Pellet conversion suddenly got easy...

[Polarn]

I've been trying for the past month to get my little buddy to start eating the pellets to convert him into a healthier diet. I've been visiting the breeder to buy the pellets he had in the aviaries as well as getting any uncolored pellets I could get hold of from petstores around here without much luck, problem with breeder pellets is prolly the same as any other, since he has always had access to other food he just would go for it.
Anyways, I stopped by to see the vet today to book an appointment for a routine check, however my vet wasn't in and I wanted it done at her smaller clinic at home, so I will have to book that later. But I did notice they sold Harrison bird foods, so I consulted with another vet to figure out weather I should try get him onto a high potency(since he is quite young) or the normal adult lifetime one, anyways Polarn beeing an amazon and I am a little concerned about him gaining too much weight especially now during winter when the riding house is too cold to take him to for some flying in bigger spaces. We decided he is big enough for the adult food, so I got a sample bag to take home and see what he thought about it. So I went home, asked him to wave and offered him a pellet as a treat, figuring he would do with it as other things I give him like that that he isn't too crazy about, but no... He started munching on it. So I took a few pellets and placed them in his bowl, that currently had some other pellets and some seed in it. He went right into the cage to eat the Harrison pellets and then came back out again...
I'm gonna head back to the vet first thing tomorrow to pick a bag up for him. If I can convert him as easy as this seems and to a quality pellet as well, I'm happy I found someone here selling these.
They sold a variety of different kinds and 2 different size bags. Even sold some Harrison treats and birdie bread. Thinking about checking the content of the treats and perhaps pick up a small bag of them if they seem good to use whenever he doesn't need any other treat to be motivated, anyone have any experience with the Harrison treats?

[Michael]

Good idea. I've always used tricks as a way of introducing new foods. The bird has a good association with whatever comes after a trick and considers it a reward. So by slipping a new food in, there is a better chance it will like it thinking that it earned it. Just the experience is half of it. Of course the bird needs to be very tame/social for this to work. The people who have the most trouble is with an adult seed eating parrot. They can't train it because it eats nothing but seeds and they can't switch it to pellets because it won't eat anything else.

Good thing you did this early cause it will only be harder later. I even had a little trouble getting Truman off the breeder pellets to Roudybush. It took a few weeks. Now, he loves them more than most foods and will take them as treats.

[Polarn]

yeah ive been trying since I got him, but any other pellet ive tried to offer as a treat he has just tasted then tossed it away. same with carrots for some reason, if i but carrots in his bowl he will eat anything except the carrots, and if i try to present it as a treat he will run off... dont know what he has against carrots, expecially since i eat it every now and then which usually makes him curious.. but nope refuse carrots, only veggie I've tried introducing him too that he absolutely wont touch... but yeah anything i present as a treat he will atleast taste the first time around, but was prepared for him to grab it with the flaw, take a small bite then drop it... but finnished it and went in to eat his new "treats" but left the seeds and the other pellets... weird, but absolutely excellent i think.