good news!!!!

[peppero1]

If your bird is/was addicted to seeds you will know how happy I am that I have finally been able to switch my bird over to a healthier pellet diet.

I tried many times to offer a better diet to my bird but he was very rigid in his diet. He is usually scared of anything I offer him to eat and if i keep holding it out to him he will eventually get mad and nip at me.

But anyway, recently he started to loose feathers and not look so healthy so I decided that it's probably a result of springtime molting and also insufficient diet. Even at the best of times his feathers are terribly sparce and uneven. Not thick and robust like many lovebirds I see in the stores. So, I decided to take the "tough-love" route and stop giving seeds. Over the course of three days I gave him fewer and fewer seeds and more and more pellets. On the last day he was very angry and agitated. He even took to scrounging on the floor for anything that resembled a seed. And then after some encouragement he started to eat only the orange pellets and now the last three days he is eating them all.

I am so glad because the pellets provide a healthier base diet than seeds alone and so I am expecting him to have more energy and look better in time. Currently I only give him a few seeds in the morning by hand, at breakfast time, and in the evening as a treat, which he readily takes.

Perhaps in the future I can give him vegtables and other items to round out his diet, but at least now he is on the road to improvement.

What's the moral of this tale, well it's simply this:
"Don't buy a bird that is weened on seeds alone. Eventually their health will suffer because of it, and they won't be as energetic and responsive. And just when you have them fully integrated into your life, they may even die because of related lack of nutrition illnesses."

[BarbieH]

I think that even a bird weaned to seeds alone can be encouraged to eat new foods, even real veggies, with enough time and patience. Janie's bird Oliver is proof of that. :)

I don't know if I would use the same method you did for switching your bird over to pellets. Our birds learn to trust that we will provide food and shelter for them, and I wouldn't want to damage that trust. For a bird that already seemed to be in not-prime health, it could also be dangerous. But it seems to have worked for you, and I'm sure you watched carefully to make sure that your bird was not deprived of all nourishment.

Next step, you might try giving him small bits of fresh veggies first thing in the morning, and replacing it with pellets after an hour or two. :)

[Janie]

I think that even a bird weaned to seeds alone can be encouraged to eat new foods, even real veggies, with enough time and patience. Janie's bird Oliver is proof of that.

Gee Barb, you are a mind reader! :D I was just getting ready to reply and to say that Oliver is proof of that!! As we all know an all seed diet is not the best diet for our lovies but that is what Oliver existed on, 100%, for at least 7 years. His vet recommended trying pellets in his cage at night in hopes that he'd eat them first thing in the morning. No way. Oliver would have starved to death if I'd taken away his seed. He is a much better eater now because of watching Big Boi and Shy eat veggies but will always be mainly a seed eater. I do add pellets to my birdie cornbread and there are some pellets in their seed mix but as far as them digging into a bowl of pellets, none of my three do.

Keep working on the veggies.....I'll bet your lovie will learn to like them. If you haven't tried birdie cornbread, I'd suggest that, too. All three of mine love it and eat it every single morning. Sometimes not as much as others but they always eat some of it. Same thing with veggies,(which I offer early evening) there are days when they devour carrots, broccoli, cooked popped corn and sugar snap peas and other days when they just pick at it and play with it.

I offered raw broccoli to Oliver every single day for three weeks before he finally took the first bite. My determination and patience paid off! :D He has gained 6 to 7 grams since I adopted him almost three years ago! :)