The idea behind this method is to reduce the time the bird has old food available whilst increasing the time he is exposed to the new food. It seems to work best for birds of Conure size and larger, that usually feed with their feet whilst sitting on their perch; also, shy birds that do not relish human interaction so much. Birds should be mature adults – so they can cope with a reduction in calories that may occur over the course of this conversion method. Typically, it takes a couple of weeks to convert from the old diet to the new pellets.

Step 1
Remove the old diet from the cage at night. The idea is that he will be a little hungrier in the morning so, when you offer the new food he is more apt to try it. Some owners do not like the idea of leaving their bird without food throughout the whole night; however, birds tend to sleep at night and eat little, so don’t be alarmed that this will do him any harm, it just sharpens their morning appetite a little.

After the night with no food in the cage, put the new food in the same dish as he usually has his old food in. Place it in the usual location in the cage and leave it for a period of 4 hours. If you see him approach the food to try it, be sure to offer lots of praise and verbal encouragement.

Do not be surprised or alarmed if the bird completely ignores the food on this first exposure – he may not even recognise it as food. It may take several days before he is comfortable enough that he is tempted to try it.

If he does not eat any of the new pellets, after 4 hours, offer a small amount of old food in a second cup.  Do not remove the new food and do not mix the two foods – he would simply select the pieces of the old diet from the dish and leave the new pellets.

Step 2
At the end of the first day with the new pellets in his cage, remove the second dish (with any remaining old diet). Leave the dish of new pellets in the cage overnight.

In the morning offer a fresh portion of new pellets and this time, leave him with only the new diet for a slightly longer period. Do not be alarmed if the bird does not eat anything during this period – healthy adult birds can easily go for a day with little or no food intake. Do not give in and offer him the old diet during this period as he will simply not be hungry enough to try the new pellets. If he continues not to show any interest on the pellets, try putting a little warm fruit juice on them to tempt him.

If you see him approach the new pellets, give him lots of praise “Good bird” or use his name, increase the praise if he actually tries a pellet. Birds will work to gain praise and attention from their owner – we are working here to positively reinforce any interest in the new pellets. If the bird likes to be touched, a head scratch is another good form of encouragement for approaching or trying the new pellets.

After this time if he is not eating much or any of the new diet, again offer a small portion of the old diet in a second dish, which again should be removed before bedtime and fresh new pellets left in the cage overnight.

Try and assess how much of the new diet the bird is eating overnight – either visually or weight the dish before putting it in and after taking it out.

Step 3
Gradually, over a period of the next 7 days, extend the length of time from 4 hours, to 6 hours and then longer, that the bird is left with just the new pellet diet in his cage each day. As he begins to eat more and more pellets the amount of old food offered should be reduced until only a small portion of the old diet is offered in the evening. Ultimately the goal is, of course, that the bird should be eating so much of the pellets that he no longer needs the additional calories from offering the old diet.

How much is enough?
Weigh the bird each morning at the same time to track his weight during the conversion process. Losing a few grams (up to 10% of body weight) is normal – the bird has been fed a high-fat, seed-based diet and is changing onto a lower fat pellet diet. If he loses more than 10% or appears lethargic or unwell at all during the process, he needs to see a veterinarian immediately.

Another way to monitor pellet intake is to count the droppings in his cage – put a clean sheet of white paper towel in the bottom of the cage each morning so you can see how many droppings are passed each day. He should produce at least one every few hours. Whilst considering dropping – as the bird’s diet changes, so will his droppings; they may become looser, or even change colour to the colour of his preferred pellets.

This conversion method takes time and patience and does require a degree of deprivation – but remember a little hunger is the key to driving the bird to try the new diet, so you must be strict and stick to the plan.

For more information visit https://www.zupreem.com/avian-conversion/slow-and-steady/

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Postdate: 1st April 2020