Lucy won't eat her pellets...worried!!

[Ebella812]

We've tried Tops brand and Harrison's and she doesn't really like either. All she does is just break up the bigger pieces and dumps them all over the cage. Not really eating any of it. The vet told us to use Harrison's and that she would just get used to it if she had no other choice of food. We do give her fruits ( she loves canteloupe and kiwi and strawberries ) not a big fan of the veggies yet. Tried broccoli and carrots and corn but she just stares at the bowl like "what is this crap." lol. I'm just afraid she's not eating enough. She does this weird twitch like all day and the second we give her the original food ( a mix of pellets, seeds, dried fruit, etc that the bird store had her on) she eats the whole thing like she's been starving and the twitching stops. I've tried the whole weening her off the mix onto the pellets but she is picking out all the pellets and leaving them at the bottom of her cage. I just don't know what to do anymore. I'm willing to try another brand of pellets, any recommendations? I'm worried she's not eating enough and getting the right nutrition.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

Does she eat the Harrison's at all? Maybe give that to her and just put a sprinkling of the old food in there to make sure she's getting the thing she wants? Funny she won't eat corn. Seems they all go nuts for corn.

Does she respond if you act like you are eating it or feed any other pets you may have? (i tried this on Gilbert yesterday and i was suprised how it got his attention. I gave the 3 dogs attention and treats right in front of him and then he was willing to take a nibble of his treat.) Does she want to eat dinner with you? Georgie was always fond of that, and would even be annoying and step up on my plate to steal MY food. If your bird responds to that, maybe even put some bird food on YOUR plate and act like it's yummy.

 

[AFP520]

To piggyback, Erica put fresh pellets in her bowl early in the morning. I come home for lunch around 1pm, and I noticed she barely touches the pellets. I immediately notice the wing twitching and the head bobbing. I give her some fresh fruit while I eat a sammich, and she seems ok. I come home from work at 5 and the twitching/bobbing is still there.

I felt bad and went to the container that had the big mix Erica is talking about. Let me tell you, this bird has never perked up so fast and practically finding everyway possible to get off of me and get this food. I put some in a bowl and she will go to town on it. 5-10 minutes later, the twitching/bobbing stops and she's back to her old self.

I've read her movements are a sign that she wants attention, but I don't want her to starve because she doesn't like pellets. I think I'd be mad if someone tried to shove a bunch of health food down my throat too! Any advice?

 

[MonicaMc]

Have you tried different sizes of Harrison's? Maybe larger? Or smaller? What about moistening the pellets and making a paste out of it? (not sure how well this would work with Harrison's) and then adding some seeds? Make into little balls or cakes and feed it that way.

I made up a 'conversion' thread. Let me post it to this forum and perhaps it'll give you some ideas!

 

[aliray]

personally I would also be worried. My parrots don't like pellets either so I bake them ground up into a birdy bread. My parrots all eat Higgens Sunburt conure size seed,fruit, veg ,nut mix plus as the main food always available, plus lots of people food like pasta brown rice cooked chicken,cooked eggs, veggies,fruits, birdie bread, cooked shrimp, cooked beef etc. you could also try putting a little fruit juice on a small dish of pellets and let it become soft and try it, I also cook other grains like quinua, oats, cooked dry bean soup mix without the season pkt

 

[MonicaMc]

Here's the thread... I hope it helps, or at least gives you some ideas!

http://www.parrotforums.com/general-health-care/23367-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html


I may have something else I could add into it, but hopefully it'll suffice for now?

 

[MaraWentz]

So I switched Erin from pellets to filled with corn to RoudyBush Rice Diet (round disc shaped pellets. There's no corn in it and it is completely allergy free. She also can't be brought off a pellet mix by mixing in new food because she throws it. To top things off she hates all human food to that isn't icecream, chocolate, soda, milk, or juice. So we threw out the old food and put in the RoudyBush, the first whole diet she refused to eat, the second day, she refused and stared screaming all day, same for the third, until I broke it up into tiny pieces (their the size of pumpkin seeds) becasue all she would do was picka piece up, bite it in half then throw it out or just chuck a whole peice. Well I broke it tiny an d now she eats it all SHe may even have 2-3 bowls a day which is a lot more than she used to eat of her old mix, but the first 2 days she ate about 5 bowls a day of it, so I'm glad it cut down. She seems to really enjoy it. I love that it's a pellet and allergy free (she is allergic to corn we believe). Also there's no dyes, or fruity smells to attract ants. In fact. We have ants now, and after watching them I have not seen a single one go near hte crumbs her stand. I highly reccommend that pellet. It comes in smal or mini, we're ordering mini next time, but small is the size of a pumpkin seed.

 

[AFP520]

The pellets were adult sized, so probably for bigger birds, but we do break them up into smaller pieces before we put them in a bowl. I have definitely seen her eating them before, she's just not tearing it up like she would the other mixed food.

 

[MaraWentz]

Well mixed food is filed with sugary fruits and preservatives for the dried veggies and tons of fatty nuts, that she can pick out her favourites and identify. The pellets are a bland taste because althat stuff is mixed together, there's no individual flavor, textures, smells, colors, shapes, etc. It's lack of appeal, which is why many birds refuse them,and why so many pellets are fruity scented or dyed. Trust me the good smelling pellets aren't filled with so much strawberry that they smell like strawberries lol A child would much rather eat his mac n cheese and chicken nuggets seperate, than have you blend it up and bake it into a bread to eat. It still is made with te same stuff, but there's no appeal of diffeternt colours and textures and tastes. It's jsut on bland grey glob of food.