Should we stop

[Eden Marel]

WE've been trying to convert Teemeemee to Harrisions for a while now, but she starves herself and wait for the one hour we give her seed. She eats the nutriberry like a starved child that has never seen or tasted food before. My sister said she bought something to powder up the harrisons, and Tee tried it, but now she ignores it.

 

[JLcribber]

Any pellet a bird will eat is better than no pellets at all. So she won't eat harrisons. Try a different brand, size and flavor of pellet first until you find one she will eat. Once she "is" eating some kind of pellet you can try the Harrison's again.

For real stubborn eaters I've had the best success with either Zupreem naturals or Zupreem fruity. I soak them in "cold" water about 15 minutes before feeding so they get nice and soft like a tiny marshmallow. If you use cold water they hold their shape and don't turn into a bowl of mush.

Another trick is to feed them something soft and mushy and then offer them a single Harrisons pellet from your hand as "beak cleaner". Usually when a bird gets it's beak wet and messy they love to chomp down on a piece of wood to clean the beak. Give them a dry hard pellet to do the job instead. They may not eat it right away but they will be crunching it in their beak to start.

 

[Eden Marel]

Ok we tried the Zupreem Fruity before we tried Harrisons, except we didn't the water part. Do we just wipe something mushy onto her beak, cuz I know she's not going to try it. I made her a batch of bird bread and she didn't even look at it, even fresh fruits and veggie she either ignores it or acts scared So we had to give bread to the wild birds instead.

 

[JLcribber]

Changing the diet of an adult bird can be one of the hardest things to do. They learn what to eat when they are very young and if left to their own devices will not readily accept new foods later in life. Some convert easily enough, some do not. Something else that tends to work is to share food and actually eat things together and right in front of them. Then offer some of what your having. Not junk of course. It just means you will have to eat something healthy. I know, I hate that crap too but hey, if that's what it takes!!!

Here is lots of good reading.
Feeding Our Parrots Well

Tips for Finicky Eaters

But he doesn't like it!

Food Pyramid for Parrots

Let's talk about Nutrition

Fundamentals of Animal Nutrition

Greening of the Parrot Diet

 

[Ashley]

Looks like you have been given good advice

 

[KimKimWilliamson]

WE've been trying to convert Teemeemee to Harrisions for a while now, but she starves herself and wait for the one hour we give her seed. She eats the nutriberry like a starved child that has never seen or tasted food before. My sister said she bought something to powder up the harrisons, and Tee tried it, but now she ignores it.

Hahaha, this is exactly how its been for Pru for the last three days, LOL I finally ran out of the seed mix she was sent ot me with from the breeder and now soley relies on the pellets for "dry" food. She's not enjoying it and seems to hold out till the very end of the day before caving and eating the pellets.....I think she's coming around though....

 

[Anne & Gang]

I so disag ree with the whole pellet thing...either is not good by itself unless you give veggies etc to supplement...so if you are, then dont worry about the seed thing.

 

[Prince Toasty Buns]

Thanks JLC for providing everyone that handy list of "good reading". Hope all the articles are read and hopefully then the practices contained therein will be adopted. Convenience feeding of only or mostly pellets should never be promoted because often it turns into a bad habit which then compromises the health of our birds.

Agreed that 10% pellets (if any) is the amount we all should not be exceeding in our flock member's diets. The advice & use of 10% seeds can be raised somewhat depending on the species of parrot.

Hopefully the untapped mkt. of healthy packaged frozen foods (of the right mix for species specific parrots/birds) is over the horizon. Why some entrepreneur or group has not yet come out with these frozen mixes is somewhat puzzling.

 

[Archiesmom]

Thanks JLC for providing everyone that handy list of "good reading". Hope all the articles are read and hopefully then the practices contained therein will be adopted. Convenience feeding of only or mostly pellets should never be promoted because often it turns into a bad habit which then compromises the health of our birds.

Agreed that 10% pellets (if any) is the amount we all should not be exceeding in our flock member's diets. The advice & use of 10% seeds can be raised somewhat depending on the species of parrot.

Hopefully the untapped mkt. of healthy packaged frozen foods (of the right mix for species specific parrots/birds) is over the horizon. Why some entrepreneur or group has not yet come out with these frozen mixes is somewhat puzzling.

Sounds like someone just did You find a way to market and ship it, and I'll find a way to buy it!

 

[Prince Toasty Buns]

Sounds like someone just did You find a way to market and ship it, and I'll find a way to buy it!

Oh, I do wish I had the time to get into all that but alas I don't due to responsibilities here on the home front. Great idea though for some younger person to start a lucrative business at an early age. I too will buy when available.

 

[daydreams356]

Hopefully the untapped mkt. of healthy packaged frozen foods (of the right mix for species specific parrots/birds) is over the horizon. Why some entrepreneur or group has not yet come out with these frozen mixes is somewhat puzzling.

I so wanted/ still want this market. haha. As a college student I have found several different pet product markets I really think need to still be tapped into and one cat product I definitely need to be inventing, however, the only way I have been able to find shipping frozen food is with dry ice and overnight, which financially is not feasible for the majority of bird owners I would assume. The profit margin with the demand isn't really much. Unless there is another way I just haven't been able to find yet! I really need to figure this one out... lol!

 

[idrial]

One thing that I wish to invest in is dehydrated foods without any added ingredients (and no contamination from wheat/soy, sugars, oils, etc.). I have been researching getting my own dehydrater that isn't plastic. It looks like the stainless steel ones are several thousands of dollars. I will eventually invest in one since I would personally benefit from an untainted food source, but not anytime within the next several months.

One thing I *have* looked into is shipping frozen organic food that is meant for babies (tasty spoon). It is expensive, but has been met with success. It lacks variety, but at least they pick high nutrient foods.

 

[Bokkapooh]

I personally wouldnt stop, but I would also provide fresh produce in her diet in the morning, along with sprouts and other foods.

 

[Eden Marel]

Ok we will give it a try. I just didn't want her to lose any weight while we were doing this, cuz she is underweight already. We want to make her fatter but healtheir at the same time