Freckles Loves Vegetables.......NOT!

[graceyann]

I would greatly appreciate thoughts from the forum. Freckles will not eat vegetables.....cooked, raw, she lets me know in no uncertain terms that they are not her thing. Fruit?? Oh my gosh.....loves it (except Kiwi).
Her previous person fed her parrot kibble, with occasional treats like crackers, pizza crust, etc. I want to give her the best variety and nutrition I can.......so any suggestions getting her to even "try" vegetables?
btw......I have been giving her unsalted, whole wheat crackers and bites of bagel as treats. I offered her cooked pasta last night and if a bird could "slurp", she definitely did.......tried a piece of steamed broccoli and she literally threw it at me.
Anything to try? Leave well enough alone?
Thank you!

 

[plumsmum2005]

It isn't just about the vegetable it is also about how it is prepared and presented.

Broccoli can be raw or cooked and whole florets, slightly chopped, whizzed up in a processor. Get my drift?

Sweet potato and squash is usually a hit so try a mash of some of this. Once you have your way in, you can hide others.

Some prepared veggies with some wholewheat pasta finely chopped and mixed in? Brown rice and also cooked legumes are worth a try.

(Hope for your sake Freckles is not as bad as my Plum, eats all the carbs and leaves the veggies) :-(

 

[LeaKP]

Here's something I've done with quite a bit of success. I purchased baby food (veggies and fruits) and made birdie bread with it, lots of recipes online. Is a great way to start. Then slowly add bits of veg (tiny). Make sure the first batch is not too strange of a color. Our greys are a suspicious lot.

 

[Scott]

Oh, they are very stubborn! But there are many tricks to help ease veggies and fruits into their diet..

http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...7-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-food-recipes-diet/49831-chop-day-recipe.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...afe-fresh-foods-toxic-food-lists-sprouts.html

As plumsmum suggested, presentation is key. Parrots are a bit like children, and demand creativity. One of my favorite techniques is to harness the basic nature of "flock eating." Consider yourself as a member of the "flock" and eat the same foods (from a separate plate, don't share) to help stimulate interest.

Good luck, be persistent!

 

[DRB]

Perjo just started eating broccoli, I think b/c I started steaming it and cutting it up small, so it didn't look like a Redwood tree sitting in her bowl.

This week's attempt at a new food bowl consists of broccoli, butternut squash and sweet potato all chopped up small and separated in her bowl. That way she can see what's what and eat whatever one she wants when she wants. Usually gone in an hour.

 

[SassiBird]

If you get desperate, this is what broke the ice for me... mash the veggie and <*gasp*> sweeten it with fruit, juice, sorbet, whatever she likes. Once she eats it readily, start using less and less sweetener until she eats it as-is.

 

[Billdore]

Someone on here gave me a neat trick to make a lot of lip smacking noises and pretend to eat it or really eat it but don't share any germs with your baby. This really seemed to work for some things. Also the more hungry Timneh is the more she will experiment. Morning are my best times for new things she can't wait to eat breakfast. Which is now a mash of a bunch of veggies, sweet potatoes, squash, fruits, and I ix in ground up pellets in to it to make a birdy porridge. She doesn't love either alone but together loves em.

 

[BeatriceC]

I had success with using purées as a pasta sauce to get them used to the flavor of veggies. Use just a tiny bit at first and then gradually use more, them make the purée more and more chunky. This has even partially worked with Goofy, who had been on seed for pretty much all of his 31.5 years (now 32) before I got him converted to a better diet early fall this year.

 

[graceyann]

That's funny because I started doing that with her......the "yummy noises".....shades of Young Frankenstein.....I thought YOU were making the "yummy noises"......anyway, Freckles has started to saying the same "MMMMMMM, good"......and mostly it's working. If she does not like what I offer, she will still take it from me, throw it on the floor, hop to another perch and chant over and over again, "no, no, no, no".
I've started making her the parrot version of an eggroll.....I roll the shredded vegetables into a thin slice of tortilla......she LOVES tortillas and I buy them fresh from a local market. So far, so good. It will be three weeks this Saturday since she came to live me with me, and I can't imagine not having her and part of my "family".