Yesterday I was reading ingredients on the various food my pets get. I do this every now and then to make sure the food hasn't changed and to make sure bad things haven't been added. All checked out good except the Roudybush (and the guinea pig food, but I already knew that there were things in it I don't like).

I have to admit that I hadn't really looked that closely at the ingredient list for the Roudybush pellets. I knew it was a decent food, but I also knew it wasn't the best food. I had heard it was better than Zupreem, and I still think it is. I don't like how Zupreem has added sugar. Lenore was already on Roudybush when I got him, and Digby also decided to eat the Roudybush. I was happy to get Digby eating pellets, so I didn't want to be too picky with her pellets.

But, after looking at the Roudybush ingredients, I want to put the birds on something else. Here is a list of ingredients:

Ground Corn, Ground Wheat, Soy Meal, Soy Oil, Calcium Carbonate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt, DL-Methionine, L-Arginine, Niacin, Mixed Tocopherols, Rosemary Extract, Ascorbic Acid, Citric Acid, Lecithin, Silicon Dioxide (carrier for liquid antioxidants), Alpha Tocopherol Acetate (source of Vitamin E), Ascorbic Acid, Manganese Sulfate, Yucca shidigera Extract, Hydrated Sodium Calcium Aluminosilicate, Dried Yeast, Biotin, Calcium Pantothenate, Zinc Oxide, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin A Acetate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Vitamin K), Ethylenediamine Dihydroiodide, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Cyanocobalamin (source of Vitamin B12), Sodium Selenite (on Calcium Carbonate), Propionic Acid, Ammonium Hydroxide, Acetic Acid, Sorbic Acid, Tartaric Acid, and Natural Apple Flavoring.
(Taken from the Petsmart website because for some reason it's not listed on the Roudybush website...that kind of bothers me)

I don't even know what half of those things are. Sure, I could write the chemical formula for a lot of those things, but that doesn't mean I know what it's for or why the heck it's in my birds' food. I also don't like the fact that two of the first four ingredients are soy. The soy meal bothers me more than the soy oil.

Soy is pretty controversial for people to eat, and it isn't completely known what it can do to parrots. In humans, it can cause early sexual maturity, can cause prepubescent boys to have problems because of its high estrogen content, can cause or contribute to thyroid problems, and other things. It can potentially have the same or similar effects on birds.

So, I began looking at other pellets. Zupreem has soy, Harrison's has soy, Pretty Bird has soy (they got clever and labeled it as "soya oil", yeah, you're not tricking me), Hagen Tropican has soy, and Lafeber's pellets have soy. In all my searching, I found only one brand that doesn't have soy. That brand is Totally Organic Pellets.

I'm pretty sure that I'll be switching the birds to Totally Organic Pellets. Even if it weren't for the soy thing, I really like the ingredients used in the Totally Organic Pellets. The ingredients are:

Rice, hulled millet, barley, alfalfa leaf, sunflower seed hulled, sesame seeds unhulled, quinoa whole, buckwheat hulled, dandelion leaf powder, carrot powder, spinach leaf powder, purple dulse, kelp, rose hips powder, rose hips crushed, orange peel powder, lemon peel powder, rosemary whole leaf, cayenne ground, crushed red chili peppers, nettle leaf.
(Taken from the Totally Organics website)

I know what every single one of those ingredients is, except purple dulse (Google results: a flower that is used in a powdered form). It costs a bit more than Roudybush. Not a lot more, but it's about 60 cents more per pound (if buying the 10 pound bag). I will also have to buy it online. I think it will be worth the extra costs though.

The only trick will be getting Digby to eat it.

If you've been following along, you will know that I'm trying to get Digby to eat something other than just seed. I've had her for almost three months and have tried several foods. The following is a list of what I've tried:

Pellets
Zupreem Natural: Refuses. She will taste them but will not eat them and throws them on the floor.
Harrison's: Ate half of one. She ignored the rest.
Roudybush: Eats them and likes them! (See the post from 13 January)

Fruits and Veggies
Lettuce: Likes. She prefers the purple or red lettuces, and the must be cut into little pieces.
Collard greens: Will eat. She will eat collards, but not with the same gusto as she eats the lettuce.
Apples: Likes. She requires them to be cut into tiny pieces though.
Green peppers: Eh. She nibbled on it until she discovered the better red peppers.
Red peppers: Likes. She really liked the red peppers.
Cucumber: Also eh. She started nibbling on it when I offered it while I was holding it, but she decided my finger looked yummier and bit me.
Pomegranate: Loves. She surprised me liking these so much.

Other Things
Nutri-berries: Likes. If they are left in her food dish, she will pick out all the seeds. If I give them to her out of her cage, she'll eat the entire thing.
Avi-cakes: Likes. Prefers Nutri-berries.
Sprouts: Will eat. She will eat them, but only if I am also eating and she's out of her cage.
Rice: Will eat. Not her favourite, but she will certainly eat it.
Pizza: Likes. I feel bad for putting this on the list, but this was the first food she ate for me other than seed. She likes pizza, especially the crunchy edge of the crust.
Millet: Loves. She will even take this from my hand.
Seeds: LOVES. This is the reason I'm trying all the other foods. She will happily eat nothing but seeds. Doesn't matter the brand. She'll switch between brands easily.

Today for breakfast I had one of my favourite cereals, Kashi Strawberry Fields. Nothing unusual.

But Digby had...drum roll, please...pellets!

She ate Roudybush pellets. And not just a couple, but a bunch. I was so excited when I saw her doing it, I took a video (with my iPhone because that's what was closest, so the quality isn't great). And then she started acting happy and being cute. <3

And, to make me even happier, she's in her cage eating some right now. :)

I got a sample of Harrison's bird pellets in the mail today. I offered some to both Lenore and Digby. Both ate one pellet each when I gave it to them. Digby mostly just threw the pellets on the floor. Lenore was too distracted by other things to be interested.

