Golden rules for converting to pellets (part 1)

"Dr. Patrick"

DR. PATRICK GHYSELS

  • 38 years as an avian vet, specialised in birds
  • 50 years of keeping and breeding birds, but above all bird lover
Here are some tips to make the switch to pellet food easy and quick:
  • To stimulate the birds even more to eat the new pellet food, you can make sure that you put the new pellet food in the familiar feeding bowl. On the days that you add seeds, give the seeds in a bowl that they are not familiar with, preferably in a different place in the cage, so that access is somewhat more difficult and they feel more attracted to the new pellet food.
  • It is also important that you try to house the birds individually or in pairs as much as possible to make the switch. This is the best way to observe the birds individually. In birds kept in groups, you cannot see well who has eaten and who has not. That can also help. Although the conversion method we propose also works perfectly in group.
  • It is also important to try to do this as much as possible with young birds: young birds have not yet acquired any bad eating habits, are much more open to new food and will therefore more readily accept the new food in the form of pellets.
  • If you have just bought birds, you must also first let them get used to their new environment, before introducing them to a new food. It is important - every time a bird is moved, it causes stress - that the birds first get used to their new surroundings for two, three or four weeks, and only then do you try to get them used to a new feed.
  • Although we know of very few, if any, cases with our conversion method where the conversion does not really work, we would still recommend - if you suspect that it is not going so well - to give the bird seeds for a little while longer and then get it back on the schedule. Give the bird a little more time to get used to the new food. That can help a lot.
These are all little tricks that can speed up and simplify your conversion to pellets. This will work for one bird, and this will work for another. I would say: try it out. And see where it takes you, but above all: observe your birds closely while you are converting and see what they think of it.

How to convert your birds to pellets?

Making the switch to extruded pellets is an excellent way to keep your birds in top condition. It’s also easy. Just follow our step-by-step guide to help your birds switch to eating pellets. Additionally we give you some tips.


Start converting to pellets

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