quaker

[Phill]

hi sorry havnt been posting much
but anyways thought i would tell you all i got a new quaker his name is cj and he is awesome! well my question is since ive had him 5days now he dosnt eat his pellets wont even touch them he eats all his vegs and fruit but not the pellets the breeder told me to put sunflower in there becuase he is still young so he has a bowl of that in there 24/7 but how can i get him to eat the pellets? im just tihnking maybe switching him over to teil seed but i dont no how to and what about if it dosnt eat that would it be ok to leave him on the sun flower all the time alon with his vegs and fruit and alot excerise that he gets daily?

[Jane]

I am not personally a great fan of pellets (each to their own) so I don't blame him for not eating them. I would keep up the fruit etc and use your tiel mix instead of the straight sunflower. Because sunflowers are so high in oil they are not a healthy diet on their own.
Also he is probably still settling in so give him a while yet and he might eat the pellets then.

[Phill]

if he refuses the seed do you tihnk the sunflower diet with alot of excerise anf veg and fruit will be ok?

[farseeker]

There's a couple of methods I've read up on in regards to swapping birds to a pellet diet - one was to make little 'rissoles' by mooshing the pellets with some warm water and mixing in seed with it, then letting it harden. Once the bird starts eating the pellet part of the rissole and not just picking out the seeds, you gradually lower the ratio of seeds to pellets.

Another method is offering the pellets mixed with a little bit of something sweeter, like apple juice, and then gradually lessening the amount that you add in until they're just eating the pellets.

With either method though it'd probably be a good idea to keep a close eye on your bird's weight - some don't see the pellets as an alternative food source and can end up starving themselves.

I'm not a *huge* fan of pellets, partially because they've proven to be a little difficult for me to find, but my budgie flat out refuses to touch any of the fresh fruit and veges I give her, so I'm trying to get her to eat at least some pellets for any vitamins etc that she may be missing from her seed. =/

[vankarhi]

I am with Jane on this one. I too am not a fan of pellets.........only because I believe they are not a natural food source. Kind of like us eating maccas or take away all the time (in my opinion). In the wild they eat seeds, flowers, grain, fruit, grasses etc (I am generalising here too as each species eats differently).

Why don't you just try some small parrot seed with him? He will have a variety to choose from then. Try some millet sprays too, most birds love them. Keep up the fruit and veges and he should be ok. You could always mix some pellets with his seed mix also, just a thought.

[AussieBirds]

Pellets are a definite no no at my house I have posted on this forum my opinion of pellets and I never have and never will feed them to my birds.

Having got that off my chest once again, if the quaker were mine here is what I would be doing, you said he loves and eats all his fruit and veggies, then keep them up, start him on a mix of small parrot mix and don't worry if he doesn't eat them to start with, he will eventually.

If you are worried about too much Sunflower seed then pick it out of the seed mix before you give it too him, but don't take it away from him altogether, he needs some fatty input in his diet.

John

[Phill]

thats what im trying to do im trying to convert him from pellets to seed, im off the buy the seed today but if he dosnt eat it will the sunflower diet be ok as long as he has all the exerise and fruits and veg e.t.c

[AussieBirds]

Why don't you wait and see if he doesn't eat the seed, just don't panic and stick to the fruit and veggie while you try and get him on to the seed diet, everything takes time.

John

[Phill]

i got the seed at put it in a bowl he was nibbling on it and was eating it so lets just hope now that he will keep eating it.

[robert]

If you are still interested in feedind pellets, I highly recommend Dr Mac www.drmacs.com/ from Robert and Angel

[trueloveaviary]

If you are worried about nutrition, and since your quaker loves his veggies, then why don't you try sprouting seeds? It's what they look for in the wild. You can even sprout sunflower seeds. And once they start sprouting, those fatty seeds turn into a power house of nutrition! It is also a great way to see if your seeds are fresh. I honestly believe that if a bird eats sprouts, then they do not need any other type of supplements in their diet such as pellets.

~Rodney

[vankarhi]

Great advise, I didn't even think of the sprouts. LOL

[AussieBirds]

trueloveaviary said:

If you are worried about nutrition, and since your quaker loves his veggies, then why don't you try sprouting seeds? It's what they look for in the wild. You can even sprout sunflower seeds. And once they start sprouting, those fatty seeds turn into a power house of nutrition! It is also a great way to see if your seeds are fresh. I honestly believe that if a bird eats sprouts, then they do not need any other type of supplements in their diet such as pellets.

~Rodney

Rodney I would be the greatest advocate of sprouted seed in the world my birds love them and actually hang off the wire of a morning waiting for their daily fix of sprouted seed, especially the birds that are feeding babies.

I have a constant supply of sprouted seed and as soon as one batch sprouts the next lot goes down, I can absolutely recommend them for all birds.

John

[Phill]

yep im going to do the sprouted seeds and see. it looks like the dried seed is a no go only the sunflower and alot of veggie and the occasionly dried seed.

[trueloveaviary]

Great seeds to sprout: Amaranth, barley (unhulled, whole only), buckwheat (the toasted form is medium brown and will not sprout), corn, popcorn, millet (unhulled is best), oats (must use unhulled), rice (only brown will sprout), rye, wheat (hard winter wheat is best), almonds (unblanched only - soak 8-12 hours and use the same day), cabbage and kale, fenugreek, mucilaginous (flax, psyllium, and chia), mustard, pumpkin (only soak for 4-8 hrs and feed), radish, sesame (unhulled-use the first day only), sunflower, quinoa, legumes include: adzuki (easiest to sprout), alfalfa, and clover, garbanzo beans or chick peas (spoils quickly, so only make what you can searve in one day), lentils (which come in brown, green, and red; use whole lentils only, not the split ones), and mung beans.

enjoy!
~Rodney