Need opinions on pellets

[Ocean]

So, my little rescue, Blue has been with me since May, and honestly he's 110% better. problem? he's only be eating seeds, I've tried to get him to eat fruits and veggies (and I'll continue to do that, if anyone has any tips, besides him watching us eat it, because he doesn't care)

anyways back on topic.

I've been trying to get Blue to eat pellets, and it hasn't been going well. I was trying to feed Tropican Hari's lifetime formula, but I don't know he seems to be having trouble with the size of the pellets, he puts them in his mouth, plays with it, and spits it out, and he will do this over and over and over.

So the big question here is, should I maybe order the Egg granules formula? or should I try Harrisons? and If i try Harrisons, which one is best for little budgies? I would suspect it would be the adult lifetime formula, either fine or super fine? which brand is better? xD

 

[Lady Jane]

Have you read this: Converting Parrots to a Healthier Diet - Tips | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum

 

[Mizzely]

The best pellet is the one that your bird will eat, does well on, and that fits your budget

There are a LOT of options! Pellets for Parrots

 

[finchly]

I feed the Super fine to budgies. But they also get Roudy bush and TOPS. And they get more whole foods than anything else.

Try mixing a few foods together (I do realize it's ONE budgie, there will be some food waste here). Like a couple spinach leaves, maybe some thawed veggie mix or even baby food. Put that in the chopper and chop it real fine. Put it in a tiny bowl or on a plastic lid, anything really and set on the bottom of the cage. sprinkle a little seed on it if you like -- I've actually not done that but other people say it gets them started. In my mind it just reminds them they WANT SEED. Anyway, he probably won't eat it the first day. Leave a few hours, remove.

Take a little more of the exact same mix in the exact same (washed) bowl the next day and try again. Repeat repeat. Some like to remove the other foods from the cage - just don't forget that you did that!

Sometimes I soak the pellets and put just a tiny bit beside the fresh food. When I see they've sampled it, I start mixing it into the chop. Hehe now you've tricked them into eating pellets.

I've had Lady Jane's budgies for... uhh, two or three months? And they came eating superfine Harrison's, fresh food, and a special seed mix she made up. They've already converted to my morning chop and evening "dry mix" although they still get their old food too, just less of it.

Also, if you're on FB join Dr. Crean's Avian Raw Whole Food Nutrition group, or some title like that. Just be sure it's Dr. C. That will teach you more about nutrition than anything. (I'm not an affiliate but I joined that group and paid $100 to join his other group -- really liking it)

 

[Ripshod]

Repeat repeat

And keep repeating. Fear of the unknown is a big thing with most if not all parrots. Give plenty of time for him to get so familiar with a new food that he gets inquisitive and tries it. Sprinkling seed on top is a good idea.
Does he have a favourite dish you could serve him new foods in? Also where does he spend most of his time in the cage? You could place the new food in that area - so it's a lot easier to get to than a dish at the other side of the cage. Final thought - I've known a lot of budgies that will keep rejecting a food until it's placed in a certain spot.
You have a lot of things to try. Take your time, be consistent and repeat, repeat, repeat...........

 

[Lady Jane]

Great post @finchly. You will not find better advice on this subject anywhere else. Sprinkle of millet seed on top is a trade secret.

 

[Rain Bow]

Try to feed the food they don't seem to want to eat 1st thing in the morning as thats when they're @ they're hungriest.

Or take the nibbling seeds away after lunch (seeds) then serve them the food you want them to eat at dinner. This is the one that worked for us. After Buddy's fresh, he gets about a teaspoon of seed, 1 nut & a few dried pieces of fruit. He forages here in that amt. 2 times @ night. 1 after dinner & 1 more time just before night nights. @ bedtime, he gets a piece of a townhouse cracker the size of a dime & about 10 seeds which usually fill that little tummy up, then he sleeps till wake up. He's an Amazon.

