Variety of Food

[vmtwriter]

Bailey (Sun Conure parrot) is quite finicky about what he eats. We have him on Exact Rainbow for Parrots/Conures. He seems to like this although he picks out the red pieces of food and eats those first.

I've been unsuccessful in getting him to eat any raw vegetables or fruits. He either turns his nose up at them or he'll pick at them and throw them to the bottom of his cage.

He seems to like sunflower seeds (a lot) and we've been using those as treats. We have a tropical treat mix for him which we give a little bit in his treat dish once or twice a week. He picks out all the hulled seeds and eats those and throws the rest out. He won't eat dried pineapple or anything like that, either.

I know that he's probablyh getting all the nurtrition he needs from Exact. But, am I lacking something for him?

He eats a teeny bit of yogurt in the morning with me, but that's not exactly traditional parrot food.

I'm stumped about what else to try or is he okay?

[Shirley]

He will likely want to eat what you eat when you eat it.

For instance, at dinnertime... offer him unsalted unbuttered versions of your foods (spiced is fine, just no sugar or salt) such as a green bean, some sweet potato (a huge favorite here!) corn, peas, a piece of chicken or steak (they LOVE it!) a small bit of bread or biscuit, and so on.

Ours don't care much for the dried fruits other than dried banana chips from the bird shop - only place we can find them with no sugar or oils added.

Our cages are in the dining room... so they see us eat, they expect to be served! Skyler starts pacing and Holly starts staring!

Another way is while we're watching TV, we'll taste the food, then hand it to them. Then they'll figure it's "safe" so they'll try it.

[amazing greys]

Our cages are in the dining room... so they see us eat, they expect to be served! Skyler starts pacing and Holly starts staring!

I'm glad I'm not the only one w/birds in the dining room :p I think non-bird people think I'm crazy :shrug: Hey I keep the cages clean, so why not??? hehehe I love that we all can eat together like that :thumbup:

It's a perfect spot where Akeela and SInbad hang out. They can see all the action but have their own little space. Plus Sinbad looooooves food, so he's probably a bit like Skyler, hahaha, he loves being by the kitchen. He's my little piggie :D that boy will do anything for food.......expecially eggs and Cheerios w/some unsweetened apple sauce, he hops over on Akeela's cage if she don't eat it quick enough, lol.

So I agree w/eating together and stuff, they ALWAYS want what we've got :funny:

[harleybaby]

I'm sure when Bailey discovers the wonderful worls of fresh food especially fruits conures normally love them you won't be able to heep him off your plate!!. Apples, peaches, bananas yum! I have started my birds on the jarred baby food before too the fruit mixes and applesauces(the ones that were a little finicky) just make sure it's low iron. Usually once they discover something they like they are more willing to try new foods. Good luck!!:)

[Shirley]

Barb-- loved your post! :rotflmao:

[amazing greys]

:p


lol well it's true, hehehe

[vmtwriter]

thanks for all the great suggestions. Hmm.. since Bailey likes the taste and texture of yogurt, he might like the baby foods, eh?

[Shirley]

Try sweet potatos, apple sauce, and carrots. He might hate the carrots. Maybe mix the apple sauce with the carrots if he hates them. Mine like raw carrots but hate cooked carrots.

[harleybaby]

Anything is worth a try right:) If he likes them you can start to add smaller chunks to them too. Hmmmm I wonder what he ate whne he was out enjoying his freedom?He's so fortunate to have found you.:D

[NHMarie]

Vicki,
The best advice I can give you is to keep offering different foods, various ways. I hate when I hear about people who offer their birds something new once or twice then say they won't eat it. They won't learn to eat it if it's not offered. You can add good stuff to most any mash: grated veggies, chopped greens, etc. You can take greens and weave them through the bars of the cage. Try veggies raw and cooked; peeled and unpeeled. Try wheels of banana with the skins on. Make bird bread and add baby sweet potatoes to it. I make my own warm mix: pasta, brown rice, mixed veggies, beans and sweet potatoes. Try offering foods at different times of the day as well.

[Jean]

Well said. Do not see much to add except, read all baby food labels. Most of them have sodium and sugars added which is not good for them. You can always mix your own fresh cooked and ground veges and make up jars ahead even freeze some for when you feed that substance and texture.

