Harley is one of those that is realy easy to transition,but then won't eat anything out of her regular diet. I put her on Harrison's along with her fruits and veggies. I wanted to continue to give her seed, but will she eat it, no. I've been giving her tons of nuts daily and she LOVES those, and, like I mentioned, fresh fruits and veggies same as I feed Lucy). But when I see the other B&G's at the bird shows, here and in some other places, I ask, am I missing something? The pellets w/ coconut oil over them have really helped. Her blue is a lot darker on her new feathers and richer gold. Her beak is getting prettier and prettier. She gets baths almost daily as well. However, I just wanted to know what you feed that really gives them that sheen

Tons of green veggies.

Don't worry about the seed. I mean, check with your vet, But I asked mine if I should be giving them seed... and he said don't bother. Mine occasionally get sunflower seeds as a treat. Less than a handful a week....

I personally don't like pellets, I feed totally fresh.... but that is a personal choice and it sounds like you are giving a wide variety.

Nuts, fresh organic local fruits and veggies, and once/week, some palm oil spread over whole wheat toast. They also get "people food", including chicken, rice, beans, corn on the cob, stir fry, Mexican food including the spices, and the occasional Thai and Chinese food.

Ditto, I just asked this question to my AV on Friday as my two have given up seed also, and she said that was fine.

Dom, have you ever tried the Harrison's Power Treats? They have Red Palm Oil in them. They're only to be used as a treat or snack because they do have a higher fat content but they do have some beneficial ingredients in them.

We don't feed pellets at all, here. A member on another forum mentioned that a lot of plucking macaws seem to have something in common--an awful lot of the pluckers seem to be fed Harrisons pellets. Taking no chances, here :-).

This is an interesting topic here. I use pellets but only as a supplement, a 3lbs bag lasts me about 4-5 months. Eve eats a 95% fresh diet, if on all pellets he feathers are dull, and he is underweight, and very grumpy. Now I know vasa diet is a little different but I've raised countless birds and have always given a huge variety and some pellets and they alway look better, never have plucking issues, do not become over weight and are very healthy. I feel this is better but it takes a lot of work to ensure the birds are getting a real variety of food and not just apples oranges, banana..ect I go out of my way to find things like bee pollen, spirulina, exotic fruits and veggies, edible flowers, not to mention all the beans and pasta, fish, egg, and other people food. And then you have to make sure your bird actually eats it. Which bring me to the question, what do people think is better? If you could provide your bird with a good balanced diet with out pellets or limited pellets would you?

Absolutely. I am a firm believer that fresh diet makes them look and feel better. My Vet agrees with how I'm doing it.... so I don't bother at ALL with pellets.