Why You Need a Scale For Diet Conversion | Converting an Eclectus Parrot to a Good Diet

Previously I thought Fennel was eating the proper diet, because she was SO MESSY with her meals and it looked like she continually emptied her bowl. But then I realized quickly that she wasn't eating so much as it as she was flinging it everywhere. Because I always use a gram scale during diet conversion, it told me straight away I needed to change my plan to ensure the proper healthy weight of Fennel. So I switched up my plan and show it in this video on how I got her TRULY converted.
Please make sure you can weigh your bird during a diet conversion so you know for sure that your bird is eating the new food. Behavior can so easily fool us into thinking a bird is full or hungry when it isn't.
For more on diet conversion, check out: birdtricksstor...
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217 CEDAR STREET 401
SANDPOINT, ID 83864
MY BIRDS (Oldest to Youngest) 🐦❤
BONDI 💗 Galah | hatched 2005
CRESSI 💗 Congo African Grey | hatched 2007
BANDIT 💙 Galah | hatched 2008-2019 💔
JINX 💙 Blue Throat Macaw | hatched 2008
COMET 💙 Yellow-Dominant Camelot Macaw | hatched 2008
TUSA 💙 Blue-Green Dominant Camelot Macaw | hatched 2008
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😍 ABOUT US 😍
BirdTricks is a husband-wife team; Dave and Jamieleigh Womach specialize in parrot training and companionship.
#birdtricks #birdtraining #parrottraining

[@DamiMami]

Thank you for using aloe on that gorgeous ekkie. I've heard people say it makes Eclectus pluck but from my experience that's absolutely not true. That aloe saved my boy's feathers

[@ericharris6906]

I’ve found most social media advice is a person heard it from another person who heard it from another person who heard it…etc. Occasionally they’ll throw in a study they don’t understand or didn’t actually read the entirety of. A whole lot of it is just junk. It’s a pain to plod through.

[@Xen-s_dreamagination]

Fennel seems pretty laid back. 😊 I love seeing her beautiful big eyes shine when she is munching on the feeding system. 💫 And what a happy accident! 🤗

[@jennifer7648]

I am buying a scale and the box of little toys today from you guys today 😊 Quick question. My little Spring seems very curious and LOVES trying different foods. I was going to make that banana pudding in the cookbook this morning. Can I use some frozen banana halves I cut and froze? Or should I wait and use fresh bananas? I am doing some grocery shopping today. Well, looks like I will have to wait to order the scale unless there is a way to order it and just have it shipped when you get more in. Sorry for this long comment, but I only trust you and your products, unless there are others you recommend.

[@Deborah-xj2rh]

Hello... don't know what area you're located in but I ordered a bird scale on Amazon. You could check there if that's an option for you.

[@jennifer7648]

@@Deborah-xj2rh Oh I live in Ohio 😊 I have seen them on Amazon. Are they good and accurate?

[@Deborah-xj2rh]

@@jennifer7648 mine seams pretty accurate... I have been told that as long as you have a scale and you're using the same one you should be able to tell if your bird is gaining or losing weight. When you get a new scale always take a beginning weight in grams and go from that point. Each scale can very a bit that's why it's a good rule of thumb to use the same scale no matter which one you get. Hope this helps. 😊

[@jennifer7648]

@@Deborah-xj2rh Ok, I see. Yes it does! Thank you so much. I will get the one on Amazon that is in my cart then 😊

[@jennifer7648]

I love your swim suit ☺️ Cute toucans on it!!

[@feverdreams3677]

Bird conversations so familiar -- I often reassure my budgies that the big scary jays they spy outside can't get to them.

[@angeliies]

ty for posting and loved this video! all your birds are so pretty and properly trained by you!

[@JekkaG89]

"Dave just like graduated there" 😂😂😂 I might have laughed a bit too much

[@kaycia9947]

Need to know where you got the toucan bathing suit!!!

