Actually, they say pellets are important for tiels to have a balanced diet. Tiels fed ONLY a pelleted don't always do well, and tiels fed ONLY seeds can get fatty liver problems later in life. Tiels need to be fed a well balanced diet of seeds AND pellets, along with fresh veggies, whole grain bread, popcorn (no butter or salt), etc to get proper nutrition. My advice to you is do NOT lean towards just seeds or just pellets, because you need to feed BOTH along with veggies like broccoli, peas, carrots, etc. Tiels that are fed an only seed diet are hard to convert, but it they get used to variety at a young age, its as easy as apple pie. My tiels tried their pellets out the first day I offered them, and by the end of the first week, they were actually enjoying it. I feed them half pellets and half seeds (in their food bowls), and out of the cage, I feed them veggies daily, so it adds to the nutrition they get. My vet recommends seeds AND pellets for tiels. He said that only seed diets and only pellet diets are bad. Although tiels will probably like seeds better, you need to give them both. I give them half and half and when I watch them eating, I see them eat one seed, then one pellet, then one seed, etc. They take turns and eat both.

Ps. Wolfchan, at the pet store where you work, do you feed the birds ONLY seeds? That's sad. Those birdies probably give their mommies a hard time learning to eat other stuff.

At the Petco I go to, they feed their birds seeds, pellets, and dried veggies. A very complete diet, and I think its good because the people who buy them don't have to go through much trouble of having them eat a variety of different foods.