Vivamus sagittis lacus Sed posuere

Issue 16 - September / 2020 vel augue laoreet consectetur est at

rutrum faucibus lobortis

BIRDTRICKS PELLET
CONVERSION GUIDE
OUR OWN BIRD BREAD RECIPE

LOTS OF TIPS!
CONVERTING FROM AN ALL-SEED DIET

ALL YOU NEED

TO KNOW

BirdTricks / 2019
/2
3 WAYS NOT TO FEED YOUR BIRD
3 WAYS TO NOT FEED YOUR BIRD
There are three things that destroy the
nutrients in our foods:
1. heat
2. air
3. time
Pellets are typically formulated in one of
three ways:
1. baking
2. extrusion
3. cold pressing
The processing of pellets that are baked
or extruded uses very high heat, which
eradicates most of the naturally
occurring nutrients that exist in the
ingredients. No matter how wonderfully
healthy the ingredients may have
started out being, they are not worth
nearly as much nutritionally following
baking or extrusion.
A cold pressed pellet is one that is
simply pressed into shape, using no
heat and allowing the full nutritional
value to remain intact. (I recommend
vacuum sealing half of the bag for later
use if you have only one or two parrots.
This will help combat the air and time
related nutritional losses.)
WHAT WE PUT INTO OUR FOOD
Here is a list of our organic ingredients.
It’s truly impressive. You will not find
anything in this list that does not come
directly from nature:

Rice, hulled millet, barley, alfalfa leaf,
sunflower seed hulled, sesame seeds
unhulled, quinoa whole, buckwheat
hulled, dandelion leaf powder, carrot
powder, spinach leaf powder, purple
dulse, kelp, rose hips powder, rose hips
crushed, orange peel powder, lemon
peel powder, rosemary whole leaf,
cayenne ground, crushed red chili
peppers, nettle leaf.
BirdTricks / 2019
/3

A STARTER BIRD BREAD

RECIPE
1 box fiber one muffin mix (lower the
fat, the better), 1 can drained canned
spinach, 1 can drained green beans,
handful of your bird’s favorite treats,
1/2 cup of pellets whole OR 1 cup
powdered pellets.

BAKING

Preheat to 350 degrees, fill muffin

tins 2/3 of the way (they will rise) and
bake for 20 minutes.

NOTE

We use canned spinach because it

spreads easier and is impossible to
be picked around by your bird. Also
canned foods are wetter and blend
b e tt e r. H o w e v e r, t h e i d e a l
ingredients to use would be fresh.
But this is a great starter recipe for
birds not accustomed to bird breads
or eating healthier foods in general.

BirdTricks / 2019
/4

“JUST GO FOR IT” METHOD

GOOD FOOD, GOOD MOOD. SOME BIRDS FEEL SO BAD FROM BEING ON AN
UNHEALTHY FOOD THAT THEY WILL JUMP ON THE OPPORTUNITY TO EAT THESE
HEALTHY, ORGANIC PELLETS. SOMETIMES ALL IT TAKES IS LETTING YOUR BIRD RUN
OUT OF ITS CURRENT FOOD, AND THEN REPLACING IT WITH OUR PELLETS. TRY
OFFERING THE PELLETS AS IS FOR 12 HOURS STRAIGHT WITHOUT ACCESS TO
ANYTHING ELSE (INCLUDING TREATS) AND SEE IF YOUR BIRD TAKES TO EATING
THEM.

IF YOU SEE POWDER IN THE DISH, THAT MEANS YOUR BIRD WAS EATING THEM! AND
THE POWDER CAN EASILY BE SAVED IN A ZIPLOCK BAG FOR LATER USE IN MORE
BIRDIE BREAD RECIPES, OR ON TOP OF SCRAMBLED EGGS, FRUIT OR COOKED
GRAINS. NONE OF IT SHOULD GO TO WASTE AS LONG AS IT DOESN’T GET DAMP.

