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Complete nutrition was the main reason I tried it. Like most "seed eating" birds, it turns out that these finches from the Canary Islands need more than just seed. Wild canaries also eat insects, fruits, plant leaves, and get direct sunshine which creates vitamin D. The typical pet canary gets an unlimited supply of just seed. Some get just a poor-quality box mix from the grocery store, which is mostly millet. However, even the best quality seed-only mix is not a complete diet for long-term health. Canary breeders have traditionally supplemented the seed diet with hard-boiled chicken eggs, vegetable greens, calcium from cuttlebone, and artificial vitamins. However, it can be difficult and a lot of work to ensure a balanced diet.
To make an analogy, if you were to feed a dog only muscle meat, it would not get a balanced diet. Wild dogs (wolves) consume the entire animal they kill: bones, organs, etc. They also eat some vegetable matter. Modern dog "kibble" is a convenient way to provide a do- with a complete diet. So even though dog food is "unnatural", most people accept it as the proper way to feed their canines. Similarly, bird pellets can be viewed as a convenient way to properly feed your avian pets.

In addition to the nutritional benefits, some other advantages of pellets are:
- less mess (there are no seed shells)<<
- more accessible (the edible part doesss not get buried under inedible husks)
- safer (dry pellets don't spoil when llleft out like moist food can, such as egg food)
- less waste (no need to throw out uneaaaten portions)
- less work (large quantities can be feeed)
Pellets can be stored at room temperature and left in the cage for weeks. I refrigerate pellets for long-term bulk storage to keep the vitamins stable. (This is also recommended for vitamin-coated seed.)

What are the disadvantages of pellets?
One drawback is that pellets cost more than some seed mixes. However, this is partially offset because the whole pellet is edible; with seeds you also pay for the weight of the shells. With pellets you do not have to buy vitamins. If you buy pellets in bulk through mail-order distributors, the cost becomes comparable. If you don't have a lot of birds, several of you can group together and share the savings.
Another disadvantage is that canaries enjoy eating and may get bored with the same food. I feed pellets for the bulk of my bird's diet, but still supplement with fresh greens, some seeds, and egg food for variety. If you do this, wait until your birds are fully converted to make sure they have accepted the pellets as food. Some people offer more than one variety of pellets and rotate brands to combat boredom.

Pellets may be hard to find. Before converting, pick a brand that you are able to get locally or mail order from at least two suppliers. The manufacturer should be able to recommend distributors near you.

There are two types of bird pellets. Some are just compressed and some have been "cooked." My experience has only been with Kaytee Exact pellets, which are cooked. There are many other brands available. You can phone or write to the manufacturers and ask for nutrition reports. Contact information is at the end of this article.
Sometimes, the biggest difficulty with pellets is getting your birds to eat them! If you just provide some pellets as a "treat", your birds will probably ignore them. If they were raised on a seed diet, they will prefer seeds and will not eat pellets until they have been trained to recognize it as food AND there is no seed to eat.

What's the best way to convert your birds to pellets?
One conversion method is to just take away all seed and only provide pellets. However, a lone, pet bird could starve to death with this "cold turkey" approach. This method works best in a flight cage with many birds that are used to a varied diet. It only takes one curious bird to start eating, the pellets and others will often copy. If you purchase a bird that already eats pellets, you can use it to train the others, but if seed is also in the cage, the new bird will probably just join the others and eat the seed.
Another easy way to convert a flock to is to wean your chicks onto pellets. Young canaries between 4-6 weeks old seem to be more willing than adults to try strange foods. Mixing pellets into their nestling food will get them to try it. I recommend giving them some soaked seed to eat at this stage too so they will learn to crack seed shells. Even if you totally convert your birds to pellets, someday they could be owned by someone else who wants to feed them seed.
Another conversion method is to add the pellets to the seed mix and gradually increase the proportion of pellets. Others and I have found this not to work well for canaries. They pick out the seeds and ignore the pellets, even when there are few seeds left to eat. They don't get enough to eat and frantically feed when a new batch appears with some seed in it, which is upsetting for the owner to watch. This is what discourages most canary owners from completing the conversion.

Now I'll tell you my method for converting canaries to a pellet diet. My experience has only been with Kaytee Exact pellets, so I do not know if this conversion method will work or is safe with other brands.
First, determine how much seed your canary eats in a day; it is probably about 1/2 tablespoon each. Start providing just this daily ration in a large, shallow tray so the seeds spread out in one layer. It is important that all the seeds can be found and eaten without being buried by shells. Do NOT add pellets to this seed mix. Instead, provide plenty of dry pellets in a separate dish so that the bird can start eating when it is ready.
Next, find a moist crumbly food that the bird will eat, usually moistened nestling food. Since canaries are not raised on seed, there is some type of crumbly, high-protein food that they were raised on and will like to eat. You can try a commercial mix such as CeDe, Quicko, Bisko, or Abba. Or you can try making your own mix of cooked couscous or grated corn muffins. Do not leave a moist mix with real egg in their cage for more than a couple of hours. On a warm day, it will spoil quickly!
Cut back on the amount of seeds per day to encourage the bird to eat the "nestling" mix. Once you are certain the bird is eating this moist food, you can start the pellet conversion process.
Soak a small amount of pellets in water for about 15 minutes, drain and add to the nestling food, mixing well so the pellets break apart and become part of the mixture. Start with about 25% pellets; use less if the bird doesn't eat that. This mixture can spoil; do not leave it out all day, especially if the weather is warm Once the bird has eaten this mixture for a couple of days, gradually increase the percentage of soaked pellets each day, cutting back on the amount of seed at the same time. Remember to use separate dishes! After a week or so, the bird should just be eating soaked pellets and no seed.
The final step is to reduce the amount of moisture in the pellets. Soak for just 10 minutes for a few days, then soak the pellets for just 5 minutes. At this point, the pellets should be dry by the end of the day, so if the bird is still eating them, it is essentially converted!
Always keep a separate dish of dry pellets available in the cage at all times so that once they figure out this is food, they can eat all they want. Some canaries will put off eating them until forced to, but others will surprise you by suddenly switching to the dry pellets after just a couple of days!
Keep in mind that pellets are a "Maintenance" food for pets or non-breeding birds. To condition canaries for breeding and to feed laying hens and birds who are feeding chicks, you should supplement with a higher protein "nestling" food.
Now all my baby birds are weaned on pellets and all birds that I purchase get converted. I have even switched wild-caught finches to an all-pellet diet! The advantages are so great; I'll never go back to feeding seed.