[Majj]

Conures usually love fresh fruits have you tried him on blueberries/mango/pinnapple/Apple etc ...He might pick on a corn cob left on a skewer hanging from his cage ..
I find the boys here are spoilt rotten when we have dinner if they are out (sometimes) I woill make a plate of the exact same food we have for them but they constantly try to get our food..lol..
Oh !! another favorite of Sunnys id spaghetti Bol..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v373/Maj/A-pix-of-Sunny-sharing-Davids-spaghetti.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v373/Maj/SunnyBuddyincageskewer.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v373/Maj/TheBoyseatingontheplaystandGood.jpg

and how about a chicken bone to chew they love then the little cannables..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v373/Maj/BuddyCloseupchewingalambbone.jpg

[Shirley]

OK, here you go... some eating pics...

They speak for themselves...

http://shirleymorgan.com/sjm/corn-cob.jpg

How wide can Skyler open his beak?? depends on how hungry he is...

http://shirleymorgan.com/sjm/wide-open-366.jpg

Forget the corn, I'll take the ribs, thank you!

http://shirleymorgan.com/sjm/Shelby-eats-ribs-sm.jpg

[Shirley]

And Skyler, a couple months after we brought him home...

http://shirleymorgan.com/sjm/Skyler-apple-10=09-03.jpg

If we're eating it... he'll try it...

[vmtwriter]

I just have to be more vigilant on what I offer him to try. Especially if he's watching me while I'm eating.

Love the pictures!!!

[SadennaAndFlock]

unfortunately they don't get all their nutritional needs from their pellets..actually an all pelleted based diet can lead to health problems down the road..

now getting a bird stubborn bird to eat whats good for them can be hard and takes time and patience..there are a couple ways to go about

1. eat vegetables he can have in front of him and make a big fuss of how good they are..birds ar curious creaturs and curiosity gets the better of them and sometimes they will eat if they see us it to.

2. This was how I got my stubborn tiels to eat veggies..I invested in a small food chopper you can find them at wal-mart and places like I have the small black and decker 1 & 1/2 cup chopper..I toss in a variety of veggies carrots, corn, peas, green beans, kale, mustard greens, sweet potato, yams, squash and blend away til you get veggie salsa type mush now what I did was put it in their fresh food dishes sprinkled a bit of seed and ontop and in the process of eating seed they ate some of the veggies since then they have loved their veggies..

3. Bird Bread..this is a great way to hide what you want them to eat withouth them knowing..You can use 1 box of jiffy corn bread mix add eggs shell and all after you have washed and sanitized them..add your water and then you can have fun you can add some of that blended veggies mix, seeds, just about anything good for them.. All my birds eat their veggies but I also give them bird bread which is what hubby gives them when I am at work my recipe I use

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup Oat flour sometimes I use organic wheat flour
1/4 cup hemp seed
1/4 cup oat groats
1/2 cup chopped dried chilli peppers
1/3 cup chopped veggies or I add a packet of Kaytee Healthy toppings
and somtimes I add steamed mashed acorn squash or yam.
2TBS dried bird greens
1TBS spirulina or Wheat Grass I switch with each batch I make
2 Large eggs that I have washed and sanitized the shell and ran through my food chopper to crush up the egg shell.

I have never really measured out my water just add it to the consistency I wanted which is almost like cake batter consistency maybe tiney bit thicker stir and blend well.

I spray a 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray I use one that has no alcohol pour bread batter into the baking dish and bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes you it's ok if the top and sides get a bit crunch but you want the middle done. I try to add something new or different to each batch so the birds don't get to bored with it..thats why I love the kaytee healthy toppings you can put a different one in each time and their coconut topping makes a wonderful topping for the bread and also makes the house smell so good when it's baking.

[Shirley]

Sadenna, I use a similar chopper (electric) and use it to chop up hard boiled egg, shell and all! Also, carrots for the big birds.

I'm going to copy your post to the Avian Appetizer forum... It's great!

:heart:

[NHMarie]

Shirley, looks like Skylar might be a bit neater eating corn on the cob than Rudy is. Rudy makes a mess!
Yesterday, I mentioned bird bread. I have to say, I don't make mine from scratch. I've been using Pro Grow for around three years or so and I just got a sample from WhiteWings Farm. They ate that today, so far, everyone seemed to love it.

[Shirley]

Is that a mix you just bake?

[NHMarie]

Is that a mix you just bake?

Yes. You add water and applesauce (tho I cut down on the water and add jars of baby food sweet potatoes) and bake. The url is
www.LoveNestProducts.com (http://www.LoveNestProducts.com)

When I first got Sonny, someone told me about and all mine love it. I buy the 5lb bags and freeze it. I just got some bird bread mix from Gloria at WhiteWings Farm in WA and they like that too.

[Shirley]

THANKS Marie!! :)

[Jean]

Good pics Shirley and Majj. It's easy to see they love their good food.