nyissa64 Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 My daughter lives in the country of Jordan. She recently purchased and African Grey from a pet store in Jordan. Per the pet store this bird is aprox 2 years old. She was horrified to find out that, this bird has been on a sunflower seed diet only. :ohmy: She also has 2 cockatiels (whom I am taking care of here in the USA) so she knows how important it is to have pellets of some kind in his diet. When she inquired about pellets, she was told, "they only have sunflower seeds" He has never had any other kind of foods. So when she gives him apples, bananas ect...he doesn't like them and throws them out of his cage. I have seen pictures of him, he looks healthy, but looks can be deceiving! They also did not have a single toy! She really feels she rescued this bird from that place. Any suggestions? Thanks <br><br>Post edited by: nyissa64, at: 2007/10/23 08:45 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Well he certainly looks healthy but sunflower seeds only is not a proper diet for greys. She may have to eat the veggies and other good foods in front of him to encourage him to give other foods a try, if he sees her enjoying them it may give him incentive to give it a try. Try soaking some pellets in apple juice to see if he will eat some that way. She really did rescue this bird, no toys in the cage, just what was the bird supposed to do with its time, a lot of them would have started plucking. He needs some toys to occupy his time and to give him something to knock around and enjoy himself. Why don't you introduce yourself in the welcome room and tell us a little more about yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaM Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 When I got one of my birds, she was on a prety junky diet. Wouldn't touch any fruits/veggies/pellets. The first thing I did is try some plain, popped popcorn (obviously plain...no butter or salt!). If I broke it up into small pieces she would eat it. Then I went to soaking the unpopped popcorn overnight, rinsing then cooking the next day for several hours until expanded and "soft". (read that on the landofvos website I think). She LOVED that. Then I moved to cooking up rice & beans and when she started to like that moved to adding veggies to that mix. Now she will eat cooked veggies by themselves but I still have to work on the raw! A lot of it is trial-and-error and small steps towards a better diet. It can be a long trip but nothing could be better for the bird than getting him/her on a healthy diet. I find all my parrots love getting cooked food and will chose that over "almost" anything! The pellets in apple juice as Judy mentioned works wonders with some also! Good luck to your daughter...and bless her for saving this bird! Lisa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 You are right on the money, Lisa, it takes time and patience to convert a seed junkie to a healthier diet but it can be done and what you did is an excellent example. Keep up the good work, Lisa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nyissa64 Posted October 29, 2007 Author Share Posted October 29, 2007 Hi Judy, Thank you for responding. At first she tried to get him to eat veggies and other foods, but he would just fling them out of his cage. Even if she was eating them too saying MMMMMMM. She did this with her 2 cockatils that I am taking care of at the moment. I know it will take time for him to catch on. You said to try soaking some pellets in apple juice to see if he will eat some that way. The problem is... There is no pellets available to buy where she lives. Not even toys. I believe that my daughter told me she logged into the forum to ask some questions as well a few days ago, her user name in the forum is MrsMQ. The link to her question to the fourm is: http://www.greyforums.net/forums/african-grey/42348-questionable-antibiotic.html#42467 Shelly judygram wrote: Well he certainly looks healthy but sunflower seeds only is not a proper diet for greys. She may have to eat the veggies and other good foods in front of him to encourage him to give other foods a try, if he sees her enjoying them it may give him incentive to give it a try. Try soaking some pellets in apple juice to see if he will eat some that way. She really did rescue this bird, no toys in the cage, just what was the bird supposed to do with its time, a lot of them would have started plucking. He needs some toys to occupy his time and to give him something to knock around and enjoy himself. Why don't you introduce yourself in the welcome room and tell us a little more about yourself. <br><br>Post edited by: nyissa64, at: 2007/10/29 09:03 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nyissa64 Posted October 29, 2007 Author Share Posted October 29, 2007 LisaM thank you for the reply, I will certainly pass this info along to my daughter. As I was telling Judy I believe my daughter logged into the forum to to ask some questions a few days ago, and her user name is MsrMQ. The link to her question to the fourm is: http://www.greyforums.net/forums/african-grey/42348-questionable-antibiotic.html#42467 Shelly LisaM wrote: When I got one of my birds, she was on a prety junky diet. Wouldn't touch any fruits/veggies/pellets. The first thing I did is try some plain, popped popcorn (obviously plain...no butter or salt!). If I broke it up into small pieces she would eat it. Then I went to soaking the unpopped popcorn overnight, rinsing then cooking the next day for several hours until expanded and "soft". (read that on the landofvos website I think). She LOVED that. Then I moved to cooking up rice & beans and when she started to like that moved to adding veggies to that mix. Now she will eat cooked veggies by themselves but I still have to work on the raw! A lot of it is trial-and-error and small steps towards a better diet. It can be a long trip but nothing could be better for the bird than getting him/her on a healthy diet. I find all my parrots love getting cooked food and will chose that over "almost" anything! The pellets in apple juice as Judy mentioned works wonders with some also! Good luck to your daughter...and bless her for saving this bird! Lisa <br><br>Post edited by: nyissa64, at: 2007/10/29 09:03 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicalem Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 nyissa64 wrote: LisaM thank you for the reply, I will certainly pass this info along to my daughter. As I was telling Judy I believe my daughter logged into the forum to to ask some questions a few days ago, and her user name is MsrMQ.The link to her question to the fourm is: http://www.greyforums.net/forums/african-grey/42348-questionable-antibiotic.html#42467 Shelly LisaM wrote: When I got one of my birds, she was on a prety junky diet. Wouldn't touch any fruits/veggies/pellets. The first thing I did is try some plain, popped popcorn (obviously plain...no butter or salt!). If I broke it up into small pieces she would eat it. Then I went to soaking the unpopped popcorn overnight, rinsing then cooking the next day for several hours until expanded and "soft". (read that on the landofvos website I think). She LOVED that. Then I moved to cooking up rice & beans and when she started to like that moved to adding veggies to that mix. Now she will eat cooked veggies by themselves but I still have to work on the raw! A lot of it is trial-and-error and small steps towards a better diet. It can be a long trip but nothing could be better for the bird than getting him/her on a healthy diet. I find all my parrots love getting cooked food and will chose that over "almost" anything! The pellets in apple juice as Judy mentioned works wonders with some also! Good luck to your daughter...and bless her for saving this bird! Lisa <br><br>Post edited by: nyissa64, at: 2007/10/29 09:03 pe;;ets in apple juice - never heard of this -ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh u mean put pellets in apple juice not that apple juice has pellets in LOL thats what i THOUGHT - WAKE UP EMMA - LOL..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted April 4, 2008 Share Posted April 4, 2008 Get yourself a coffee Emma ! You can soak some pellets in apple juice to encourage your grey to eat them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicalem Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 so what are the best pellets as eh has not had any to date that I can remember... ummm pellets - I only get the parrot mix but pellets have the goodness in specifically for them right? is this the harrisons pellets? x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 Personally if you are going to try & introduce pellets Emma i would go for Harrisons, here is the link for the UK site...Have a good read in the bird food room there are many threads on pellets http://www.hbf-uk.co.uk/articles.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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