Getting him off seed!

[fchristian]

Now, I know everyone says to be patient. But... I have a Pacific Parrotlet. He is three years old. He was hand raised but was introduced to seed by the breeder. I have tried numerous times to get him off of it. Pellets? Veggies? Fruit??? He would rather starve. Well, at least that is what he wants to make me think! He is small as it is so it is always a concern. I read about parrotlets at 30 grams. Peanut has never gotten above 26. He is not skinny. He's just small. I would love to hear about how you all succeeded at this transition. I would also love to hear the issues you ran into.

 

[zERo]

I have switched every bird I have over from the seed diet they were eating when I got them be mixing seed in with chop, or by making birdie bread. I switched a 12 yr old cockatiel over from an all seed diet to eating chop in less than a week by mixing his seed (a lot of it to where he could see it) in his chop. Slowly decrease the seed until you don't put any in at all. In order to eat the seeds, they have to at least taste the chop. Birdie bread only works for birds who like the texture of bread and most do.
Getting them to eat pellets can be tougher than getting them to eat chop. Making birdie bread works for pellets as well; also grinding the pellets into powder, then sprinkling it on the chop or seed (you may have to spray the seeds to get them wet so the powder will stick. Remove any wet seeds after a few hours because they could mold

 

[fchristian]

@zERo, Do you have a particular Chop recipe that you have good luck with? Also how fine is it?

 

[zERo]

Veggies:
Mustard greens, Rainbow kale (tuscan, curly, etc.), Parsley,
Broccoli, Cauliflower, Green beans, Sugar snaps peas,
Baby carrots, Ginger root, Sweet potato, Mini sweet bell peppers,
Pomegranate(only fruit in the mix) , Zucchini.

Grains, legumes, beans:
Brown rice, white Quinoa, green Lentils, red Lentils,
Mung beans, Split peas, Couscous, Rolled oats,
Chickpeas, Lima beans.

Extras:
Red palm oil, coconut oil, crushed almonds (for extra calcium), bee pollen,
boiled egg.

This is one of the chops I've made and its all very finely chopped in a Nutribullet

The current chop I have has Swiss chard instead of mustard greens and cucumber instead zucchini and then green beans instead of sugar snaps

 

[fchristian]

Veggies:
Mustard greens, Rainbow kale (tuscan, curly, etc.), Parsley,
Broccoli, Cauliflower, Green beans, Sugar snaps peas,
Baby carrots, Ginger root, Sweet potato, Mini sweet bell peppers,
Pomegranate(only fruit in the mix) , Zucchini.

Grains, legumes, beans:
Brown rice, white Quinoa, green Lentils, red Lentils,
Mung beans, Split peas, Couscous, Rolled oats,
Chickpeas, Lima beans.

Extras:
Red palm oil, coconut oil, crushed almonds (for extra calcium), bee pollen,
boiled egg.

This is one of the chops I've made and its all very finely chopped in a Nutribullet

The current chop I have has Swiss chard instead of mustard greens and cucumber instead zucchini and then green beans instead of sugar snaps

And how long does this last? I mean how often should I whip this up?

 

[fchristian]

What do you think of NutriBerries?

 

[zERo]

And how long does this last? I mean how often should I whip this up?

Well it depends if you freeze it or not. The batch I make lasts 2 months usually, but I have 9 birds and you have just one so it would last you much longer, or you can make it weekly if you perfer. You should check out the other threads about chop on here too, there great resources as well.

 

[zERo]

What do you think of NutriBerries?

I feed Nutriberries as a snack to my birds, one a piece after breakfast and one after dinner, except the budgies share one after each meal. There good, just not as the complete diet.

 

[GaleriaGila]

My two cents, for your reading pleasure...


I feed Harrison's, supplemented by fresh healthy treats. My first, and later, my current avian vet recommended it. My bird loves the pellets now, but to get him converted, my avian vet suggested putting pellets out all day, and putting seeds (his old diet) out for two 15-minute periods a day. That would sustain him but leave him hungry enough to try new stuff. I presume the same technique could be used to get him to eat other healthy stuff, like fruits and vegetables! My guy was eating pellets in a couple of days, and now I can feed a good variety of other stuff, knowing he has the pellets as a basic. Pellets are out all day... fresh treats a few times a day. I also like Harrison's via mail because I never have to worry about out-of-date products.
Another couple of ideas...
My ol' man is an athlete and health nut. He actually EATS all the good stuff, so it's always around. I find that tossing various stuff into the food bowls at random is good... the variations and differences seem to stimulate curiosity and attention.
The other idea... if you can stand it (lol) EAT the stuff in front of the birds, yes. That encourages them. I have also found that if my ol' man eats stuff in front of the bird, the bird WANTS it for himself. Kinda a rivalry thing!

