I got an automatic feeder with a timer for my parrot because I work long hours, but she just ignores it and refuses to eat from it. She'd rather wait for me to give her food in her regular feeder. Is there a way to get her used to it, or should I just return the thing?
Try mixing food from the automatic feeder with what you used to give her in the regular one, that way she'll realize it's the same thing and lose her fear of something new. If after a couple of weeks she's still refusing it, just return it - parrots are stubborn and some birds simply don't adapt to those contraptions.
Parrots are creatures of habit, and what some don't mention is that the noise or movement from an automatic feeder can actually scare them - it's not just distrust of the food. Before you give up, try putting food inside the automatic feeder when it's off, so she gets used to the device without the stress of the noise. Once she eats calmly from it, turn on the timer with short intervals when you see her nearby and gradually increase them. If after a month she's still completely ignoring it, then yeah, return it - but fear of the mechanism is more common than rejection of the food itself.
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