When most people think of a bird-eating in the wild, they picture them eating seeds and nuts. This ideology has carried over into our pet birds, with a majority of clients feeding their birds an all-seed or seed-mixture diet. Unfortunately, these diets are extremely high in fat and lack essential nutrients that our birds need to survive. Birds can survive eating seeds in the wild because they spend hours of their time and energy trying to crack open just one nut. However, under human care, we provide them with a bowl full of these items that require no energy or effort to consume them. Birds in the wild also forage for a wide variety of other foods such as plants, insects, nectar, etc. that provide essential nutrients.
Seeds and nuts are incredibly high in fat and deficient in other nutrients like vitamin A and D. A bird that eats a diet of only nuts and seeds is susceptible to liver disease, skin and feather problems, obesity, and a heart disease called atherosclerosis (clogged arteries). Fortunately, there are several reputable companies that have created pelleted diets that are complete, all-in-one diets for our pet birds. These pelleted diets are formulated based on current knowledge of the dietary recommendations of birds. We recommend that 70% of your bird’s diet should be a commercial pellet diet and the other 20% should be a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables (raw or cooked). Treat foods like seeds, millet, and nuts should make up less than 10% of the diet and should be used during training and foraging.
How do you get your pet to eat this healthy new diet when they’re accustomed to eating a very tasty diet of mostly treat foods? The most important thing is to make changes very gradually. First, we have to make sure that our bird sees this unfamiliar diet as food. It is best to place the new diet in a separate dish so that you can monitor how much of it is being consumed. As long as the bird is eating some of the new diet, then you will decrease the current diet by a quarter of the total amount each week until there is no seed diet left at the end of 4 weeks. If your bird does not recognize the pellets as food, then you will have to get involved. Birds are naturally curious. Be enthusiastic as you pick up the new food item. Savor it (or at least pretend to), and then quickly offer some to your bird. As a social eater, he/she may accept the food item. You can also try smashing up the pellets on the table (resembling pecking) in front of your bird and pretend to chew the pellets. Since birds are flock members, they will become interested in what their “flockmate” is eating.
Once the pet has converted to a balanced diet, go a few weeks without giving the pet any seeds or treats. Then, reintroduce these things in very small amounts as treats during foraging or training!