“BIRDIE BREAD” METHOD

WE’VE NEVER HAD A BIRD TURN DOWN OUR BIRDIE BREAD RECIPE. INITIALLY WE
RECOMMEND USING CANNED GREENS SO THAT THEY MIX WELL WITH THE MIXTURE
AND DON’T TAKE AWAY FROM THE MOISTURE OF THE WHOLE RECIPE. BUT THE
MORE YOU MAKE THE RECIPE, THE LESS OTHER INGREDIENTS YOU NEED TO USE
AND THE MORE PELLETS YOU WILL USE INSTEAD.

YOU CAN ALSO USE THE MUFFIN RECIPE TO GET YOUR BIRD TO EAT HEALTHY
FOODS LIKE VEGGIES BY MIXING THEM IN. IF YOU START WITH CANNED FOOD,
GRADUALLY SWITCH TO COOKED OR STEAMED INGREDIENTS AND THEN TO RAW/
FRESH. STAY AS ORGANIC AS POSSIBLE.

WHEN THE MUFFINS COME OUT OF THE OVEN YOU CAN ALSO SPRINKLE THEM
WITH THE PELLET POWDER.

“LESS OPTIONS” METHOD

DON’T OFFER THE NEW PELLETS AGAINST THE OLD DIET YOUR BIRD IS ON UNLESS
YOU HAVE TO. MOST PARROTS ARE ON COLORED PELLETS OR AN ALL SEED DIET
AND OFFERING THE PELLETS NEXT TO THAT IS NOT SETTING YOU OR YOUR BIRD UP
FOR SUCCESS. MAKE SURE YOUR BIRD IS LOOKING FORWARD TO A MEAL WHEN
YOU OFFER THE PELLETS. A FULL BIRD IS GOING TO BE UNINTERESTED.

BirdTricks / 2019
/5
IF YOU HAVE MORE THAN ONE BIRD, LET

QUICK THEM BOTH TRY THE FOOD IN FRONT OF

ONE ANOTHER. SOMETIMES IN AN EFFORT
TO EAT IT FIRST, BIRDS WILL TEACH EACH
TIP OTHER THROUGH OBSERVATIONAL
LEARNING AND A NATURAL COMPETITIVE
DRIVE TO EAT HEALTHIER!

You can use clicker training to reward your bird for playing
with the pellets, going near them or picking them up in his
mouth or foot. Touch training/target training is another
method that works for getting birds to interact with these
new pellets.

Most birds when given the opportunity actually prefer to work for
their food rather than just have it handed to them. Give your bird
the opportunity to work for his/her food and you will be amazed
at the character, confidence and overall self- entertaining your
bird is suddenly capable of. Not to mention he will be expending
energy for a healthy food that will keep him around for years to
come.

BirdTricks / 2019
/6 CONVERTING A BIRD FROM AN ALL SEED DIET
SEED BASED DIETS ARE RUNNING RAMPANT IN THIS
NATION, BECAUSE THEY'RE SUPER CHEAP TO
MANUFACTURE, BIRDS LOVE THEM TO DEATH, AND
PET STORES CAN PROFIT WILDLY OFF OF THEM.
THE DIFFERENT WAYS TO SERVE
We’ve found that there are 3 different ways to serve our
pellets. You can serve them as is in their whole form, or
you can toss them in a food processor or Ziplock bag
and smash them up to smaller pieces. The third way is to
completely powder them.
In their powder form you can mix them into pretty much
anything such as mushy foods your bird may already like;
cooked sweet potato, banana, any steamed veggies,
mushed up berries, etc. The powder can be used to stir
into something or sprinkle on top as well as cook into.
The smaller sized pellets can be used for smaller parrots
to easily grab and eat, though the pellets themselves
are soft enough that
they’re edible and handle-
able for all sized parrots.
CONVERTING YOUR BIRD FROM AN ALL SEED DIET



