by Trick or 'Tiel » Tue Jun 20, 2017 6:05 pm
Kaytee and Zupreem really aren't the best brands... the Fruitblend especially is filled with artificial colors and preservatives that your bird really doesn't need and it's low quality. You will want to gradually transition your bird off these brands and onto a better pellet like TOP's. You don't actually have to feed pellets at all if you don't want to, several people here just skip the pellets altogether. Does your bird get any fresh foods? Birds really need fresh fruits and veggies in their diet, as well as cooked whole grains like quinoa, black or brown rice, barley, etc. Gloop is a dish consisting of cooked grains as well as frozen veggies with a sprinkling of seeds like chia and flax. Many people here, including myself, recommend feeding birds like cockatiels gloop. If you decide to feed pellets along with fresh produce and gloop, TOP's is the best brand, but if you decide not to, you can feed just a regular cockatiel/budgie seed mix with canary grass seed, millet, and oat groats instead of the pellets. As to transitioning your bird, just keep offering the food you want them to eat, and eventually they will eat it. Never just take away the bird's old diet and feed the new food, some birds are so stubborn that they will not eat it and may starve. Mix the new pellets in with the old, and if you are noticing that she is eating the new food, start decreasing the amount of old food until she's completely off the old pellets. If she's bonded to you, try to eat some fresh food in front of her and that should encourage her to eat it. Also, her clipped flight feathers will grow back when she molts and she will soon be able to fly again. Good luck with your new tiel!