Central Coast Home & Lifestyle Winter 2021

40 Home & Lifestyle Magazine | Winter 2021 The simplest way of converting most pet birds to a pelleted diet is to start by cleaning the cage each evening, and leaving only dry pellets in the food bowls. The following day (usually late morning or early afternoon), mix some of the bird’s previous food in with the new pellets. Birds that like table foods or fresh vegetables and fruit can have the dry pellets sprinkled amongst these foods to entice them. Sprinkling small amounts of seed such as shelled sunflower on the pellets will also encourage some parrots to try the pellets. Most birds are powerfully motivated to Converting Your Bird to a Healthier Pelleted Diet D iets composed of predominantly seeds are nutritionally inadequate for birds. Most seeds are deficient in several vitamins (e.g. Vitamins A and D), minerals (e.g. calcium), and specific amino acids. They are also very high in fat, which is what makes them taste so good, and they are high in phosphorus. A bird on a primarily seed diet is in a sense similar to a person on a diet composed of mostly French fries and chocolate chip cookies. Many birds will become fixated on a specific food item (e.g. sunflower seeds or corn) and will tend to pick and choose this favourite item out of a seed mixture, leading to very unbalanced nutrition. Additionally, seeds are not the primary natural diet of most species of psittacine birds. Converting to a pelleted diet can sometimes take many months and persistence and dedication is very important. Trying several different methods of introducing pellets may be required for success. Never remove all the seeds at once without monitoring the bird; this can result in a bird refusing to eat and dying of starvation. Starving a bird to convert to pellets is NOT recommended. The rapid metabolism of birds demands regular intake of food. More than 36 hours without food can kill a small bird!

Once you know how seed your bird eats, only provide this amount. Mix the seed & pellets in equal proportions, then gradually (over a few weeks or months) reduce the amount of seed and increase pellets. When the bird starts to eat the pellets, stop the seed. • Mix the pellets, some small vegetables and a pinch of seed in the one dish. Every few days forget the seed. • Allow the bird access to pellets all day, but offer the seed only twice daily. Remove after 30 minutes. • If your bird is very tame, offering the pellets as a treat or pretending to eat them and then offering them often works. Birds learn through demonstration and mimicry. The owner can pretend to eat a piece of pellet and express to the bird how good it tastes. Then, the owner should share some with the bird. This can help the bird associate the pellets as a new food source. • Several birds together will often start eating pellets quicker than a bird on its own. This is because competition for food drives the birds to try new things faster. Once one bird starts, the others quickly follow. • Crush the pellets and sprinkle over the seed or favourite fruits and veggies. This helps get the bird used to the new taste. • Slightly moisten the food, and then mix in the pellets. They will stick together so that the bird starts to get a taste for them. Moistened pellets spoil quickly and should be changed at least twice daily to prevent bacterial overgrowth. • Some birds will start to eat pellets if they are sprinkled over a flat surface, such as a table top. Some people find that sprinkling themon to amirror attracts the bird’s attention more, and the bird will pick at the pellets and acquire a taste for them. Be creative, and be patient. It may take weeks or even months. Keep trying! Your birds long, healthy life really does depend on it! Remember that if you have any questions about converting to a formulated pelleted diet then do not hesitate to call an avian veterinary clinic.

search for food (ie really hungry!) each morning and sample the pellets within a few days. One can often tell when the bird is eating the new food, as the droppings will usually change colour, pellet crumbs are seen on the cage bottom and in the bottom of the food bowls, and pellets may be found soaked in the water dish. The bird’s droppings and activity level should be closely monitored during this diet transition. Periodic body weight checks are helpful, and can be done either at the veterinarian’s office or at home, providing an accurate gram scale is used that is accurate to at least 2 grams (e.g. electronic digital scale, triple beam balance). More than a 10 to 15% weight loss is dangerous and if this occurs, take one step back in the diet change. If the droppings begin to become small and very dark to black, this means the bird is not eating well and should be given a little more seed to maintain safety. Once a bird is converted to pellets, keep seed OUT of the cage. A few seeds can still be given as a treat fed by hand, but should be a very minimal part of the diet. It is important that vitamin and mineral supplements are discontinued when seed has been eliminated from the diet. Vitamin and mineral requirements should be satisfied by the pelleted diet and further supplementation can result in toxicity. Depending on the species of bird, 80% of the daily diet should consist of pellets. The remaining 20% can consist of vegetables, legumes, small quantities of fruits, and various human table foods. With this recipe in mind, the pet parrot is given the best chance to live a healthy long life with improved feather quality and optimum fitness. If the method described above for switching to pellets is unsuccessful, there are other techniques that can be used to convert a bird: • Calculate how much seed your bird consumes in a day. (Measure how much seed you give the bird, and thenmeasure howmuch is left after 24 hours. Do this for a few days to get an idea on daily seed consumption.)