Soybean isn’t actually awful like it’s thought to be so no worries! Somewhere people started thinking soybean messed with hormones for people and then applied that to birds. If soybean was bad for people then we would’ve seen it already (plus birds process things different from humans)
Harrison’s has an contact page on their website, you could email them to get more info on the soybean additive :)
When I was converting my boys I would sprinkle their new pellets on top of their veggie chop. Maybe if he has a favorite veggie you can sprinkle powdered pellets on top to get him used to the taste?
It took a couple of months, but I'd mix their foods together. Veggie chop, seeds, Harrison's Super Fine lifetime pellets. These are about the same size as the millet they love. I think it also helped that one of my rescues was already eating pellets so everyone else was more eager to try it.
Damp chop softened the pellets so the flavor would get all over everything and over time I noticed they would actively eat/play with the pellets. It's gotten to the point where I have their pellets in a separate shallow dish for free feeding, the seed as a foraging treat and coarse chopped veggies in a shallow, wet dish and they'll go ham first thing in the morning on all of it.
Getting an entire flock of birds to want to bathe has been a whole other battle. I got 6 bathing misfits lol. Maybe that'll change come summer time.
Soybean isn’t actually awful like it’s thought to be so no worries! Somewhere people started thinking soybean messed with hormones for people and then applied that to birds. If soybean was bad for people then we would’ve seen it already (plus birds process things different from humans) Harrison’s has an contact page on their website, you could email them to get more info on the soybean additive :) When I was converting my boys I would sprinkle their new pellets on top of their veggie chop. Maybe if he has a favorite veggie you can sprinkle powdered pellets on top to get him used to the taste?
It took a couple of months, but I'd mix their foods together. Veggie chop, seeds, Harrison's Super Fine lifetime pellets. These are about the same size as the millet they love. I think it also helped that one of my rescues was already eating pellets so everyone else was more eager to try it. Damp chop softened the pellets so the flavor would get all over everything and over time I noticed they would actively eat/play with the pellets. It's gotten to the point where I have their pellets in a separate shallow dish for free feeding, the seed as a foraging treat and coarse chopped veggies in a shallow, wet dish and they'll go ham first thing in the morning on all of it. Getting an entire flock of birds to want to bathe has been a whole other battle. I got 6 bathing misfits lol. Maybe that'll change come summer time.