It is my firm belief that providing a proper diet is our #1
responsibility to our birds. As long as we keep wild
creatures in a cage, and at our mercy, it is imperative that
we at least give them that which they need to maintain
their health, both mental and physical. Many of us have
parrots who have come to us with serious diet issues
whether they have been re-homed or have come from a
pet store. In this age of information there are still many,
many parrots living on an all seed diet. It is appalling to
me how many people don’t have a clue as to the needs
of the pet they have brought into their home and don’t
bother to investigate. I applaud you for looking here to
find out how to care for your bird.
The problem here is not with the seeds themselves. They
are an important part of a wild bird’s diet, but not the
BirdTricks / 2019
/7 CONVERTING A BIRD FROM AN ALL SEED DIET
only part by far. Seed alone does not fulfill the dietary
requirements of any bird, wild or otherwise.
Birds with seed only diets will fall victim to the many
illnesses that come from vitamin deficiency. She will
face a life of inadequate strength and energy, a
system that does not maintain itself properly and
poor immune system functions.
She will require medical attention more often as her
health deteriorates, and her life span may be cut short.
A wild parrot feeds on most of the same food groups as
we humans do, with the exception, perhaps, of meat,
which I don’t object to offering in conservative amounts.
The fact is, we really don’t know what exactly a wild bird
eats in her native habitat. We can only go by that which
field researchers have been able to observe parrots
eating, which does not account for a large part of their
foraging day. Avian science has determined what their
bodies require and a captive diet is based on this
knowledge. Life in urban and rural communities may not
provide the things that they would elect to eat in the
wild, so we do the best we can to supply adequate
substitutions with what is available in our supermarkets.
So far, it seems to be working out fairly well, as long as
we can get them to eat what we give them.
DON’T MAKE THIS MISTAKE
If you have taken on an all seed eater, switching her to a
proper diet can be a daunting, but do-able, task. Begin
this endeavor with the knowledge that a bird will starve
itself to death before eating something it doesn’t like or
recognize as food. Therefore, you will not want to entirely
remove seed from the diet in the beginning. Think of it in
terms of switching her away from her current diet instead
of off of it.
EQUIPMENT YOU NEED
You will want to be very sure your bird is not losing
weight during this process and you will need a GRAM
scale and keep it handy because you will be using it at
least once a day. You will also need to keep a journal with
a daily recording of your bird’s weight.
Before you begin switching her diet, you will want to start
observing exactly how much she is eating and begin
measuring out just that amount each day for her
feedings. Probably, the easiest way to determine how
much she needs to eat is by underfeeding her for a day
or two and gauging how much you need to add to her
dish to satisfy her. Give her half of her full day’s seed
quotient in the morning and the other half in the early
evening for a while before you begin.
Remember, parrots hull their seed. This means that the
hulls will remain in the bowl looking very much like there
is seed left over. If you look closely, the seed will appear
tattered and you will know the insides have been
eaten. .Also, the bowl will weigh considerably less once
the meat of the seed is gone.
You will also want to record at least two weeks worth of
weights so that you have a good sense of what your bird
typically weighs on her current diet. The best way to
keep track of what she is eating is by weighing her
following her morning meal and then later in the day
when her crop empties. I know this isn’t possible for
everyone, because like me, you might feed your birds
before heading out to work. If this is the case with you,
weigh her when her when you get home before the
second feeding. This will give you her empty weight to
consistently go by and it should remain fairly constant. A
