90% pellet, 10% other food question

[Ambermai]

So....I can't be the only one wondering this.
How much is 10% of my (black capped) conure's diet? A sliver of apple? A half a grape? A mini carrot?
The vet says Jade should have 90% Harrison's for the next 2 weeks. You can imagine how thrilled (not) Jade is by this new diet. So I'm trying to figure out how to ration her treats without going overboard. Help, please?

 

[Jewelz]

I just got my black cap & he took some time to get used to the Harrisons but now that he has he won't eat any other pellet....he oves it now... I give Felix about a tablespoon of mixed fruits & veggies daily....any more and it just goes to waste. I put his fave treats in foraging toys so he gets to eat them when he puts the effort in to get them.... I also have him forage for his Harrisons so even they seem ike treats My vet said because conures are fairly active little guys it can be hard to keep their weight up so weighing them daiy can help dictate how much of something to give your little one.... I also mix little bits of spray millet in Felixs Harrisons pellets for added tastiness hope this helps a bit

 

[Ambermai]

Oh good, glad to hear good news about Harrison's. So far Jade is reluctantly giving them a nibble and acting like he's starved. I know he's a little overweight as of Saturday so a couple of days to get used to it should be ok. I say this as Jade is trying to tear into her the bag of regular pellets i have under his cage!

 

[Jewelz]

Yea Felix was pretty upset about the initial pellet change & went on pellet strike in the first week or so but now that he is used to them I couldn't change him onto something different even if I wanted to..... I would suggest mixing some of his old pellets into the Harrisons but he'll probably just pick the ones he likes out & not eat the Harrisons.... I think consistency is key.....

 

[getwozzy]

Another thing you can try is making some birdie bread... It's actually the only way I can get Chili to eat her pellets.

http://www.parrotforums.com/showthread.php?t=37046

 

[WannaBeAParrot]

Also, if you are weighing him at home, try to do it with consistency. If you weight him when he just filled his crop there wll be a big variance from when the crop is empty. Also, bring the scale you use at home to vet's office and see if they match, so you'll know what adjustments to make in measuring. If you don't have a home scale, you can pick up a digital food scale for $15 and up.

 

[getwozzy]

I have a kitchen scale and rigged it with a PVC perch.

Make sure it measures in grams.

As WannaBe said- make it a habit to weigh your bird every morning as you take him out of the cage; illnesses can sometimes be detected earlier if you notice a fluctuation in weight. After you weigh the bird he's free to do whatever he does next in the morning...play, breakfast, whatever...

 

[kiwiS]

I feed kiwi a tablespoon of chopped up veggies and fruit in the morning mixed with half a teaspoon of millet/seed and raw pasta. Then at night she gets a tablespoon of cooked rice, quinoa, sweet potato and squash.

She gets 50% Harrisons and 30% Roudybush for the rest of the day (usually she consumes about a tablespoon and a half). And her nutriberry treats are only provided in foraging toys, and only for about four hours a day.

She used to weigh 68 grams when I took her back from the shop, she now weighs a consistent 78 grams. (she's a GCC)

Hope this helps!

 

[Ambermai]

Thank you all for the advice. Weighing every morning after the morning dump is going to be our new strategy. He's been throwing puppy eyes at me all morning for treats and I'm having to resist. It's really tough!
He weighs 70g at the moment and the vet said he's a little plump so a little deprivation (and I do mean little) won't do him any harm. I'm thinking of mixing a little applesauce in to the pellets to moisten them up and help make them more palatable.

 

[thekarens]

Just my .02 but I wouldn't make pellets the main portion of the diet. Fruits, veggies, whole grains, etc should be the biggest part of their diet and then pellets and then seed.

 

[EclecticSoul]

I agree with thekarens, pellets should really only be there to fill in any nutritional gap you may be missing with a fresh diet. Which if you are providing a variety of fresh foods you shouldn't need to feed many at all. Check out the group the parrots pantry on facebook, if you have one.

 

[Ambermai]

Well, I thought the same, that fresh is better than pellets, but the vet specifically asked me to put him on a 90% pellet diet. He said that when he did a bacteria test, there wasn't a lot of good or bad gut bacteria, it was mainly starch, so I think he wants me to make sure that Jade's system is properly balanced. Unfortunately it's been almost a week and Jade still hates Harrison's and only likes the fruity pellets. I've been caving and giving him the food he loves - red peppers, apples, corn chex...I just get so worried because he's so little, I don't want him to be underfed. He seems to lose energy when he refuses to eat all day because all he's offered is pellets.