I also cooked some rice for the birds today. Digby was just kind of indifferent. I've given her rice once before, and she wasn't too interested then either. Lenore liked it though, and dove into the food before I even got it in his cage.

When I was cooking the rice, I had Digby out. I had her sitting on her T-perch in the kitchen, and she was just watching me. When I got within a foot of her perch, she started bobbing up and down, so I put my arm out and she jumped right up and gave me a little chirp. She's really getting to be pretty friendly (in comparison to when I got her).

I should also say that when I had him out tonight, Lenore did not bite me!

Today Digby ate pellets! She only ate a few, but she ate them. I've been getting her out whenever I eat lunch so I can try to get her to eat some new foods. Today I gave her three Roudybush pellets, which she ate. Then, I gave her about four more, which she picked up, tasted, and tossed down.

I think she just doesn't like pellets for some reason.

I also noticed that Lenore isn't eating his pellets. I'm still giving him the mix the breeder gave us, which has seed, Roudybush pellets in the smallest size, and Higgins egg food. Lenore is picking out all the yummy stuff, but leaving the pellets. I gave him just pellets last night and he refused to eat them.

Oh, and I discovered that Digby eats really good when she's out, but not as good when she's in her cage. If I give her lettuce while I have her out, she'll eat quite a bit. If I give her Nutri-berries while she's out, she will eat all of it. But if I give her lettuce in her cage, she ignores it. If I give her Nutri-berries in her cage, she picks out the seeds and grinds up the rest, leaving behind crumbs and some chunks of other stuff.

These birds are making me crazy!

I offered Digby some Nutri-berries and some pellets today. I've been trying to get him to eat these for months, but he has always refused to even touch them. So today, I made Digby think I ate both of them. He picked up a pellet in his mouth and then dropped it. He tried this with several pellets, but didn't eat any of them. I'm happy he tasted them though, so I won't try to make him eat anymore pellets until the Roudybush I ordered for Lenore gets here.

But, when I did the same with the Nutri-berries, Digby ate an entire piece. I'm beginning to think he'll taste whatever I offer him now, and I'm anxious to try all sorts of things.

I discovered something new about Digby today--he doesn't like white shirts. I wore a white, long sleeved shirt. He refused and refused to step up. Finally, I figured it might be the colour of the shirt, so I changed into a purple shirt and he stepped up very quickly. I'm not letting him get away with this. I'll be starting a collection of long sleeved grey shirts, ranging from dark to lighter to almost white. He also has to get over his fear of step up on my skin. He has until the weather warms up and I start wearing short sleeves again to do that.

I have a seed junkie. I cannot get him to convert to pellets.

With my last bird, a sweet, sweet cockatiel, I had no trouble. She'd eat anything I offered her. She'd even eat things I didn't offer her, and would try to steal food from my plate. When I first learned an all seed diet was bad, I found a brand of pellets available locally, Zupreem. She was a little reluctant at first and would eat all her seeds and then wait for more. But, the first time I gave her all pellets, she ate them willingly. I was able to add a small amount of seeds back in, and she would eat the seeds, the pellets, and whatever greens the guinea pigs were having that day.

But Digby, my lovebird, will not eat anything but seeds. He will eat his seed mix and he will eat millet. He will ignore anything else I give him. I've tried different methods to try to get him to eat pellets. I first tried just mixing the seeds and the pellets together. He picks out the seeds and then wants more. I've taken away all his food at night, then in the morning, give him only pellets. He won't eat them, and by afternoon, I've given up for the day and put some seed in with the pellets.

And it's not just pellets. I've tried to get him to eat greens, I've tried to get him to eat sprouts, I've tried to get him to eat Nutri-berries. I even offered him some cooked macaroni the other day. He bit it, and I thought he was going to eat it, but no, he would not eat it.

Today, I thought I'd try taking a familiar food and changing it just a little. I took a millet spray and boiled it. He started to take it from me, but as soon as he realised it was different, he refused it. I also boiled some quinoa and some lentils. I tricked him into getting a piece of quinoa, but he spat it out as soon as he realised it wasn't millet. He wouldn't even touch the lentils.

I'm getting quite frustrated by this. I found a method on the Roudybush website that I haven't used. It seems a little harsh, but I'm getting tempted to try it. This is from the Roudybush website:

2) Controlled. This method may be used with a very finicky, difficult to switch bird that is starting out at a good weight. It is generally the quickest, easiest method for switching most birds. Do not use this method on a thin bird, sick bird, or a bird you cannot monitor. Remove the old food and replace it with Roudybush. Clean the cage at the time of the switch and line it with paper. Do not use corncob or other litter because you won't be able to monitor the droppings well. Watch your bird's droppings or weigh your bird daily. When a bird isn't eating, the droppings will be very small and the green part will be very dark green, almost black. Or you may see a lot of urine (liquid) but almost no green part, which means your bird is filling up on water and not eating much. Give nothing but Roudybush for two full days for small species or three days for larger species. If at the end of this period your bird's droppings indicate it isn't eating, put your bird back on its old diet for 7 days, and then repeat the switching process. Most birds will convert the first time, and those that won't switch the first time usually switch the second time. If you can weigh your bird, keep your bird on Roudybush unless it loses more than 3% of its body weight. At that point, put your bird back on its old diet for one week then repeat the switch process, weighing your bird at the start of the switch. Disappearance of food from the dish is not a realiable way of determining if your bird is eating. Most birds will spill the new food out of the dish, looking for familiar foods.
(http://www.roudybush.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=birdbrain.foodswitch)

I don't know if I should try this. I'm tempted to, but I just don't like the idea of him not eating.