This is a routine that has taken many revisions in the past 2+ yrs. I am currently not feeding pellets, those big corporations put synthetic vitamins in them & some made me gasp when I researched into them. I wanted to feed Buddy Tops pellets but he still won't eat them even tho I still put them in his bowl (why Mizzley said best pellet is what your parrot Will eat). The only other pellet I'd even consider a little is Harrisons. I'm glad your feeding a varied diet.

I think the best advice that turned me to change all Buddy's diet was posted on a real old thread here on AA, it talked about eating hamburgers all day every day (for a human) & thats what an all seed & peanut diet is for a bird. I can tell you it's very true, my guy Buddy is around 27 yrs, (I think) his eyes are filled w/ fat plaques that severely messes w/ vision in one eye & partially in the other. They're (plaques) are across his pupil between the eye lens & both myself & the 2 vets he's seen in 2 yrs say it from a diet of overly high fat. The food he had when we got him... Dried fruit, all seeds & peanuts!

The hardest part is thinking if different ways to reduce the bad & get in the good. Change cut, & temperatures with fresh. Try sprouting. Hide what they want under the good foods. They have to mouth it to move it, often leading to yummy consumption.

Pellets are not needed if you can get them to eat a large varied diet.

& you take them to a vet & get they're bloodwork checked out regularly! This is as important as the varied diet. Plus you have all us here, to help if you need it. Be persistant, diet changes can take months.

 

[Gen120]

I feed the Super fine to budgies. But they also get Roudy bush and TOPS. And they get more whole foods than anything else.

Try mixing a few foods together (I do realize it's ONE budgie, there will be some food waste here). Like a couple spinach leaves, maybe some thawed veggie mix or even baby food. Put that in the chopper and chop it real fine. Put it in a tiny bowl or on a plastic lid, anything really and set on the bottom of the cage. sprinkle a little seed on it if you like -- I've actually not done that but other people say it gets them started. In my mind it just reminds them they WANT SEED. Anyway, he probably won't eat it the first day. Leave a few hours, remove.

Take a little more of the exact same mix in the exact same (washed) bowl the next day and try again. Repeat repeat. Some like to remove the other foods from the cage - just don't forget that you did that!

Sometimes I soak the pellets and put just a tiny bit beside the fresh food. When I see they've sampled it, I start mixing it into the chop. Hehe now you've tricked them into eating pellets.

I've had Lady Jane's budgies for... uhh, two or three months? And they came eating superfine Harrison's, fresh food, and a special seed mix she made up. They've already converted to my morning chop and evening "dry mix" although they still get their old food too, just less of it.

Also, if you're on FB join Dr. Crean's Avian Raw Whole Food Nutrition group, or some title like that. Just be sure it's Dr. C. That will teach you more about nutrition than anything. (I'm not an affiliate but I joined that group and paid $100 to join his other group -- really liking it)

I had no idea about this group! Thank you so much! I just joined it!

 

[Gen120]

Once you find what your bird likes that's somewhat healthy, mix it into any new food you try for them. For example, my birds love scrambled eggs and a bit of cheese with cinnamon mixed in. If I put anything new into that mix of eggs and cinnamon, they're more likely to eat it. Just be persistent with it and patience is key too. My birds eat anything I give them but Sammy certainly wasn't that way when I first got her. She ate strickly zupreem fruity pellets and that's it. Was afraid of other foods and didn't know what they were. Now she eats birdy bread, eggs, mash and looks forward it.

 

[Rain Bow]

Once you find what your bird likes that's somewhat healthy, mix it into any new food you try for them. For example, my birds love scrambled eggs and a bit of cheese with cinnamon mixed in. If I put anything new into that mix of eggs and cinnamon, they're more likely to eat it. Just be persistent with it and patience is key too. My birds eat anything I give them but Sammy certainly wasn't that way when I first got her. She ate strickly zupreem fruity pellets and that's it. Was afraid of other foods and didn't know what they were. Now she eats birdy bread, eggs, mash and looks forward it.

Very good advice!