bird’s full weight can vary enormously.
STARTING THE CONVERSION
A bird is hungriest in the morning and you will want to
take advantage of this time of day to introduce new
foods. From here on out, as soon as you get your bird up
every morning, she should receive a bowl of food that
consists of finely chopped produce with the first half of
her seed mixed in and sprinkled visibly over the top.
WHAT TO FEED BESIDES VEGGIES
Alternatives to produce are warm cooked rice, sweet
potato, or mashed banana prepared with the seed in the
same way. A good chopped mix or mash will work
wonderfully because they contain most of the food
groups.
They can be cooked in advance and frozen for those of
us who are always in a rush.
Whatever you choose to serve, and it should change
BirdTricks / 2019
/8 CONVERTING A BIRD FROM AN ALL SEED DIET
frequently, should be of a consistency that causes a bird
to dig around in it to find the seed and ultimately much
of the good food will be stuck to the seed and on the
beak which serves as a precursor to actually eating it. If
your bird is hesitant to investigate, mix in more seed to
start her off.
During this time you can also introduce pellets using the
same method, but is often too easy for a bird to get to
the seed by simply pushing them aside. I find it easier to
get a bird onto fresh foods first and then introduce the
pellets into the new preferred foods later. You won’t
know until you give it a try and see what your bird does.
When you get home from work, you can serve the
second half of the seed alone. This is to be certain that
her weight stays on track.
The high fat content in seed diets causes your
parrot's organs, like the liver and kidneys, to work
overtime at filtering the fat out of your parrot's blood
stream. And this often results in fatty liver disease,
and kidney failure in thousands of parrots.
Eventually, and slowly, you will phase all of the seed from
the diet, and the second meal of the day can be more
like the first. I can’t advise you on how quickly your bird
will make this conversion or on how quickly to lower the
seeded portion of her new diet. It is a slow, structured
procedure that has to be based on the individual bird,
much like the weaning process. If you pay close attention
to what has been eaten, you will have a better notion of
how quickly to advance her. Know that it will take
months… at least.
WIN OVER EVEN THE PICKIEST PARROT
Birds have a small amount of taste buds and often
choose foods based on their consistency and texture.
Some birds are reluctant to try different foods for this
reason so you will want to make certain to try a wide
variety with her.
Baby food will get some birds started and most like the
texture. Start with pureed fruits and work your way up to
pureed veggies. I recommend using an organic brand
and be careful that the one you select isn’t overly
fortified. Avoid the ones with added iron – human babies
need that, birds do not.
Try rolling a ball of almond butter in her favorite seed
mix. This is easiest if the almond butter is cold, by the
way.
ONE LAST TIP THAT WORKS EVERY TIME
Birds seem to be unable to resist whatever it is that you
have, and they do not. Use this idiosyncrasy to get them
to try new foods. “Reluctantly” share what you are eating
with them, knowing that the more you deny them, the
more they will want it. Don’t forget to be over-
enthusiastic about what you are eating and how yummy
it is while you are trying not to share. A friend found that
giving his bird a plate at the dinner table with the family
did the trick. His bird couldn’t stand being the only one
without what everyone else had. Know, however, that
your bird will eventually start coming over to your plate
to steal from you what she likes best.
Not only is a successful conversion joyously rewarding,
but your bird’s improved health will keep her from
suffering from illness as she ages.
WEANING OFF SEED IS CRITICAL
If your bird is on an all seed diet, it is crucial you switch
him over to a pellet. If you try everything and cannot get
your bird to eat our Feed Your Flock pellets, here is what
we recommend doing to eventually be able to do so...
USE TRAINING TO CREATE DESIGN FOR HEALTHIER
FOOD

