Switching from a seed diet to OptiBird®

Offer your bird a combination of a seed mixture and OptiBird® according to the supplied OptiBird® conversion scheme (see right), gradually increasing the number of days feeding OptiBird® over a 1 month period until the bird is entirely accustomed to the new diet. When converting a pet bird to a food that is different from the food normally fed, a slower conversion is optimal. Small birds, such as parakeets, canaries and finches may not recognize a pellet diet as a food, refusing to eat. The following method prevents this difficulty:

•             First week          -              3 days seed mixture and 4 days OptiBird®

•             Second week    -              2 days seed mixture and 5 days OptiBird®

•             Third week         -              1 day seed mixture and 6 days OptiBird®

•             Fourth week     -              1 day seed mixture and 6 days OptiBird®

Continue to monitor the bird’s food intake for several days to ensure adequate consumption of the new food. These methods has been proven in practice for many years now with excellent results.

Important: Change the food daily at approximately the same time each day to monitor the food intake and to determine if all the food is being eaten. Do not introduce other new foods or treats until you are assured the new daily diet is being eaten for at least one week.

This method prevents digestive upset and gives the bird an opportunity to become familiar with the new food. Again, whenever introducing a new food it is very important to monitor the food intake and observe if the bird is actually eating the food. It is therefore advised to note the bird’s weight prior to and during conversion. Weight loss indicates poor consumption. If weighing is not possible, note the breast muscle through physical examination. Other signs of poor consumption and conversion include: listlessness, hyperactivity, sitting with fluffed feathers or on the cage bottom, and loose droppings. If these signs continue for more than one day, remove the new food and offer the old food again for at least one week to make sure the bird is stable. If they do not start eating in 24 hours, contact an avian veterinarian for assistance.

If the bird is not eating the new food, the droppings may change from formed to a looser consistency. Digestive upset or increased water consumption may cause this. Observe the bird. If it is drinking excessive water, delay conversion until food intake is normal.