New Green Cheek Question

[Prissy]

I have had parrots and small birds in the past and am currently waiting on a macaw egg to hatch to bring into my flock too! However I just got a Green Cheek Conure a few days ago. He is 4 months old and says his name already. He is my first conure and read as much as I can I know from experience you learn things from having them in your life not so much books lol They gave me a bag of mixed seed and a bag of pellets (all non colored and natural feeds) They also said his favorite fruits were papaya and orange (both seedless) And of course cooked pastas, and a recipe for the bird bread they gave him in muffin form. They told me that I needed to be careful making sure he got his pellets because he tended to avoid them. And sure enough a few days in and his seed has been eaten every night and not the pellets. He has his papaya each morning without complaint. How do I make sure he eats his pellets? Any other tidbits I need to know thats green cheek specific?

[felix11]

It is healthier for parrots in captivity not to eat seeds. Seeds are high in fat and low in vitamins - like children with sugar, parrots will always choose seed over pellets.

You should ween your Green Cheek off his fatty seeds and onto an all-pellet, fresh vegetables and fruit diet. This can take a few weeks. Firstly (if it is not done already) you will have to mix his seed in with his pellets so he has to rummage through the pellets to get to his seeds. Over a few days, slowly decrease the amount of seeds that are mixed in with the pellets. He will start to realize that pellets aren't so bad when they make up most of his daily food allowance. You can still use seeds as treats or as rewards for good behaviour.

Ultimately, you want your parrots to be eating around 65% pellets, 20% vegetables, 10% fruit and 5% nuts and seeds (obviously this is just a guide - the more fresh foods the better!).
Good luck

[laducockatiel]

Try to mix in his pellets with his papaya. Hell try some cos he will see its new in his bowl and hell be curious what it is.

[Prissy]

His seeds are mixed with his pellets and there is certainly more pellets than seed, he just eats around the pellets but I can reduce the amount of seed. I will also try putting the pellets with his papaya. Thank you for the suggestions

[laducockatiel]

Maybe try having seeds and pellets in separate bowls (only do this if the papaya thing doesn't work out). Put less of the seeds in one bowl and put a fair amount of pellets in another bowl. Then when he's finished the seeds, he'll get hungry and try the pellets. With my cockatiel, I give him pellets on his java tree, because he doesn't have seeds available there, he eats them. I give him pellets every day and he really likes them, I reckon he loves the crunch to them.