# Help all zippy wants to eat is Millet



## hysteriauk (Jun 24, 2012)

Zippy is coming up to 3 months old , I got him last week he is adorable but it seems like all he wants to eat is millet , I fed him this for the first few days but also put in a good cockateil seed mix which so far he has ignored 

I don't like the idea of just feeding him millet as have owned teils in the past and they had a good healthy varied diet .

Today I have not put in any millet and I am getting the evils from zippy and he is behaving like a drug addict he has not got his fix lol

are there any tips to help ween him off a complete millet diet ?

All help gratefully received


----------



## Annie (Nov 20, 2009)

Hi,

Sorry to hear about Zippy's stubborness! Of course, you need to feed him a much better diet than millet alone. You have to stand firm although Zippy gives you "the evils". It's for his own good. Otherwise he will be malnourished and will get sick very soon.

If you do a search in this forum with something like "how to convert a seed-eater" or "switching from seed diet to pellets", I'm sure you will be able to see some threads on this and tips on how to get your bird on a proper diet. For starters, I got the info below from the Harrison's website. These tips are for people who want to put their bird on the Harrison's diet but they'll give you some ideas you can try. Good luck! 

(from www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com)
1. Use of AVIx Bird Builder® (contains iodine and trace minerals) 2-3 weeks prior to diet a change may stimulate a healthy appetite resulting in the bird’s willingness to try something new. Stop using Builder once the bird is fully converted.

2. Harrison's Bird Bread Mix can be used as an extremely effective conversion tool. Food that the bird currently eats can be added to the mix and baked in the bread. Gradually reduce the amount of that food and replace with the appropriate Harrison's formula. 
See Article: Budgie Conversion made easy with Harrison's Bird Bread Mix.

3. Change the bird’s environment. Try moving your bird to a new enclosure, such as a box, aquarium or even a new cage. Remove all the toys, perches and bowls and offer High Potency™ on a solid surface of the floor. 

4. Use a mirror or white paper. Sprinkling food over a mirror or sheet of white paper placed on the bottom of the enclosure works especially well for budgies. A bird old enough to be socialized may eat to compete with the “rival” bird in the mirror. A white paper background may draw attention to the food particles.

5. Slowly “wean” your bird from seeds. In the evening, offer seeds from the food bowl for only 1 hour. Then, remove the seeds and replace with High Potency.™ The next day, give your bird seeds for only 30 minutes in the morning and evening. The third day, reduce the time to only 15 minutes twice a day. And finally, offer only High Potency™ on the fourth day. Watch the bird’s droppings.

6. Feed your bird at mealtime. Place the food on a plate, move it around with your finger or a spoon and pretend to eat it in front of your bird. 

7. Offer Power Treats, Pepper Lifetime Coarse™ or Adult Lifetime Mash.™ Birds love the taste of Power Treats™ and Pepper Lifetime Coarse.™ These foods can be crushed for smaller birds. Adult Lifetime Mash™ also has an appealing taste to help your bird try new food. 

8. Use a converted bird as a role model. House your bird near another that’s already eating Harrison’s Bird Foods, or use a “trainer bird” in the same cage as a role model for eating. 

9. Heat or moisten the food. Heat the High Potency™ slightly or moisten it with a small amount of fruit juice or AVIx Sunshine Factor.®

10. Schedule a supervised diet change with your veterinarian. Some birds do not recognize Harrison’s as food, and placing the bird in a clinic where monitoring can be done will help keep your bird healthy through the conversion.

11. If the conversion steps don’t work the first time, you can feed the familiar food for a short time and then try again. The effort is worthwhile for the long term health of your bird.


----------



## hysteriauk (Jun 24, 2012)

Zippy is eating proper seed mix now thankgod 

He still has to have some millet or he gets quite upset but he's not eating it all at once now and he is trying other foods I give him at the moment he likes chewing on a stick of celery and he likes those shredded wheat squares .

This week I will be introducing him to some fresh veg and fruit .

In the last week he has gone from being annoyed if I put my hand near him to him actually sitting on my hand 

question about diet I found out he likes cheese but I am very wary about giving it to him 

The best thing about zippy is when he is sitting on his swing chirping away


----------



## Indigobug1987 (Feb 18, 2012)

I always cut the millet into 2 inch pieces with some scissors. That way he can still have millet but not as much. Also if he's really close and attached to you try offering him something like celery sticks or baby spinach leaves. Sit near his cage and eat some yourself then offer it to him. This has worked wonders with mine.

I will also touch his food and talk to him about how nummy it is and just manipulate it a lot until he's ok with it. Then his natural curiosity will get the better of him. Once he tries something out and likes it your all set.


----------



## SyddyBird (May 17, 2012)

I'm not sure about giving him cheese. I've read that they cant have anything dairy. Some of the experts on here will probably comment to verify if you can give him them or not, I could be wrong. 
But, continue with the fruits and veggies. Mine eats anything green and leafy, like greens, broccoli, lettuce, asparagus. I think you can feed them any fruit or veggie except avocado.

Do a quick


----------



## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

It's possible that he never learned to eat anything but millet before he came to you. You might need to teach him to eat healthy foods like vegetables and pellets. You can read more about the best diet at http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=27479

It's OK to give him a small amount of cheese once in a while. Birds are lactose-intolerant but most cheese is low in lactose. But cheese is high in fat and cholesterol so birds shouldn't have a lot of it. You can use tiny little bits the size of a millet seed to occasionally reward him for behavior that you approve of - that will give you some extra mileage from the cheese!


----------



## flyboy (Nov 22, 2011)

when i got my tiel all he would eat is millet, i started him on a seed diet that consisted mostly of millet sunflower seeds and multi colored seeds. I weened him off of that and gave him a more natural food. At first he didnt even look at it but eventually he just ate it and now he sees millet as an treat and an reward, not a food


----------



## hysteriauk (Jun 24, 2012)

Thankyou all for your advice 

Cheese definitively won't be an everyday treat maybe a tiny piece once in awhile if he's been a good boy 

Have been trying him with some fruit and he went crazy for the half strawberry I gave him 

He also likes cauliflower I found out tonight at dinner time lol


----------