[@kinnikuzero]

0:41 Girl are you a ghost? Why's your shoulder see through 😵‍💫

[@Shazza75]

What's wrong with feeding Sweet Potatoes?

[@shuermarvin577]

You are so patient with all the birds. Fennel is so cute,

[@micah2936]

Could you train a bird to fly to a red dot? (Laser pointer) is this a good idea or is it too risky to accidentally point it in their eyes?

[@livi6886]

I'm not sure for birds, but with dogs training them to follow a laser pointer can cause/increase obsessive compulsive behavior. Might be safer to stick with a target stick.

[@chawntelh]

Idk if you will see this or be able to answer it... but...🤷‍♀️ You mentioned she flings her food. My 3 month old conure does this... I'm starting him on your seasonal recipes. He's been eating choped up veggies. Although not as small as "chop"... You then mentioned she stopped flinging her food...Is this something I need to watch for? I am new to parrots, so I just thought it was what they do... but I'm seeing it's when they don't like a certain food. Can you explain more on this topic? thank you Jamie and Dave... I am a new, dedicated stalker, err, follower 😉... ( saw the video where one girl showed up at a free flight so she could meet you...🙄 I'm next 🤪😉 just a heads up) I'm also on your Patreon site too 🥰

[@livi6886]

My birds tend to shake their heads when they don't like a certain flavor. They will also pick up larger chunks of veggies and drop them out of the dish. Some birds also fling food just for fun (the chaotic types 😉).

[@MrJdubz100]

Email [e-mail] they always respond.

[@tamaraholmes8271]

I rescued a pair of Eclectus and I believe that my female is trying to lay. How should I go about helping her out

[@tamaraholmes8271]

@@bjornmaxson3597 great thank you and yourself

[@MCrvngraddip2013]

Fennel is so beautiful. I got the Easter toy box 📦. It arrived end of last week and my cockatiel Putin who is very afraid of new things took a few days and then today I went in and he had destroyed one completely. He was so proud of himself. My canary Chopin loves to preen on one and my budgie Biden who is a green and blue version of Blueberry is enjoying his. Thank you! From the UK. X

[@livi6886]

Very...creative names. 🤣

[@MCrvngraddip2013]

@@livi6886 Haha yea its like the UN in the bird room. Although I will say I named them before the war. 🙈😬

[@livi6886]

@@MCrvngraddip2013 lol Green and blue is a very rare color combination for a budgie!

[@MCrvngraddip2013]

@@livi6886 yea I've never seen one like him before. I even tried searching that colour mutation. He was a rescue so when I picked him up I was initially like 'huh I did not expect a green head, is he jaundice? 🤣'. But now his coat condition is in good shape, its truly beautiful 😍

[@livi6886]

@@MCrvngraddip2013 wow!

[@tamarapace3036]

This is so encouraging! I am on day 2 with my first foster bird. She is on a seed diet that has clumps of millet, dried corn, pistachios, peanuts among a bunch of other junk food. I offered her mixed veggies and she loves it. She is choosing frozen carrots over her seed mix (I am still offering her seed minus the nuts until I get my pellets)! I'm waiting for my pellets to arrive but I must get my chop made. I can't train because, come on, her diet is birdie "crack" and nothing is high enough value to even target touch training. I wasn't ready or else I would have made the chop before she came but it was a phone call and then she was here. Wish me luck, please. This is my first toe into the parrot rescue and adoption placement world. Without your videos and downloads I never would have gone through the fostering courses, I see amazing practices (working!) on your channel and it made me want to be a part of the solution, even if I am not a bird owner.

[@amandabennett1776]

I have learned so much from yall and have refreshed some of whay i already knew.. starting diet converson for my cockateil, any advice on converting budgies that i cannot get on a scale yet.

[@sisinkauchiha9452]

Hello Can you make a few videos about feather biting my grey is feather biting and i dont know how to get him to stop it

[@PerfectlyIimperfect1]

Is it because you kept her in the cage rather than taking her from perch to perch, it seems like this is her new safe place?

