Changing Diet

[BluckaBlucka]

Blucka (B&G Macaw) has been fed a fruit, nut, and seed mix which I would like to change as soon as possible. I am trying to transition her to Harrison's High Potency. I am looking for advice on how to go about this and who has better luck with coarse vs fine. I tried putting some in her dish today along with her regular food but she tasted it and chucked it all out!

 

[cdog]

Use the coarse. Offer her current diet for 1 hour in the morning then take it away and offer only the pellets for the rest of the day. Then at night offer her current diet for 1 hour again then switch it with pellets. Do this until you see her eating some then slowly lessen the amount of time you offer her current diet until she is on pellets. It will take time so stick with it, it took my conures 6 months before they were switched.
You cant offer both seeds and pellets at the same time because she will just eat the stuff she likes, seeds.

 

[henpecked]

#1 buy a set of scales. I get the $20 digital kitchen ones from the Kitchen Gadget store. Build a simple perch for him to step up on. Weigh him in the AM before feeding.Now when you change his diet you can tell if he's eating,crumbing up or discarding his pellets.Soften pellets will help many birds to change over, but wet pellets spoil with in an hour or two.( don't leave them long) As far as what size? i'd give him a choice and see what he thinks is best. READ the analysis on the pellets and understand what you are feeding. Taste them and see if they are too high in sugars. IMO avoid colored,flavoured pellets and CHECK the expiration date. I'm sure there's plenty of advice on how to switch them over but monitor his weigh and make sure he's eating right.

 

[JJones1719]

When I first brought my Baby Green Wing home, I kept him on the same diet as the breeder until he was able to adjust to me and his new surroundings, The best way to get a macaw to eat or change his diet is to allow him to eat what you are eating.
This means, if you want him to eat more veggies, eat veggies with him and make a huge deal of it when your macaw eats them. Remember, most people as owners of macaws make the same error over and over again, Go back to the basics with the Macaw, in the wild they all eat, play, bath together, you are now their flock and your Macaw needs to see you as the alfa and they need you to be the leader and protector, provder.
Best of luck Joe