Green Cheek Doesn't like Veggies

[Dildar123]

Hi!

I recently got a green cheek conure named Baby. I was told that he doesn't like any fresh fruit or veggie other than the occasional grape. I also found out that instead of fresh fruits and veggies, they just put vitamin and mineral supplements in his food and water. He eats ZuPreem Avian Entrees (they are coloured pellets with some dehydrated apples and other fruits in them. I tried to give him a bit of apple and some banana and he took them right away. So either they were lying or they didn't try but anyways.

The problem is, the only fresh fruits/veggies he eats are apples and bananas and i've heard that you shouldn't give too many fruits in comparison to veggies. I tried to feed him carrots, tomatoes and broccoli but he doesn't like them. I tried to give it to him by hand, in a bowl with his pellets and a bowl with just the veggies and fruit.

I was wondering if I can continue to give him apples and bananas without veggies until I find a veggie that he likes? Also, how much should I give to him every day? Is there any way that you guys know of that would help him start to eat veggies? Also, should I try to convert him slowly from a coloured pellet diet to a non-coloured pellet diet? If so, how?

Sorry for all the questions but I didn't want to create a bunch of threads that would crowd the forum. Thanks a lot! I appreciate your help.

 

[ChrisWink]

First do you know how old baby is? Pellets are better then a seed diet so that is a plus. Try adding the new pellets a few at a time to the old ones and increasing the amount of new ones over a few weeks and you will convert baby to the new ones are in time. As far as veggies try cutting them up very small and mix them with the fruits also cut up very small that way baby will get some of the veggies without realizing it. You can also try warming them up a bit and give them first thing in the morning when really hungry. Give them before giving pellets so he will be more likely to eat them for breakfast. I'm sure someone will have more information for you but this has worked for me in the past.

 

[Allee]

Hello and Welcome to the forums!

Birds tend to be suspicious of foods they aren't familiar with. Most birds prefer shredded or diced veggies. Sprouts are very healthy and most parrots really like them. There is a very long list of safe vegetables to try, most birds will choose at least a few favorites. Persistence pays and your bird will be much healthier. For birds that are strongly opposed to touching a vegetable, you can make birdie bread with lots of veggies, few parrots turn down birdie bread. Cooked brown rice, quinoa, couscous, steel cut organic oats, makes a good base to add fresh veggies to. Our diet section has wonderful information and lots of recipes.

Parrot Food, Recipes and Diet - Parrot Forum - Parrot Owner's Community

Good luck with Baby! Looking forward to hearing progress reports.

 

[Terry57]

You have received great advice already, and i just wanted to add that the one veggie my conures can't resist is cauliflower, diced really small.

 

[4dugnlee]

My Sun Conure, Cisco, will eat veggies, rice, fruit, etc. if we are eating it. If I put it in his cage he usually won't touch it. He does like pellets (Zupreem Natural or Roudybush) at least.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

Also like a birdy bread idea, I sometimes put veggies in the food processor, chop them up really finely (unrecognizably) and mix with orzo or some other small pasta. Gilbert will pig out on that then. Seriously last night I chopped them to almost a 'sauce' and put them over orzo and he just stuffs his face then (and I'm happy he is eating raw veggies).
And, yes, very easy to sneak all kinds of healthy stuff in a bird bread.
I still try to offer vegetables that are in a more natural state so he sees them there a lot and will sometimes eat more than others.

 

[Mimsy01]

If you are eating it, it's way more appetizing. Sharing some of the foods you would like to introduce may help.

Trying to chop things finely and mix with the bananas and apples can help. Foo I can usually entice if I sprinkle a little cayenne pepper on new stuff, cinnamon can work too sometimes or both lol. She also loves fresh cilantro so if I chop it and mix that into new foods it can help too.

Foo wouldn't even touch fruit or pellets when I got her. It took a good year to get her to be less suspicious of all new foods. Now she'll eat almost anything and seems to really appreciate trying new things.

 

[Gillis]

My conure is having the same problem, he will eat grapes and banana and that's it for foreign foods! It doesn't seem to matter if I am sharing it with him while I eat or not, he would rather just shy away.

So everything you guys have said so far has been a help to me, as well! I didn't think to chop his food up very finely and was giving him more or less whole, like green beans, or something (which he hates ) I also really like the birdie bread idea.

 

[MonicaMc]

If it helps any.


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

 

[Dildar123]

I tried chopping up the vegetables really small with a knife and mixing it into his pellets but apparently i didn't chop them fine enough because he picked through it. The next day I tried to puree some veggies with some apple and pour it over some cooked brown rice. He tasted it but didn't eat anymore. I tried to pretend eating it myself but he still didn't care.... Lastly, I mixed that puree with some pellets and he ate the pellets until they started to soak up the veggie juices and then he stopped again D: Now I know it isn't about the pellets being soft because he is an expert parrot soup chef. Lastly, I got a floret of broccoli an shoved it down his throat using chopsticks. SUCCESS AT LAST!

Just kidding, I would never do that to a bird (children are a different story). My last attempt was cutting up some apple, carrot and broccoli, cooking it together with some rice and a little bit of red lentils. I cooked it until the rice was done and then pureed that using my handy dandy hand blender. Mixed a little bit of it with pellets and let the pellets "soak" for about a minute before I gave him the mixture. Success at last! This time, for real! I

ll be honest though, the veggies and rice didn't smell half bad. I was sort of tempted to add a little salt and pepper and eat it myself but thankfully I have self control. Sometimes, I realize that my pets eat better food than me... Too lazy to cook a nice meal for myself, that's why you need someone else to cook for you half the time .

So it worked and I plan on giving him this mixture and increasing the amount of vegetable/fruit puree by a tiny bit every other day. When do you guys think I should try to give him the solid vegetable to try? Or should I just creamify the vegetables a little less each day and slowly just let the peices get bigger and bigger?

Thanks for the help guys! I really appreciated it!

 

[MonicaMc]

Congrats on finding at least one little success!!!


It would probably help to feed fresh foods first thing in the morning, which may require removing *all* food at night when he goes to bed.


As for everything else... well, sounds like you gotta experiment and see how he does!