[@jenniferroberson3414]

Beautiful girl yes so happy that she eating healthier

[@shayralizdiez3046]

How did you steam the sweet potato in the microwave?

[@redunkulous9901]

I want to get one of your toy boxes one day

[@officedullard8722]

that bird is way too cute

[@mendyhansen274]

Are you "free feeding" her? OR do you feed her 3 x a day, Breakfast, Lunch and Supper?

[@joebean3615]

It’s just for diet converting birds you offer it to them a lot normally though she feeds 2x a day

[@tahlialee6759]

0.26 seconds into the video, she made a noise (call?) what would you suggest this means? I have a new eccy and he sits there and constantly makes that noise/call. Should I be concerned?

[@tommyfoley462]

Flock call

[@jefferymerriner]

I am having trouble getting my cockatiels on to pellet they eat fruit and veggies real good all except corn they love sweet potatoes apples will nibble on spinach

[@BirdTricks]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/qHand61vpKtlfNk

[@Deborah-xj2rh]

Could you please share a link to the flax seed you're using? Thanks.

[@kindnessplease9836]

Please email us directly at [e-mail] or [e-mail]

[@MrJdubz100]

Thats the brand anyway. They make a bunch of organic stuff. I thought I heard her say ground flax seed but her bag looks like the regular organic flax seed.

[@Deborah-xj2rh]

@@MrJdubz100 yes... I watched her grind it up in that little blender before she added it to the mix. Thank you for your help.

[@MrJdubz100]

Looks like they deleted the links that I sent. It is Terrasoul flax seed. You can get it pre-ground.

[@shayralizdiez3046]

She has it on her Amazon wish list down in her bio

[@mcberman7034]

What’s wrong with “reverting back” to the sweet potato mix ?

[@livi6886]

It is not ideal for parrots to eat very much sweet potato since it is higher in carbohydrates.

[@CaliAnimalLover]

When are you getting more in stock?? (Scales I mean!)

[@MrJdubz100]

There are some good ones on Amazon. I would just avoid going with a cheap gram scale and getting something in the $85-$125 range.

[@AllisonTaitano]

I currently have my macaw on the seasonal feeding system, but we're in the process of converting her from Zupreem Natural to the cold pressed pellets. She does NOT like the new pellets. Ive been trying to powder them and mix them with veggies, fruit, even moisten the Zupreem and sprinkle the cold pressed powder on those. I give her the new pellets with every meal but she just picks around them or grabs them and drops them without even trying to bite into them. Should i stop offering the Zupreem cold turkey? Ive noticed if i stop offering the Zupreem for the day, she then starts to refuse the veggies too.

[@MrJdubz100]

No don’t stop offering the Zupreem cold turkey. Especially if she starts to refuse the healthy food. Zupreem Natural is not great but its clearly more palatable for your particular bird. Two of my birds eat the seasonal feeding system with a mix of Birdtricks pellets and Harrisons. My African Gray will eat some of the freeze dried seasonal feeding system but mostly eats Harrisons. She will not eat the birdtricks pellets. Harrisons is a step down in my opinion from the Birdtricks pellets but it is still healthy in my book and I say that based off of my avian vets experience. Are some of the ingredients in Harrisons not great? Absolutely, but most are good. Some birds do not like that much alfalfa in their pellets, and the Birdtricks pellets have a lot of alfalfa in them. Have you tried Harrisons Adult Coarse for the pellets and the seasonal feeding system for the chop portion? That would still be an improvement over Zupreem Natural.

[@AllisonTaitano]

@@MrJdubz100 I tried Harrisons pellets a couple years ago, she refused those as well 😅. She just really LOVES the Zupreem. I mean its probably because of the ground corn, soybean meal, and added sugar that makes it so enticing to her. I tried grinding up some Zupreem and the cold pressed pellets into a power and mixed it together with a little water until it was almost a dry paste like consistency, and she ate that with no problem along with her veggies and sprouts. Hoping maybe she will get used to the new pellets and start trying them in the future. If she still later refuses the cold pressed pellets by themselves, maybe ill give harrisons another go.

