# Many problems with this bird



## trun (Jul 20, 2010)

Been trying for a week to switch this cockatiel to a pellet based diet. He just eats all the seed in the dish and leaves the pellets at the bottom. Thus leaving him screaming later on in the day because he's hungry and won't eat the food provided. I've also tried other things, like fruits, breads, vegetables, he won't eat anything but seed. He will however nibble at spaghetti noodles covered in a bit of honey, but never actually eats them. 

He also is very mean, had him for nearly two months now, and still refuses to step up and stay with me, always trying to get back to his cage.

He has also lost two of three tail feathers, and the third one is on it's way. I'm assuming these are breaking because he's kind of a moron at flying, and the cage isn't very big, space is kind of an issue in my house, so a huge cage is out of the question.

He also shakes all the time, and is puffy some times, but all other health indicators seem fine. He doesn't seem like he's scared or anything most of the time, as he whistles and does his chirpings, though he does stop immediately when I turn to look at him and talk to him.

So, I know this is all quite a bit, but do you have suggestions?


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## cinnamon (Jul 16, 2009)

Hi, it sounds like your birdie is not settled in yet. Also is he a baby? Pellets are not a must, so give it time and he will come to like them. Here's how I got mine to eat them. Place a dish near the top of the cage where he sits the most and its easy for him to lean over and nibble on them. He sounds frightened. Step back from trying to get him to step up or stay on your hand and just hang out and talk to him and try not to look him in the eyes. Look left or right when speaking to him or doing the food dishes and cleaning. good luck to you, keep us updated!


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Birds are very cautious about new foods and it can take a very long time to switch them to a better diet. The typical advice from the pellet companies is something like this: replace 20% of the normal diet with pellets the first day, another 20% the second day, and so on until you hit 100% in five days. This might work with some birds, but there are also some birds who can't change that fast and they will literally starve to death if you do this. Please don't let your bird get so hungry that he screams, it's unhealthy for him. An all-seed diet is unhealthy in the long run, but not getting enough calories will do a lot more damage in the short run. There are some tips on diet conversions at http://www.littlefeatheredbuddies.org/info/nutrition-conversion.html

The other behavior problems that you mentioned indicate that he doesn't trust you yet and is afraid to be out of the cage. Trust doesn't come automatically, you have to earn it by treating him gently so that he eventually realizes that he's safe with you. Food bribery can be very useful for building a better relationship. Hold a nice treat (like millet spray) in your hand for him to eat. If he's afraid of the hand, hold the spray so he can nibble the seeds without getting too close to the hand and gradually adjust your grip to bring him closer. You can eventually use the millet to lure him into stepping up on your hand.


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## Jess (Jun 20, 2010)

I use a part seed part pellet diet, I buy a basic mix called superclean mix and also hagen premium for cockatiels. I have read that an all pellet diet can cause renal faliure in Cockatiels. Also offer some veg, my cockies love peas, sweetcorn and broccoli, you could offer some apple as well. Cage wise cockatiels are active birds so the bigger the cage the better, they like to forage on the cage floor so I never use the grills some cages come with. Cockatiels enjoy the company of their own kind especially when they aren't tame like yours, if you got a tame companion for him chances are that would help him come round as they are naturally curious and would more than likley land on you if you are handling another bird.


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## kirbulous (Jul 21, 2010)

Both my birds have been great at converting to pellets. I used to use the mixing method recommended but like your birds they tend to eat only the seed. So when I converted them I mixed some pellet so they would register that it was food but I also provided additional pellet in a similar dish without any seed. Abby is still converting and she currently walks back and forth between the two dishes. I'm slowly reducing the amount of seed I give her so soon she will be 100% converted. Also once you get your bird comfortable with handfeeding you can handfeed pellets to help with the conversion. With both my birds I would hand feed them a few seeds and then hand feed some pellets in between to help them to at least chew the pellet and realize that it's food. Hope that helps.
Another alternative method I read about uses bird breads to aid in the conversion. So you bake the bread with the seed so they learn to eat the bread and will most likely find it to be a treat. Then you bake the bread with pellet and they learn to eat the pellet. They have a detailed case study that they did with budgies that refused to convert.


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## PinkSparkles (Jul 5, 2010)

I've been really lucky with converting my birds to pellets (since they switched almost instantly) but I credit the method I used for a lot of the success - I feed Zupreem Garden Goodness pellets (which has dried veg and fruit bits in it) and I make what we call "birdie stew" out of them. I boil some filtered water in the microwave, pour it over the pellets and then mash them up with the back of a fork when they've mushed up. Then I mix in thawed peas, chopped asparagus and other raw veggies. Throwing soaked pellets and veggies into the food processor also works well.

My birdies LOVE the soft food, and the fresh smell of the little stew always sucks them in. They were a bit hesitant the very first time I served it, so I had to pretend to eat a bit myself and then offer it to them, but they got the hint really quickly.

Hope that helps! Just remember that when feeding fresh foods and/or moistened foods, they need to be replaced frequently and can't be left out long, or else bacteria may build up on them. Also, they just don't taste as good when they've been sitting out, so give your birds the best chance to love the food and replace it often. 

I also put totally dry pellets in the food processor for a few seconds to crush them up into much finer pieces. In their larger, pellet form, my birds would just crunch them to play with them, but when they're smaller pieces, they seem to make the association that they're food.

As far as bonding with/training the bird goes, I would let the bird come to you - don't try to take him out of this cage or get him to step up for you just yet. Just open his cage and sit near it for a while, quietly reading a book or talking to the bird. He will likely calm down, feel comfortable, and after a few times may even come out and climb onto you. Once the bird is comfortable coming out of the cage on his/her own and feels safer, then you can start asking him/her to do things for you, like step up. They seek companionship, but on their own terms, I find.


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## birdgirl (Jul 13, 2010)

*many problems with bird*

Hi Trun im new to this forum. I'd like to share my experiences with pellets. 0ur avian vet told us hed like us to give pellets a go with our two budgies and two tiels. He suggested Harrisons, well we gave them in with the trill and tiel mix and everything got ate bar the pellets, we threw away goodness knows how many packets. We then saw some Zupreem at our vets surgery and thought wed give that a go, same result we were throwing it out. 0ne day I had a catalogue from a firm here in England called Northern Parrots and i saw some packets of Xtravital for budgies and also tiels so we got a box of each and wow they all like it!!!!!! It was a long hard slog but we struck gold in the end its just a case of trying different things til you find the right one but you will. Let me know how it goes. Birdgirl


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## birdluv (Jul 31, 2007)

PinkSparkles said:


> I've been really lucky with converting my birds to pellets (since they switched almost instantly) but I credit the method I used for a lot of the success - I feed Zupreem Garden Goodness pellets (which has dried veg and fruit bits in it) and I make what we call "birdie stew" out of them. I boil some filtered water in the microwave, pour it over the pellets and then mash them up with the back of a fork when they've mushed up. Then I mix in thawed peas, chopped asparagus and other raw veggies. Throwing soaked pellets and veggies into the food processor also works well.
> 
> My birdies LOVE the soft food, and the fresh smell of the little stew always sucks them in. They were a bit hesitant the very first time I served it, so I had to pretend to eat a bit myself and then offer it to them, but they got the hint really quickly.
> 
> ...


I'll have to try this out on Jubejube. She eats just a little bit of pellets but mostly the seeds.


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## kirbulous (Jul 21, 2010)

The stew idea sounds great. I'm going to have to get a food processsor!


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