 

[getwozzy]

Have you tried grinding the pellets up and then sprinkle like a teaspoon of them on his fruits and veggies...?

I honestly couldn't imagine my Chili eating a 90% pellet diet without me having to shove them down her throat. Lol I also believe (along with my AVet!) that fresh fruits, veggies, and grains come first and should give your bird the nutrition they need...pellets, like thekarens said, are to fill in nutritional gaps.

 

[burnziethebird]

To get my GCC off of seeds and on to pellets, my vet told me to add apple juice to the pellets, she loves them now and I only had to add the apple juice the one time, now she happily dunks them in her water by herself.

 

[baron1282]

My vet told me to get my bird off seeds and switch to pellets, Like Zupreem. He also said with a good pellet diet my bird wouldn't need anything else at all. He told me the pellets will have all the nutrition that my bird needs. He said I can give my bird seeds here and there as a treat and to still feed him fresh vegetables and fruits. He said the fresh veggies and fruits will be good for him, but its not that important if you have him on a good pellet diet.

My bird took to pellets right away, but I believe that's because the fruit blend had a bunch of different colors that he likes. He leaves the yellow color pellets alone, but he will eat the brown veggie pellets that I mix in. I bought both the fruit blend and the veggie blend of the Zupreem and already my bird looks better and seems more healthy.

I posted a while back that my birds feathers were starting to bronze on the tips. This was when I was feeding him nothing but seeds. So I switched to pellets and all his new feathers has no bronze tips and the old ones are falling out being replaced with nice colored feathers. I also have a Avian light that is 20in above his cage that gives full spectrum lighting. Its on a timer and comes on at 9 and shuts off at 8. I believe the pellets have been making all the difference in his appearance.

Try the Zupreem fruit blend, as I believe the colors helped him to switch over fast. My bird didn't even miss seeds. I give him seeds now only once a month and he still eats the pellets more. He gets a slice of apple almost every day (because I eat one almost every day. . I can't really get him to eat any veggies, but the Zupreem veggie blend he eats so he gets all the nutrition from veggies from them.

 

[kiwiS]

For a picky eater it is essential that you do the switch over to new food over a gradual period of time, not just a few days. In the end, any food is better than no food! I'm saying this because you mentioned in your post that he has less energy on days you try to feed him new food only - this could harm him plus it may make him look at harrisons in a bad light.

Kind of like if you are used to eating french fries your whole life. Then suddenly someone takes it away and only gives you broccoli. Even if you end up eating it, you may also end up hating it for the rest of your life! You want all new foods to be a positive experience for your bird, so it'll be easier later on for him and yourself ^.^

 

[Ambermai]

It's a really slow process. I've been mixing in the colorful pellets that he likes, also some seeds (Sunday seedday). Today we're back to straight Harrison's since he wolfed them down on Saturday like they were treats (I also put some in his treat cup, that may have helped matters a bit). He's growing in all the feathers he plucked out of his chest so I'm hoping to see a difference pretty soon!
IN response to those who are saying fresh fruits/veggies etc are better than pellets - the problem is my Jade is a junk food eater, and just wants apples, oatmeal, and then "junk" foods like chips/crisps, white rice, white pasta, bread....give him a zucchini or squash and he tosses it as far as he can reach. So when the vet tested his bacteria levels, he just found a load of starch and not much else! The pellets are an attempt to get his digestive system back on track (as is the apple cider vinegar drops in his water dish and a pinch of dry yoghurt powder on the pellets).

 

[getwozzy]

Ahh, makes sense now. My amazon was a junk food junkie too. I can empathize how hard it is to get them to eat healthy and good stuff lol

I'm glad to hear his feathers are coming back in!!! Yay! Hopefully this pellet diet will settle things out for him.

 

[MonicaMc]

When feeding, it's best to be creative in how you present food.

For example!!!!! Make the following toy (it's freaking easy to do!) and then stick bits of fruits and veggies on the ends! Might be enough to intrigue a bird!

Starburst Foraging