Help! My conure isn’t eating his new food and is being picky! I’m very worried!

[PatrickTheGCC]

My GCC (green cheek conure) recently ran out of food so of course I got more, but it was a different brand.(can’t remember brand but the description of what birds it was for fit my GCC) now he is being very picky so I’m worried he will starve from being too picky. Am I being to dramatic or will he eventually realize he needs to eat and eat it anyway. I’m just worried.

 

[Scott]

A healthy bird won't normally starve in the face of edible but strange food, but wait for other members with conure experience to chime in!

An ideal parrot diet is composed of several sources including fresh vegetables and fruits, and some combination of quality pellets and some seed. Various treats such as almond pieces, millet, Cheerios, etc.

There are several techniques for changing diet: http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...7-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html
The Parrot Food forum has a wealth of other threads, suggestions, and recipes!

 

[PatrickTheGCC]

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Squeekmouse]

This may sound like silly advice, but it works for my GC. ANYTHING that Yoda sees me bring to my mouth he wants to eat. That's how I have gotten him to try veggies he's never seen before. (Peas, carrots, broccoli, all of which are now his favorites ).

So hold your little guy in one hand, and either eat a pellet (yes, it's safe) or palm it and fake eat the pellet. You may be able to encourage him to try it this way.

 

[KateMyshkin]

I would supplement until you can get the favorite food. If the bird goes on a less than ideal diet for a temporary time at least it’s not starving... they can eat a lot of stuff in the kitchen... rice , brown is best but white is okay if you don’t have brown, cooked beans, cooked pasta, cereals fresh fruit and vegetables , oats... is the new food a pellet? I’ve read a lot of birds like them wet. You could try wetting them. If you have potatoes or carrots you can mash them after cooking them the bird will like that. If you have apple sauce they will eat that too. I bet you can feed this bird right out of what you have on hand until you get to buy some of the regular food.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Here's my conure story...


http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/
I feed Harrison's, supplemented by fresh healthy treats. My first, and later, my current avian vet recommended it. 30-ish years ago, Harrison's was still a small company. My vet was actually able to talk to Dr. Harrison about my bird's species and status, and they decided on the High Potency. My bird loves the pellets now, but to get him converted, my avian vet suggested putting pellets out all day, and putting seeds (his old diet) out for two 15-minute periods a day. That would sustain him but leave him hungry enough to try new stuff. I presume the same technique could be used to get him to eat other healthy stuff. My guy was eating pellets in a couple of days, and now I can feed a good variety of other stuff, knowing he has the pellets as a basic. Pellets are out all day... fresh treats a few times a day. I also like Harrison's via mail because I never have to worry about out-of-date products.

Good for you, for reaching out, and good luck!