[@FukaiKokoro]

Eckies seem to be slow and messy eaters lol.

[@MrJdubz100]

I think all birds are messy eaters haha. The only thing that my birds don’t get all over the place is the coconut oil flax seed mixture that I give them off of a spoon. Everything else I can say with confidence that more than 1/3rd of it ends up on the ground.

[@manoukirishanning]

Could i please know what exavctly is all part of the seasonal food? I'd love to know, thank you!

[@MrJdubz100]

If she listed that online then they wouldn’t sell any cookbooks!

[@manoukirishanning]

@@MrJdubz100 True! I didn't knew it was part of her cookbooks. It reminded me I already had bought those, so, yea, I'll figure it out :P.

[@pigeonwheels7207]

My wife and I recently received a yellow crowned Amazon parrot. It was my great aunts who’s couldn’t spend enough time with him so we took him in, he been with us for just under two weeks (I know very little in terms of a parrot) he’s 9 years old and super attached to my wife but absolutely hates and very aggressive towards me. I’ve been watching many videos, taking my time and doing small training steps with him. But I’m also in a wheelchair and I think that’s adding to his hesitation of me, any tips or tricks to help with a really aggressive bird or making him more comfortable with my chair?

[@kindnessplease9836]

the parrot videos are GREAT! If you haven't got them already. Just know that it takes TIME to get any parrot used to new things. Patients is the best thing you can give him right now. I am with mine everyday, all day and he is just now coming around after a year. They all have their own schedule. Just don't blame the bird. Bless you for taking in the feather baby.

[@MrJdubz100]

A lot of it has to do with time and respecting the birds boundaries, trying to avoid large “withdrawals”. For example my new Catalina Macaw has been with me for 4 months and when I first got her it was rare that I went a day without getting bit. Now I only get bitten once a week. Tonight I made a large withdrawal when my Macaw latched onto my finger (She decided that she no longer wanted head scratches) and I flinched as it hurt really bad and it startled her. She was super submissive for the rest of the night but honestly, an ideal situation would have been telling her no, immediately putting her back on her stand and exiting her vicinity without making a big dramatic display over how bad it hurt.

[@jenniferlynn120]

I hope things are going well! I’m just giving a tip from watching past videos that I would personally make priority 1 if I were being adopted by a new bird as their human(s): whichever person/s is or are not the birds 1st choice should be the ones doing more of the “fun” stuff with the bird. So for instance- you should be delivering the dinner and breakfast every day. Yay food bringer is here! You should have whatever treat is #1 on the list of fav treats (training treats like nuts/seeds) is only given by you. Obviously can have exceptions and if there’s breakthroughs with training it’d be hard not to want to reward with the best :) but essentially you should be set up as the “cool dude” lol while your wife does still implement training first before transferring the trick to you and obviously spends time with bird, but also is the one that does the not fun stuff like cage clean out, bedtime if not a fav, etc.

[@pigeonwheels7207]

@@jenniferlynn120 thank you so much! It’s still a struggle and he doesn’t like me but I’ll definitely do those things, for the most party I do. Except for the wife will do a lot of the fun things with him as he’ll bite me or try to very often. But the wife can do the exact same things with him that are “fun” and he loves her hahaha. It’s a process but I’m more then willing to put in the time.

[@FukaiKokoro]

Love the bathing suit!! Fennel seems like a good bird. With people who are semi misunderstanding her. She’s doing great!

[@ikcaruswingz]

Eclectus one of the hardest conversion bird.

[@kimberlymarie3651]

I see that you like to feed your birds fresh healthy foods and vegetables , so your birds are healthier. But, when I heard you say that you steamed your sweet potato in the microwave I have to tell you that microwaving any food in the microwave destroys all the nutrition in the food, so it's basically "dead" food. Being you're so passionate about giving your birds very fresh nutritious food I had to let you know that you must stay away from the microwave :) I got rid of my microwave. I love watching your videos.