throughout the day

*Btw, I don't want to just replace their seeds with pellets as they are have been a bit fighty with each other and I don't want to stress them out.

I have offered fruits and veggies (apple, pear, strawberry, banana, lettuce, carrot, kale, broccoli) and "chop" made in a food processor but nothing gets touched and they seem afraid of the offerings.

 

[Joelle]

Also curious if anyone germinates or sprouts their own seeds and if this could be a good option as well?

 

[Milo]

You may need to try the super tiny canary sized zupreem to start them off. You might try just offering pellets in the morning (when they're presumably hungriest) and then offer a bit of seed throughout the day. Your best bet is to figure out how much you need to feed in order for there to be just about nothing left at the end of the day. That way you can more closely control the ratio of pellets to seed.

Sprouts would be great! The birds tend to love them

 

[Milo]

Also, try to vary the pieces of fruit/veggies in terms of size and presentation. Birds are so different in their preferences! Spot won't touch something fresh if it's too small, he likes to hold it while he eats. Josie is the same way, and Rosco needs bite sized pieces or he won't eat it. Go figure the biggest bird here needs the smallest pieces. You might also try offering different things separately. If there's something in there they don't like they may not touch the whole thing if it's too blended in.

 

[Joelle]

Thanks Milo! I will try to present veggies in a different way, though it takes some creativity. I know persistence is key, so I'm trying to be patient. I just wish they would try something I offer. Have you fed Rosco or Spot "birdie bread" and have they liked it?

 

[Joelle]

I've tried offering fresh fruit (apple, pear, banana) and veggies (lettuce, broccoli, carrot) a few days in a row but none were touched. I know I have to keep trying. I've been focused on adding crushed Harrison's pellets to their seeds so they get used to the taste. That's been for a week now, hard to tell if it's working without counting the pellets I don't crush- which I have tried (they don't eat them).
I would like to try sprouting seeds but don't know where to start. Can I germinate the seeds in their food mix (not sprout to avoid molds)? Does anyone else do this?

 

[wyrinth]

I just kept a separate cup with some pellets in it...less than a teaspoon. Every week I would change it. They didn't touch it for the longest time, I think it was a month. Then they finally started eating it. I still give them seeds, but they do enjoy the pellets. They do go through periods when they rush to the pellets first, then seeds. Other times they seem to prefer the seeds. My linnies love soaked seeds...their regular seeds are soaked for 24 hours, with a water change at twelve hrs, then drained. The seeds swell and you can see a little white coming out of the seeds. Once they start to grow, the linnies don't like it as much.

 

[Joelle]

Oh cool, thanks @wyrinth! So I can use any seeds that I use as dry food then?
Also, what pellets do you use? Zupreem?

 

[Meatball]

My linnies like carrots, peppers, apples, broccoli, cauliflower in a food processor ground to small pieces mixed together.
Also add hot peppers, they love them.
Mine pick through it but they do eat some of it.
They won't eat pellets though so I feel your pain.

 

[Joelle]

Ahh, so it's not always possible to get them to eat pellets. Good to know. I'll try for another month or so!
I just got my SS Food Skewer from My Safe Bird Store so I will see if they might eat the fruit/veg off that.

 

[wyrinth]

They really seem to like the Harrison's high potency, but they also ate the zupreem and are currently on lafaebers...finch size. I get the smallest ( canary/ finch) size because I think it more closely matches the size of their seeds, they are more likely to try them.