So I recently got some pellets for Lucy. I got the zupreem natural diet for cockatiels. When I out it in her little snack bowl, she had no problem eating them. However, when I put it in her food bowl, she didn't eat them, and apparently screamed at my mom while I was in college, until she mixed seeds in there. Now she just picks the seeds out.

She still eats it when I offer it to her by hand. I noticed that she has a really hard time breaking them, even moreso than she does with the seeds. They're really dry, and really hard to crush.

Of course, being the genius I am, I threw away the receipt, thinking I wouldn't have this problem.

So what should I do? Should I get some better pellets? If so, what kind do you recommend? Do I give them to her in a different way? I'd like for Lucy to eat more than just seeds.

Zorro likes fruit blend.

You could try soaking them in water

Nutriberries are equivalent to pellets. You can break them up (I actually use a mortar and pestle lol) and put them in a seed cup. I offer my guys half a dozen pellet brands and Zupreem Natural is one of the favorites. But none of my birds are used to having pellets as the only thing in the cage.

Birds tend to eat pellets better when they're offered in a different bowl than the seed. When pellets and seed are mixed together it turns into foraging time, where the bird picks out the stuff it likes best (which is usually the seed) and leaves the rest. When pellets are in a separate bowl it turns into a different type of foraging, where the bird eats from one source and then the other.

Well, I put the pellets in the main bowl, and the seeds in a smaller separate bowl. She ate all the seeds in the little bowl, and still didn't touch the pellets.

Either she really doesn't like the pellets, or I'm doing something wrong.

Try keeping the pellets in a dish that's outside the cage, in an area where she likes to hang out a lot. My guys aren't good about eating pellets inside the cage, but the bowl of pellets on top of the play gym is fairly popular.

I agree with Carolyn. My tiels won't eat Zupreme pellets in the cage. However, if I strew them on a plate on top of the cage they will eat them.

my birds love "Pretty bird" pellets (I get them in size for Small birds)... Well, it's not that they love it, but they eat some amount of it.

My birds aren't too keen on pellets....
I use a grinder to make them smaller...
They still don't eat many! LOL

So I decided to try putting them outside of the cage. I put her pellet bowl next to me as I ate breakfast, not only to get her to eat them, but also to get her to stop stealing my food. Well, it sorta worked. She switched between trying to steal my food to eating her own, quite often. She wasn't as diligent about taking mine though, which is good.

At one point, I was watching her eat from her bowl, and she literally fell in. I have no idea how, but next thing I knew, she was upside down in the bowl, with her feet squirming. I got her out quickly, of course, and while she didn't find it too amusing, I couldn't help but laugh. Thank goodness it wasn't water!

Birds are so graceful, aren't they?