New Grey with a bad diet.

HI Everyone

I posted last week about a grey that I was going to meet for possible adoption. I met with the grey and the owner today and she is such a love. I am a little concerned as she is in her late 20's and has lived off a seed and human food diet the whole time. I learned today that she is on a very cheap seed, alot of millet and sunflowers seeds in it. I also witnessed her getting a treat from her owner and it was M&M's. I didnt know how to react other than Oh my gosh this poor baby. I asked the owner what else she likes to eat and he said she will eat some squash, pick at a raw potato and she loves bacon. Ok so that was enough on her diet for one day for me to hear. That being said not sure of all the signs to look for to determine if she is healthy or at least as healthy as she can be based on her diet situation for the last 28 years. Her feathers looked ok she fluffed them a few times but they didn't appear to be be constantly fluffy. her eyes looked clear and her beak looked good.. no crusty stuff or no runny eyes. her poop in her cage appeared to be normal as well. 

Owner said he tried to transition her to pellet and she wouldn't eat it. I told him I would try to transition her to a pellet diet as it is better for her and His exact words were "Good luck with that" .Now 28 years is a long time to eat seed any suggestions on how to transition this bird to pellet food? i have a bag of Zupreem Pellets so was going to start with that but is it something that is gradual? meaning 50% pellet 50% seed mix? or should it be something that is done cold turkey as in removing all seed and just feeding pellet and nuts to see if she will go for it?

I am determined to transition this sweet girl to a proper diet .

She is also caged most of the day the last 10 years and when she does get out of her cage she really doesn't want to go back. For the first time meeting her today she would let me get my hand about 2 inches from her chest , i would say step up and she would take a few steps back. I took 5 minutes and tried again. Eventually the owner got her to step up and he put her on my hand and she sat there for a bit, she eventually stepped up for me within the first 1/2 hour of meeting her. She really showed no signs of aggression just caution. You can see that she really just wants to be with everyone and be involved and out of the cage. I work from home so I am really looking forward to getting her and giving her that quality time and attention that she so dearly misses. The cage she is in is fairly small maybe 12x24- the cage i have is much larger cage  suitable for a cockatoo so hopefully with the roomier cage and the out of cage time and love she will live out the rest of her life a little happier.

I don't want to take away from her current owner as i can tell he really cares for her and I believe he did what he thought was best for her. But I will surely do my best to make many changes to allow this grey the longest life possible . As I am sure multiple years have already been shaved off based on prior care but going forward I'd like that to change.

any suggestions or advise that anyone has to offer in general around adopting a bird of this age would be greatly appreciated. 

As always thanks for your help and look forward to hearing some feedback.

You can try introducing pellets mixed in with her seed diet, but she probably won't take to them, but keep trying. Fruits and vegetables can be easier to get them to eat. My grey, Sheeba, loves slightly steamed vegetables(cooled of course), especially if she sees me eating the same thing. Her cage is next to the dinner table and expects to get bites of whatever it is we have. She does get some pellets mixed in with her seeds, she gets Volkmans Avian Science Super African Grey Parrot & Amazon Parrot Food, It goes on sale occasionally and I buy the 20 lb bags, it is a bit expensive. It doesn't have sunflower seeds and it has a lot of things that Sheeba really likes. Sheeba also gets a mix of chopped fruit every day. She also will take some pellets and mix them in her water, she doesn't eat huge amounts, but she does eat a few. Sheeba gets a bit of cereal that we also eat, and if I put it in her dish like a treat, she thinks it's something special and will be overjoyed to get it. So I do the same with Avi-cakes and Nutriberries, and she thinks she's getting something that we eat.

So as you get a bit more connected with her, you can try sharing food with her. I adopted Sheeba when she was 8, she didn't connect with her previous owner and had some pretty aggressive/feisty bad habits. But now she is a velcro bird, wants to be with me all the time and expects me to share whatever it is I am eating.

Good luck and go at her pace, just keep trying to give her better food. Over time she may try different things. She may not like Zupreem pellets, but there are other brands. Who knows, she may go for some other type of pellet. Sheeba loves pasta, there are many sites that have recipes for pasta for you parrot.

www.theparrotandbirdemporium.com/service.htm?id=0u7u7e5t

www.google.com/shopping/product/10062426578457103319?lsf=seller:8064,store:17246771970495910691&prds=oid:243875977754117110&q=pasta+for+parrots&hl=en&ei=SVTFW-rQH9LqrgT3qJKgDQ&lsft=utm_source:google,utm_term:5262921,utm_medium:cpc,utm_content:GSC+-+Medium+-+Specialty+-+Bird+%7C+*Catch+All,utm_campaign:GSC+-+Medium+-+Specialty+-+Bird&utm_medium=cpc&lsft=gclid:Cj0KCQjw9ZDeBRD9ARIsAMbAmoYwD12GQEaV7Jb689-7NA5kzRtU4tCyBbZkpl3IHtw8yJfnYTifVqsaAjNqEALw_wcB

Thomas

It's a seed diet with no sunflower seeds. It also has a variety of other ingredients. Ingredient list says sunflower seeds, but I don't see any in the bag I have.

www.naturechest.com/volkman-african-grey.html#.W8VtRntKjIU

Thomas