Small Bird with Mohawk
Diet Conversion made easy using Harrison’s Bird Bread.
The following is an example of a safe and
effective method of converting the diets of small birds.
Items required:
or
Optional Items:
A very stubborn pair of budgies who were solely on spray millet were brought to us for a conversion trial. (Budgies are shown in this trial – but other small species including cockatiel, canary, lovebird etc. all convert similarly)
The pair was always ravenous for spray millet but turned up their beaks to anything else we offered.
At that point we baked up a batch of in small muffin shapes with spray millet mixed into the bread. The bread was broken up into pieces and placed on top of a clean paper towel at the bottom of the cage.
As expected, for the first few days the pair sorted through the muffins for the millet. On day three though we observed that they were also now eating bits of the Bird Bread. The amount of millet mixed into the bread was reduced and eventually replaced with . After a few more days the millet was completely removed and High Potency Fine was scattered amongst the pieces of Bird Bread on top of the white paper towel.
Within a few days not only were they off spray millet completely – they were now eating only Bird Bread and HPF. Though continuing Bird Bread as a treat is optional, after another batch-worth of Bird Bread was exhausted we continued with only HPF and the birds are doing excellent!
- Bird Bread can be baked in a number of shapes including muffins, mini-muffins or loaf (loaves can be cut into pieces).
- Baking seed into the Bird Bread can be replaced by baking the Bird Bread as-is then pushing seed (and subsequently nuggets) into already baked pieces with your finger.
- Store baked Bird Bread pieces in the fridge or freezing – then allow day’s ration to thaw or warm prior to feeding.
- For maximum nutrition replace cooking oil with 1 tsp of
Diet Conversion is a Challenge not to be taken Lightly.
It is imperative to immediately return a bird to its original diet if it refuses to eat the new diet.
Small birds have a rapid metabolism and can starve to death in as little as 36-48 hours if they do not get enough food to eat. Owners should consult with an avian veterinarian and set up a conversion program that works but does not harm the bird in the process.