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See what's new at Harrison's Bird Foods: Certified organic, non-GMO diets for birds. Nutritionally complete for all life stages.

www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com

 

[Zoruace]

some videos that might help:

here are some for pelletes

 

[Flipgirl24]

Veggies:
Mustard greens, Rainbow kale (tuscan, curly, etc.), Parsley,
Broccoli, Cauliflower, Green beans, Sugar snaps peas,
Baby carrots, Ginger root, Sweet potato, Mini sweet bell peppers,
Pomegranate(only fruit in the mix) , Zucchini.

Grains, legumes, beans:
Brown rice, white Quinoa, green Lentils, red Lentils,
Mung beans, Split peas, Couscous, Rolled oats,
Chickpeas, Lima beans.

Extras:
Red palm oil, coconut oil, crushed almonds (for extra calcium), bee pollen,
boiled egg.

This is one of the chops I've made and its all very finely chopped in a Nutribullet

The current chop I have has Swiss chard instead of mustard greens and cucumber instead zucchini and then green beans instead of sugar snaps

Do you mix all of each group in one recipe or pick one from each group?

 

[Flboy]

My two cents! A quality seed is far superior to almost any pellet!

 

[zERo]

Do you mix all of each group in one recipe or pick one from each group?

I mixed them all in one recipe but chop can be as simple and as complex as you want it to be.

 

[fchristian]

Great ideas! Since Peanut literally eats like a bird, I am going the route of feeding him pellets for now. Putting together a chop may be a bit too much for now. Thank you, @zERo! @GaleriaGila , I have already started your method and he seems to be taking to the pellets. I am now starting on the veggies. @Tikitiel , I watched the videos you sent. This morning, I sprinkled some chopped zucchini and broccoli over his seed mix to get him used to it being there. He's routing through it now. I think we may have better luck this time around. Thank you everyone for your input. Reading articles on this helps but nothing compares to a healthy discussion with those who have been there.

 

[Bird123456789]

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[Scott]

Transition to a healthy diet occurs over time, slowly acclimating reluctant parrots to variety of new foods. Many of us prefer baseline of quality pellets, fresh veggies + fruits aka "chop," supplemented with treats. Harrison's Pellets has conversion guide that ought work for any brand. https://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/large-bird-conversion.asp

As GalleriaGila mentioned above, eating in front of Peanut helpful. Prepare two identical bowls of fresh food, offer one and begin to eat from yours. Make "mmmm" sounds, bob your head in delight. Parrots are flock eaters and you are one of the flock!!

Few helpful threads: https://www.parrotforums.com/threads/chop-recipes-resource-thread.91664/ https://www.parrotforums.com/threads/converting-parrots-to-a-healthier-diet-tips.23367/

Bird Safe Fresh Foods & Toxic Food Lists + Sprouts

The list for the grains, legumes, veggies, and fruits are mostly from the Feeding Feathers YH-group. The list of foods to avoid is from Buffalo Parrots. List of seeds, well I just looked at a few packages of bird food to get the ingredients off of. I did add a few things to the lists but didn't...

www.parrotforums.com

Good luck, please keep us updated with progress or frustrations!!

 

[fchristian]

Transition to a healthy diet occurs over time, slowly acclimating reluctant parrots to variety of new foods. Many of us prefer baseline of quality pellets, fresh veggies + fruits aka "chop," supplemented with treats. Harrison's Pellets has conversion guide that ought work for any brand. https://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/large-bird-conversion.asp

As GalleriaGila mentioned above, eating in front of Peanut helpful. Prepare two identical bowls of fresh food, offer one and begin to eat from yours. Make "mmmm" sounds, bob your head in delight. Parrots are flock eaters and you are one of the flock!!

Few helpful threads: https://www.parrotforums.com/threads/chop-recipes-resource-thread.91664/ https://www.parrotforums.com/threads/converting-parrots-to-a-healthier-diet-tips.23367/

Bird Safe Fresh Foods & Toxic Food Lists + Sprouts

The list for the grains, legumes, veggies, and fruits are mostly from the Feeding Feathers YH-group. The list of foods to avoid is from Buffalo Parrots. List of seeds, well I just looked at a few packages of bird food to get the ingredients off of. I did add a few things to the lists but didn't...

www.parrotforums.com

Good luck, please keep us updated with progress or frustrations!!

OMG! The shipping cost on Harrisons is ridiculous! I really like the bird bread idea as Peanut will nibble on a crust of bread when offered. Any suggestions as to where I can order it?