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My Grey Fooled Me!

NoelleMartin

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My 28-year-old Grey that I adopted from Mom and Dad two years ago fooled me big time. I thought we had turned the corner and he had become a Chop/Grain loving bird. All his life he was on a seed diet getting the occasional fruit and nuts. I have to say I let him intimidate me the first year. A few months ago I started him on Chop and grains. I would give it to him in the evenings and he would eat it up. Then I decided it was time to go all in. I got a bag of Tops Pellets and started giving him the chop/grains in the morning and seed/pellets in the evening. He started completely ignoring the chop/grains and refuses to eat pellets period. I even filled up his foraging wheel with them because he LOVES that thing and he refuses to even mess with that now. I don't want to give up but I'm at a loss now. Should I go back to Chop/grains in the evening?

Please tell me that it is not hopeless to convert him to a healthier diet.
 

MnGuy

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How long ago did you make the change and how long after you got the bird?

Parrots and greys in particular can take some time to adjust to changes. This could be a big part of what you're seeing, especially since you made two big changes at once (moving the time of the chop and introducing a new pellet). And if this came soon-ish after you got him, that's even more change.

While I don't think it's great to baby a parrot too much, even a CAG, too many changes can be hard on them. I've swapped my CAG's cage twice cold turkey with no issue, but I know she can be sensitive about other changes.

My CAG absolutely hates Tops. I prefer the ingredient list, but she won't touch it. Try Harrisons, Zupreem Natural, Roudybush and other brands.

I'd return to chop in the evening and slowly introduce another pellet brand. Good luck.
 

Clueless

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If he eats what you want him to on HIS times, give him a break. Let him win the time of day battle. You have the BIG win, the change of diet.
 

NoelleMartin

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How long ago did you make the change and how long after you got the bird?

Parrots and greys in particular can take some time to adjust to changes. This could be a big part of what you're seeing, especially since you made two big changes at once (moving the time of the chop and introducing a new pellet). And if this came soon-ish after you got him, that's even more change.

While I don't think it's great to baby a parrot too much, even a CAG, too many changes can be hard on them. I've swapped my CAG's cage twice cold turkey with no issue, but I know she can be sensitive about other changes.

My CAG absolutely hates Tops. I prefer the ingredient list, but she won't touch it. Try Harrisons, Zupreem Natural, Roudybush and other brands.

I'd return to chop in the evening and slowly introduce another pellet brand. Good luck.
I was not only intimidated by him but also with the chop and making it. No excuse I know. After I started making it though I really enjoy it and its fun. I have been giving it to him for about four months. I was mainly treating the chop like an evening treat. I just started with the pellets though and really, I probably did it too fast thinking it would be easy. Now, I am mixing pellets with his previous seed food. He just does not want the pellets at all. I will try another brand as you suggested. Thanks for the tips.
 

MnGuy

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I was not only intimidated by him but also with the chop and making it. No excuse I know. After I started making it though I really enjoy it and its fun. I have been giving it to him for about four months. I was mainly treating the chop like an evening treat. I just started with the pellets though and really, I probably did it too fast thinking it would be easy. Now, I am mixing pellets with his previous seed food. He just does not want the pellets at all. I will try another brand as you suggested. Thanks for the tips.
I would also see if he will try pellets with zero seeds in them. Some birds might need a transition and a combination of the two with more pellets and fewer seeds day after day until the seeds are left out, but seeds are so delicious that some birds will always pick them and ignore the pellets.

Good luck!
 

BrianB

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Some greys get really weirded out by too much change too fast. They seem to thrive on routine. There is a grey at the bird store I work at. We can't take him out of his cage too early or we'll get bit. I offer him my finger but he will lunge at me. I tell him to have his birdie coffee and wake up and I'll be back in 5 minutes. I'll go and do something else and when I come back at the right time, he steps up just fine. If his morning chop isn't on the tree when he gets there, he bangs his toys until it gets put into his dish. He has a favorite human who always works on Fridays. He's normally a quiet bird, but if she has the day off he is very vocal and lets us know that something isn't right.

If your guy gets something at a certain time of day, you're going to have to make a slow and gradual change so that you don't throw him off. The fact that he will eat the chop is the most important part of the battle. Changing the time he gets it is just a bonus. I've had good luck adding moistened pellets to the chop. Let them absorb the flavor of the veggies and if they are moist, not mush, they may get eaten out of curiosity. Zupreem makes a veggie blend that looks like small carrots and green beans. try adding that so that it looks similar to the chop and you might be able to sneak them into his diet without him knowing. If you're adventurous you could make your own veggie stock and use that to moisten the pellets. Anything you can do to get them off of a heavy seed diet is worth the effort.
 
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