by Pajarita » Wed Nov 06, 2019 9:37 am
I cannot help you with this because I do not feed pellets to any of my birds. I've done research on parrots diets for over 25 years and have reached the conclusion that pellets are not and never will be the best dietary option for parrots... they are too unnatural, too dry, you don't even know how much protein you are feeding with them.
Now, this is your bird and it is your prerogative to feed it whatever you want to feed it but I am warning you that pellets are not good for lovies. They are not good for any bird, actually. Pellets are, basically, dead food (no phytonutrients) that is too processed, made with inferior ingredients (animal feed grade) and which is not as nutritious as a fresh food diet for them (because they add lab-made vitamins which are not as good as the real ones from food). I remember many years ago when I had my bird rescue and took my first lovebird flock from a widow whose husband had bred and shown lovebirds for years at shows (the lutino cherry head female was a three times champion) and the biggest recommendation she made was NEVER feed them pellets!
Lovebirds are actually great eaters if you know how to feed them right (I had a flock of over 30 of them for years). They eat all the veggies in the gloop and all the fruits and greens you give them as long as you time it correctly. They do not like pellets and I don't blame them because who would want to eat dried 'astronaut' food every single day of their lives?! Have you tried them? I have and it's like putting a compressed bit of cardboard in your mouth so considering that these birds are supposed to eat fruits, buds, leaves and green seeds, eating pellets must be done out of sheer hunger and not because they actually like them!
Why don't you try a simple gloop? It's really not that hard or even time-consuming once you get the knack of it, it's cheaper and healthier than pellets and the birds LOVE it. So, yes, it's a bit more work for you but that's the way it always is with parrots... you have to put the time and work into it for it to work out for both you and the bird.