Ask Lafeber

Why is does my bird only eat some types of seed out of a sudden?

My parrot (6yo lovebird) used to eat his seed just fine, but for the past week or so he only eats the sunflower seeds out of his mix. Since I have noticed this, I’ve given him millet, which he eats perfectly fine, and I’ve also bought a different bag of seeds, but the behavior continues. Apart from that, he’s more vocal than before. He used to be relatively quiet in the mornings, for example, but now won’t shut up. If I hand feed him seeds, he eats them, should I be worried?

Hi,

A seed mix is not a good diet for a pet bird. He will not be getting the nutrition he needs from a seed diet. He needs a nutritionally balanced diet like pellets or one of our foraging diets. I don’t know why he changed what he wants, but it’s also not ideal to keep changing the food you buy. Maybe these seeds are even older than the previous brand. He is probably trying to get the nutrition he needs and isn’t getting satisfied. I’ll give you the link to our feeding pages to give you some ideas about changing his diet to something that is actually nutritious.

Bird Food Guide

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda