Bill of Fare: Revised

[WhiteFlight]

You can also try crushing up the pellets to a powder in a mortar and pestle, then sprinkling it over his food. I once had a VERY stubborn cockatiel who would almost have preferred to starve to death rather than convert to pellets. I tried every suggestion from my vet, from the interweb and from the pellet manufacturers and she point blank refused to even recognise them as food. After an eight week battle of wills I thought to grind them to a powder and incorporate them into her food just to get her accustomed to the taste and voila! Within days she was eating them like she’d done so all her life! Even if it doesn’t quite work your birdie may inadvertently get some of that better nutrition into him without even realising it

Good luck!

Source: 08-28-2020 Post #6

My last attempt with the crushed approach more than ten years ago failed. Revisiting the tactic at the beginning of this month was met with success, adding pellets as a permanent addition to Meisha's diet.

The stickies in this section offer an impressive diversed trove of dietary options.

 

[SailBoat]

We have alway added pellets as a supplement for our Amazon members diet over the years. We have found that crushing them and adding them into the dry food offering has worked for those that have never eaten pellets, as they tend to get a bit here and there by accident.

Freshness is critical and we have always keep them frozen prior to crushing and adding to that weeks dry-food prep.

Happy that you have had success!

 

[WhiteFlight]

keep them frozen prior to crushing

Noticed the angle mentioned in a previous thread. Will be doing the same. Received a shipment yesterday, letting it idle three days before handling.

Previous attempts with pellets were met with the same starvation attitude LaManuka mentioned.

 

[SailBoat]

keep them frozen prior to crushing

Noticed the angle mentioned in a previous thread. Will be doing the same. Received a shipment yesterday, letting it idle three days before handling.

Previous attempts with pellets were met with the same starvation attitude LaManuka mentioned.

Yes, 'starvation' can lead to major issues both physical and mental. It is why transition is so very important.

IMHO, it is much better to place them in the freezer ASAP as any moths or other bugs are killed prior to handling. Nothing more frustrating than to have a hatch while you are breaking them down into small lots. We use this approach on all dry foods, regardless of time of year! It is so much easier to play it safe!

 

[Scott]

I found Harrison's Pellet's conversion protocol to be extremely effective: Transitioned a flock of 8 (4 species) in about 10 days.
https://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/using-our-foods/large-bird-conversion/

Another option albeit time consuming is to grind the pellets and use as partial base for "birdy bread." One of many available recipes: http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-food-recipes-diet/65841-poppy-s-jolly-jungle-bread.html