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Trying to be healthier!

taxidermynerd

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Hi all!

So starting today, I'm gonna start really trying to convert Chirp over to a diet of at least 50% pellets, probably 10 or 15% seeds, and as much fruits and veggies as I can get him to eat. I saw a few threads on here with some really great ideas, and basically, combining a whole bunch of methods into this:
  1. Take out Chirp's normal seed mix at night, and put in pellets instead (I've noticed he's a bit of a night muncher)
  2. Start off with leaving pellets in a bowl next to his normal food bowl.
  3. Once I can see he's been pecking around in the pellets and actually nibbling on them, I'll start offering pellets all day and his usual seed mix for a few hours in the morning and a few hours in the evening.
  4. Once he's used to eating pellets during the day, I'll make the switch to mostly pellets.
  5. Monitor to make sure he's eating, and if all is well, then he'll be switched over!
  6. After a while (maybe a few months?) repeat process on a slightly smaller scale to adjust him to fruits and veggies.
Right now, he's being served a 50/50 mix or Zupreem canary pellets (the fruit flavored ones) and Zupreem "Smart Selects" which is a seed mix. I say being served instead of eating because he seems to pick through for the canary grass seed and the millet. Then again, if I were being offered a mix of candy and cauliflower or something, I think I'd pick the unhealthy one too! :hehe:

But at least he seems to recognize pellets as food, so there's that. Chirp is a very picky budgie. He also will take small nibbles of carrot, and when I made some chop (I have a bunch in the freezer) he would nibble little bits of it off my finger). He also really likes chopped almonds, but he hasn't gotten that in a while.

I'd probably offer the seeds and other treats during out-of-cage time (although he seems to like his cage so much that he prefers to sit in his cage to his playstand on top of the cage!), seeing as those are the times I offer millet (although that's more of a once-a-week thing) I think I'm also gonna try to find some all-natural pellets, or at least ones without artificial dyes. I'm pretty sure I read something about those being bad?

So I guess I'm basically asking for advice. Does my plan seem good? How did you switch your bird(s) over? Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated!

(Side note: Sorry if this is in the wrong spot!)
 

taxidermynerd

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well good luck with a healthy diet!
Thanks!

EDIT: Update time! (around 10 pm)
I put Chirp to bed, and I took out his seeds and left the pellets. Well, he just came down to his food bowls, and he ate some pellets!!! This is so exciting!
 
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WendyN

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That is great!
 

taxidermynerd

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That is great!
Yeah! He's making good progress, I'm so proud of him!

EDIT: Update time!

Even though his cage is covered, I can hear him climbing around and chirping. Every few minutes, he goes down to his food bowls and digs around, like he's looking for seed.

I don't want him to be hungry, but I know if I cave he's gonna understand that if he raises enough of a ruckus, he'll get his seed back.

He had his seed in his cage all day, should I just leave him be and let him keep chirping and climbing while he's supposed to be sleeping, or should I give him his seed back so he'll maybe quiet down? Or should I just abandon this step of the process?

Any wise words?

EDIT 2: Update time again!

I put some of his pellets in my hand and he ate some of them. I gave him a shower with some luke-warm water (not cold, but not really warm either) and set him on his sleeping perch. He stayed put for a minute or two, but then he started climbing around again and chirping. It seems like he understands that pellets are food, but he's being stubborn.

EDIT: Update time again.

When I last checked in on Chirp, he was sitting by his food bowls. I think he might be up on his sleeping perch now, though. At least he's not climbing around and he's being quiet.
 
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hoot

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Good luck, I'll be following your thread. I'd like to do the same thing but I can't get mine to touch anything at all besides the seed (excepting millet of course). I keep leaving bits of fresh fruit/veggies for them. I've tried strawberry (I heard it's a favorite), cucumber, pumpkin. No luck, they stare at the intruder warily and never even go near it. Worried about trying pellets if this is how they act to strawberries! I want to get them on pellets but haven't really been sure what to do about it, and while I still had a lot of seed left have been dragging my feet on getting started.
 

taxidermynerd

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Good luck, I'll be following your thread. I'd like to do the same thing but I can't get mine to touch anything at all besides the seed (excepting millet of course). I keep leaving bits of fresh fruit/veggies for them. I've tried strawberry (I heard it's a favorite), cucumber, pumpkin. No luck, they stare at the intruder warily and never even go near it. Worried about trying pellets if this is how they act to strawberries! I want to get them on pellets but haven't really been sure what to do about it, and while I still had a lot of seed left have been dragging my feet on getting started.
Yeah, that what I was doing too. But just taking out the seed at night and leaving pellets has made huge progress! The first night I did it, Chirp was climbing around and chirping in protest. But the second night, he was quiet and he just dealt with having to eat pellets if he gets hungry!

Of course, he still wants his seed, and I've even caught him running around the floor looking for any seed I may have dropped! But he does realize the pellets as food, which is a big first step. I think the reason why is because for like, 6 months I was mixing pellets into his seed everyday! I'm thinking maybe because it was in his food bowl, he understood it as food.

But yeah! Right now I'm using the fruit flavored pellets to wean him off of being a seed junkie, since I heard the fruit flavored ones have a high success rate. I ordered some of the natural ones from the pet store that's near my house, and those should be coming in soon. I'm hoping he'll accept those! I've also been using Nutriberries, since those have seed, but in order to get to the seed, he has to eat some of the healthy stuff too!

One of the most important things I've learned is to not cave in. Of course, you don't want to starve your birds, but you gotta make sure that they understand that one way or another they're going to end up eating pellets, if that makes sense. Like with Chirp, he can protest at night all he wants, but he knows that pellets are food and if he wants to eat during the night he'll have to eat pellets. Otherwise, he'll just need to wait till morning!

(Side note: As I was typing that last paragraph, Chirp willingly went over to his pellet bowl and ate some! Progress is being made!)
 

taxidermynerd

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Update time!
It's been a long while since I posted in this thread! I got Chirp to eat pellets willingly! I started making a mash of pellets with some seeds in it, and every day I offered a bowl of that and a bowl of mash just made of pellets. I put the bowl with just pellet mash higher up, and after about 4 or 5 days, he was willingly eating the mash from just pellets!

I've started mixing his daily bit of seeds in there, as well as veggies and things every now and again.
 

Calpurnia

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Yay Chirp! :) You did a great job by being persistent and not giving in to his initial grumbling.
 
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