The more one on one interactive and mentally
challenging bond building games you do with your bird,
the better. Use nuts and seeds as your rewards and leave
pellets in the cage for him to eat otherwise. Stick food
finding toys inside his cage and make him work for other
treats, eventually when he gets the hang of the toys you
can replace the treats with pellets.
Flight training builds muscle and stamina in birds and is
a very healthy way to interact with your bird, not only that
but a bird that is active and tired at the end of the day
will have a birdie body that is craving the healthy stuff.
Flighted birds are much healthier than clipped birds for
this reason alone!
BirdTricks / 2019
/9

WHAT IF YOUR BIRD WON’T SWITCH?

If you can get your bird on a pellet diet, even if it’s one
of those colored ones (which are bad because of the
high sugar content and dyes used) that’s better than an
all seed diet so be proud of yourself. Once a bird is on
a pellet diet at all, you can experiment with changing
the pellet. Start mixing in non-colored pellets of the
same brand, and eventually lessen the amount of
colored pellets you give until your bird is eating all non-
colored pellets.

BirdTricks / 2019
/ 10
SOME EXTRA IDEAS FOR KEEPING YOUR BIRD BUSY

PELLETS WITH BITS OF PAPER,

PELLETS WITH WOODEN BEADS
AND PAPER WITH VEGGIE
TANNED LEATHER.
B y p r o v i d i n g f o o d fi n d i n g
opportunities for your bird using our
pellets, you are letting what could
take 3 minutes take 3 hours for your
bird to do by using food finding toys
for your bird to get his food.

Food finding, or foraging, is a

completely natural behavior all
animals have to do in the wild in
order to find food. This is especially
true for parrots who spend an 8-hour
work day working on finding their
meals.

They spend their entire day looking

for food in the hopes they will find a
bite here or a bite there. Just like at a
casino, they put out a lot of money
(aka energy) to find the food (aka
reward) for their efforts.

Sometimes, like a casino, they get a

little, sometimes they find nothing,
sometimes they hit it big and win the
jackpot by finding a bunch of food.
They never really know.

So by giving them a bowl of food it’s

making it way too easy!

BirdTricks / 2019
/ 11
OTHER LOW COST IDEAS

Some other things you can try is going to the craft store and finding things made out of wood that are both
untreated and non- toxic and using them to create your own unique foraging toys.

Most often you can just go to lumber yards and take extra pieces of wood they cannot use and use it to drill
holes and place food into for your bird. Simply hang from stainless steel chain and you’ve got your own
simple foraging toy for your bird to enjoy!

USE WHAT YOU’VE ALREADY GOT

Most of us already buy toilet paper and paper towels. Did you know you can take the rolls and use them as
toys for your bird too? Make sure they don’t contain glue.

Simply take a paper towel or plain piece of printer paper and wrap some pellets inside. Then stuff that
paper inside one of the rolls and poke some holes if necessary to get your bird started. Once he realizes
there’s food in there, he will be all over it!

BECOMING
MORE ONCE YOUR BIRD HAS THE HANG OF FORAGING
TOYS, YOU CAN STILL CREATE JUST AS MANY TOYS
ADVANCED BUT NOT INCLUDE FOOD IN ALL OF THEM SO THAT
HE HAS TO DESTROY THEM ALL TO GET LESS FOOD...
MORE WORK, LESS FOOD, MORE ENERGY SPENT!
THIS IS GREAT FOR YOUR BIRD TO LEARN “RANDOM
REWARDING” WHICH SHOULD BECOME PART OF
YOUR TRAINING IN NO TIME!

BirdTricks / 2019
/ 12
CHANGE THE ENVIRONMENT, CHANGE THE BIRD
HOW YOU CAN USE CHANGE TO YOUR ADVANTAGE
WHEN TRYING TO GET A NEW BIRD, YOUR CURRENT
BIRD OR ANY BIRD TO EAT A NEW PELLET WITHOUT
A FUSS.
If you plan on moving into a new home, apartment, etc.
you can use that time to get your bird to switch diets
without any sort of fuss whatsoever!
When a bird’s world is turned upside down with change -
it loses its expectations of things being ‘as they were’. It
has no reason to expect the old diet when everything
else is new and different. That is when it’s the perfect
time to try to get your bird to eat something new in his
new surroundings because his expectations are gone. He
doesn’t know what to expect in this brand new place.
This method is only advantageous when extreme change
is in effect. Such other circumstances would include
long-term boarding and especially when rehoming a
new bird. Don't reintroduce bad habits formed in the
previous home.
Life is full of changes for people, and for the parrots who
live with them. But there is good that can come from all
the craziness. When routine becomes disrupted, and
change is forced, we can use it as an opportunity to
better our lives by not falling back into old habits once
new ones have come into practice. Sometimes, our
greatest achievements come when we have no choice
but to move forward.
Note: When dealing with parrots, you must always be
sure to watch that their stress levels do not exceed their
ability to cope. This may present itself with screaming
and nervous behaviors, such as pacing or foot and nail
biting. If you see these signs in your bird, you are
pushing too far and fast and should backtrack slightly
giving him more time to adjust without feeling
overwhelmed. Whenever you make changes to your
bird's diet, be careful to monitor weight. No matter what,
your parrot MUST eat enough to keep healthy!
BirdTricks / 2019