Switching food from seeds to fresh food and pellets

[wittykristen]

Hi everyone,

I have a new cockatiel that's 7 months old. He is spoiled on seeds. I have been attempting to switch him to pellets and fresh foods. I keep a pellet and seed mix for him in his cage at all times and offer him fresh foods a couple times a day. He keeps picking out seeds won't touch the fresh food at all. I can't really teach him by showing him that I'm eating it because we aren't bonded well yet. I dont have other birds to teach him either. Can anyone give me advice as to how to get him eating better?

 

[LordTriggs]

excellent job on deciding to switch to pellets.

the thing I'm aware to do is to gradually let the ration change. start off with a couple pellets in the bowl of seed. Hopefully you know how much they roughly eat so you can get the right amount so they don't just pick around the pellets. Then as time goes on put less seed and more pellets until they are happy eating a whole bowl of pellets.

For me my guy just ate the pellets straight away, I swear he preferred pellets to seed.

Hopefully others here can give you better tips than my basic knowledge

 

[Inger]

One of the things I've seen suggested is that you do the opposite of what you're doing. Pellet/seed mix only available for maybe 15 minutes twice a day and fresh stuff all the time, so he's more likely to get hungry and want it.

Even though you say you're not bonded, can't hurt for you to show him how delicious it is. Might help with your bonding too.

Sprouts are a great way to move them away from seeds. SilverSage had a great article on her site:

[URLhttp://www.silversageaviaries.com/sprouting/][/URL]

I had read so many articles about sprouting that made it look very complicated, but SilverSage makes it very simple. I started sprouting seed mix and beans and they are always the first thing Bumble picks out of her dish. I share them with her too - yum!

Good luck to you - it may be a long process, but don't give up!




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jenphilly]

Using Nutriberries is a great trick to help, you can roll the nutriberry in mashed sweet potatoes, or take a leaf of kale and use it as a 'wrapper' for the nutriberry.

Making chop balls is a fun option too, again mashed sweet potatoes (most birds love mashed yams / sweet potatoes), then add healthy seeds such as flax, sesame, safflower , oats and small chopped bits of veggies and fruits.

At the shelter we also hang full leaves of fresh greens in the aviary, the littles seem to love shredding and eating them.


I also vote for sprouts.... they are super easy to try! You can start with the easiest and also healthy - regular tan lentils. You can find them at any grocery store, they are super tasty for humans too!

Good luck and keep trying!

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

I'm having the same problem with BB..and it got to a point where he got a nasty bacterial infection and needed to take antibiotics for a couple weeks.
He was only 4.5 months old when he came home to live with me and Amy, he is now about a year an seven months old.

He gets Nupreem fruity pellets,and a bit of "special cockatiel blend" the breeder makes specially for tiels,an an occasional small piece of millet..but WILL NOT eat his veggies! UNLESS however,he eats from MY plate

Cockatiels are flock birds..they do stuff together,eat,bathe,play...in groups.
So,when I'm here at my computer,and I have something to eat,he joins me.often climbing down my arm to my plate and nibbling at whats there.
I expect him to chow down (like Amy) but he just picks..a bite or two of corn niblets..a piece of broccoli..a munch of banana..

Try eating with your little buddy..pick up the pellets and pretend your eating them..make all sorts of yummy sounds,telling him how good they are...I'm trying this with The Beebs right now,and he's just giving me a funny look Even his doc said it'll take time.




Jim

 

[plumsmum2005]

Just a little suggestion of putting together a foraging box/dish/bowl of different foods edible flowers, kale, odd salad leaf, sprouted seeds/bean, add this to Jenphilly's suggestions and who could resist? Some will get eaten and some played with, some discarded. Off the menu once doesn't mean forever though.

 

[smbrds]

Another echo for the above posts. Tiels are sociable flock birds needing to be with their flock. You are their flock especially if it's you and only them. One and only. They want what you're having and come to find out, especially healthy foods, decide they don't want it afterall.He just could want you around and eat with you at the same time will encourage him to eat as well. Cooking for them also becomes a creative skill eventually and "hiding food" in homemade mash or bread/muffin to get them to eat more better.