How to make the switch to extruded pellets for your bird

Food is extremely important for ornamental birds. After all, many of their health problems are the result of a diet that is too one-dimensional. That’s why it’s so important to give your birds the best bird food available, with 100 percent nutritional ingredients in the right proportion. This is why making the switch to extruded pellets for birds could be a good one. But, how do you do this?

To make extruded bird pellets, we add water and steam to quality ingredients. As we do this, we briefly heat it to a high temperature. This offers many advantages. The food is more digestible, many germs are killed, and the pellets are fully absorbable ... Earlier we went deeper into extruded pellets and their assets.

Do you want to switch to an extruded feed for your birds such as NutriBird? If you mix your usual bird seed with pellets, it turns out to be very difficult to accurately calculate the sufficient portion of daily food, which makes it difficult for your birds to get used to the new food. This is especially the case if you keep several birds in a flock. To get around that, follow the NutriBird Alternate Day method.

How does our method for switching work?

1. Preparation phase

Do you want small birds, such as canaries, finches and budgies, to switch to different food using our method? Then introduce them to the pellets two or three weeks in advance. To do this, add 10 percent pellets to their usual seed mix so that they can already try it, getting used to the smell and taste. This preparation phase is not necessary for parrots and larger parakeets.

2. The actual switch to extruded pellets

During the conversion itself, you no longer mix the seeds and pellets. Only give your birds pellets, but occasionally offer them their trusted seeds in a separate feeder so that they don't lose too much weight if they initially eat fewer pellets. Wait a little longer each time to offer them a bowl of seeds.

The Nutribird Alternate Day method

So in concrete terms, you give pellets every day, and pellets as well as seeds on days 2, 4, 7, 10, 14, 18, 23, 28, 34 and 40. After that time, your birds will be used to the pellets and you’ll no longer need to add a seed mixture.

Further tips for a smooth switch

Don't make the switch if your birds aren't 100 percent healthy. Switching to new food is stressful. This can cause problems for birds that are not in optimal condition.
If you have a lot of birds, you can try switching one or two pairs first. This way you gain a lot of experience, which you can use with the rest of your birds.

Monkey see, monkey do: To switch a flock, it may be helpful for one of the birds among them to already be familiar with the extruded bird pellets.

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