Want yo get my Amazon off walmart seed. Need a good food. Will not touch Zupreem. Help! lol. Thanks in advance & happy to be here.

[SameAsINeverWas]

Oops. I think I placed msg in wrong spot. Need a good food to switch my old Amazon off seed or at least, what is the very best seed I can get for him. Ty all.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Hi! Welcome!

Here's my usual yadda-yadda on food.

As you doubtlessly know, they need veggies, legumes, grains... pellets are a good staple. Seeds are only a treat in my house. Here's what I've used for 40 years with the same bird.

HARRISON’S BIRD FOODS – CERTIFIED ORGANIC BIRD FOOD

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

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 I also like Harrison's via mail because I never have to worry about out-of-date products.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!
In case you're a new parront, I'll just drop a note about avoiding teflon pans, which can be lethal to birds if overheated.
I'm glad you're here. Lots to learn and share and enjoy!

 

[SameAsINeverWas]

I will definitely try this. I have tried a variety of foods and he won’t touch them. To begin with he is 50 years old. They fed him things like spaghetti and meatballs, whit castles, macaroni and cheese, pizza. He was abused for decades physically and then he was treated well but fed whatever they ate. This has created an issue because now he doesn’t want any bird food. He enjoys fruits which he gets daily but will not touch any veggies I have offered him. He also has severe behavioral issues but I can deal with that. I ordered him Prime vitamins and he isn’t pleased with that either. I will buy the food you suggested and do the 15 minutes twice a day. Easy enough. I just hope he surrenders to good health. lol. Thank you so much for direction. We most certainly need help here to get him on track.

 

[wrench13]

I can tell you it took me almost a year to get my Amazon, 9 yrs old, to recognize pellets as food. He uses them as all day snacks, not main food. One ingredient in my chop receipe that got Salty really interested in it was super hot peppers. Jalapeno, Habenero and Ghost peppers. Once I chopped these up and added to his chop, he's become a real chop hound. Dont worry about the heat of these. Parrots have 1 taste bud to 100 of ours, so what is hellishly hot to us is merely tangy to them.

Getting them to change foods takes a long time usually, with lots of persistence with a given food before giving up. Me, I'd offer a hotted up chop with say 5-6 other ingredients, sometimes fine, mid size and chunky, over and over for a few weeks at minimum. Also helps for them to see YOU eating the same foods (be careful with the peppers tho!), might be especially true with this bird since he's had so much people food over his life.

Good Luck!

 

[rheashard2]

Yup, what the others say. The suggestion that you eat it works. You have to look like you're ENJOYING the stuff. My CAG ate pellets, Harrison's. He refused anything else that wasn't junk (like me). Vet suggested eating chop, veggies in front of him. Evidently I wasn't looking happy, or he was suspicious. He flew over to where I was sitting. Climbing up to shoulder, looking in my mouth and grabbed a piece ! It was traumatic to me, new parrot owner etc. I just sat there. Then I remembered the articles about regurgitation as a sign of affection. I quickly became happy. He wasn't putting something in !

 

[SameAsINeverWas]

That’s funny. I would be frozen in time as that happened with mine. I am ordering the Harrison’s tonight. Seems it’s recommended. The jalapeño peppers., I never would had thought of. We don’t eat them but I will definitely pick some up Monday when I go shopping. Thank you. Advice is much appreciated.

 

[rheashard2]

Have fun and enjoy your friend.

 

[SameAsINeverWas]

Thank you. He’s entertaining to say the least. Take care and Thanks again.