Parakeet food

[Blu]

I have had my parakeet for a while now and he has been the best bird. He was the most shy in the store but he now hops to the front of his cage every time I walk by. I had him in to small of a cage and he ate seeds for the longest time but now I have him in a Huge cave and am trying to get him to eat pellets. But this is my problem. I have been adding pellets to his seed since sunday and today I went only pellets. But he is just digging around in the pellets and not eating them. Will he just get hungry enough and eat them or should I add water so they are softer?

[Melody]

Melody was like that too... Your bird sounds like a mirror of Melody! Anyway, the reason for that is because your budgies is used to eating seeds. It's a good thing that you are converting your bird as well. Seeds are not healthy for your bird and shorten their lifespan. Melody had trouble with the pellet thing as well.
When you convert your bird, you should give him all pellets like you are now. Softening in water doesn't help. If your bird is not converting, give him seeds for one hour in the morning and one hour at night. The rest of the time, all pellets! Eventually, your bird will covert.
For 2 days, leave the all pellets in the cage. If by the end of those days he is not eating, then you do the one hour at morning and once at night thing so he doesn't starve. Then, take the seeds away and do all pellets again. Your bird will convert.
Melody did this and now she will eat pellets willingly. She just converted a month ago. Now Melody's a ton more happy, active and drives my family crazy! Good Luck!

[Blu]

Awesome. I will try leaving pellets for now and then do seeds in the morning and night and then pellets the rest of the time.

[Melody]

Oh! Just remember, a two-day break in between each time you giver her the hour in the morning and night. Hope this works!

[Wolf]

Or you can feed a canary seed mix and fresh fruit and vegetables. Even if you feed them pellets you still need to feed them the fresh fruit and vegetables.

[Pajarita]

Actually, pellets are particularly bad for budgies and cockatiels (messes up their kidneys, mostly, but also their livers), they do much, much better on seeds for the simple reason that grass seeds are part of their natural diet (they are partial ground foragers). Mine are fed gloop and leafy greens in the morning and a good quality budgie mix for dinner. They are not much for fruits but they do love all kinds of greens so, if you buy the more nutritious kind for them (broccoli, kale, etc as well as romaine lettuce -no iceberg) and feed them some small veggies (they love corn on the cob, finely diced cooked carrots, chopped broccoli and baby sweet peas) mixed with cooked lentils, brown rice and steel cut oatmeal (aka Irish oatmeal) in the morning and a heaping teaspoonful of a good quality seed mix, he will do great.

[Blu]

Wo I always read it was the reverse

[Pajarita]

I am sure you have, the internet is full of misinformation when it comes to pet birds and most people recommend pellets based on their vets recommendation even though avian vets never ever study avian nutrition (it's not even mentioned in any depth in any of the text books). And, let's face it, it's much easier to just fill up a bowl with something you bought than to prepare fresh food on a daily basis so most people stick to them out of convenience. But, if you do research about their diets in the wild, you'll see that I am right.

[Blu]

Okay. Would pellets mixed with fresh vegetable be good?

[Wolf]

As I mentioned before, I would stick with the seed mix and fresh vegetables. Pajarita has told you the same thing and given you the reasons for this. I suppose that pellets and fresh vegetables are better than nothing, but I really think that you will be doing your bird a great disservice by making it eat them.