Help! Need advice..

[Levi's Wife]

Hello! I am new here and my name's Patricia!
I am a bird mom of a beautiful green cheek conure named Kirby. I got Kirby about 2 or 3 days ago and when I say she's the friendliest bird I've ever met, I truly mean it. Right when we got home, she climbed on me, and started chewing on my glasses. Today, she's stuck to me like glue and we are the best of friends! Some more background information is that I work from home, so I have her out basically all day (I always leave the cage open, so if she wants to go back in, she can) But she mostly stays on my shoulder while I work. I have made a mistake as a first time bird owner offer seed as her main food. I would appreciate it if someone would tell me any good brands and what brands to avoid. Also how can I slowly change her diet to pellets without her just throwing out her bowl? AND later in the future, how can I introduce chop veggies to her diet as well? I do apologize for all the questions, I just want more opinions to see what's best for her. Thank you so much!

 

[Stitchthestitch]

Depending in the bird ,pellet trasitioning can take time . It can also take time to find a brand they prefer . I got lucky with Albie as he isnt fussy at all so ill leave the pellet advice to those with more experience.

Start offering veggies now and offer a rainbow selection to offer a variety . If she doesnt seem interested , make a plate upof bird safe veg and share it with her (dont share bits youve talen a bite from though , as human saliva is dangerous)birds are flock eaters and learn what safe to eat from the flock .

Try offering the veg in differnt ways in how youve cut it (some birds like it it very finely chopped , others like albie , wont touch it unless they can hold it ) how youves prepared it (cooked, warm , raw ,cold, frozen -albie loves frozen grapes) and the way you serve it (in a bowl , on a kebob stick that hangs in the cage , seed stuffed into veg so the veg becomes an edible foraging toy)

Albie loves it when i make a bird safe meal so that he can join me . His favourite is a roasted dinner (he gets all the veg with out seasonings and a little bit of chicken )

 

[SailBoat]

Great advice above!!
Veggies in the morning when your Parrot is most hungry is one way to get them to eat veggies and yes, they are social in nature, so joining you helps as well.

There is nothing wrong with a High Quality, full spectrum of Healthy Seeds, Grains and tree nuts in bits. Target those that are commonly found in their natural range as a foundation.

We serve Pellets as an additive to their diet and for your Parrot, likely the smaller sized Pellets. Zero coloration, low sugar and law salt is a good foundation for Pellets.

Remember that Freezing all but the fresh food for at least two weeks will kill-off all the bugs that commonly can be found even in the best dry food. Bugs happen and Freezing just keeps them to near zero. We store what we are not using that week in the Freeze as it just keeps dry food fresher.

Have fun!

 

[Levi's Wife]

Depending in the bird ,pellet trasitioning can take time . It can also take time to find a brand they prefer . I got lucky with Albie as he isnt fussy at all so ill leave the pellet advice to those with more experience.

Start offering veggies now and offer a rainbow selection to offer a variety . If she doesnt seem interested , make a plate upof bird safe veg and share it with her (dont share bits youve talen a bite from though , as human saliva is dangerous)birds are flock eaters and learn what safe to eat from the flock .

Try offering the veg in differnt ways in how youve cut it (some birds like it it very finely chopped , others like albie , wont touch it unless they can hold it ) how youves prepared it (cooked, warm , raw ,cold, frozen -albie loves frozen grapes) and the way you serve it (in a bowl , on a kebob stick that hangs in the cage , seed stuffed into veg so the veg becomes an edible foraging toy)

Albie loves it when i make a bird safe meal so that he can join me . His favourite is a roasted dinner (he gets all the veg with out seasonings and a little bit of chicken )

Thank you! I will definitely be referring back here. I ordered a food processor and it's coming in today since a lot of the research I did recommended one for chop. Thanks again

 

[DD!]

Hi!
I’m also a new bird owner and Mango (GCC) was feed only seed mix (not even a good one) when I got her. Little by little I took those seeds away and a week later I don’t hive her those anymore. I take away any uneaten food every evening and in the mornings prepare a little chop with cooked quinoa mix (which Mango loves) kale, carrots, alfalfa sprouts, etc. and a bit of pellets. Most of the veggies are uneaten but the quinoa, kale and pellets, those Mango likes. I keep trying every day. We recently discovered Mango likes basil. The pellets Mango likes them moisten so we put the water right next to the food. I tried the eating something and offering the same but so far isn’t working. We keep trying tho…
Mango is also a magnet, I work from home too and most of the time Mango is sitting on my shoulder or roaming through my desk. I leave the cage open so Mango can go and eat whenever feels like.
Just don’t give up easily and keep trying

 

[DD!]

These are the pellets Mango likes, I tried 2 other ones, they didn’t work.
I also ordered food from this site someone recommended, I will let you once I tried them if they work

Products

Shop online Parrot Food from Bird Street Bistro is always 100% natural and organic. With no fillers, only real ingredients you and your bird companion will love.

www.birdstreetbistro.com

 

[Levi's Wife]

Hi!
I’m also a new bird owner and Mango (GCC) was feed only seed mix (not even a good one) when I got her. Little by little I took those seeds away and a week later I don’t hive her those anymore. I take away any uneaten food every evening and in the mornings prepare a little chop with cooked quinoa mix (which Mango loves) kale, carrots, alfalfa sprouts, etc. and a bit of pellets. Most of the veggies are uneaten but the quinoa, kale and pellets, those Mango likes. I keep trying every day. We recently discovered Mango likes basil. The pellets Mango likes them moisten so we put the water right next to the food. I tried the eating something and offering the same but so far isn’t working. We keep trying tho…
Mango is also a magnet, I work from home too and most of the time Mango is sitting on my shoulder or roaming through my desk. I leave the cage open so Mango can go and eat whenever feels like.
Just don’t give up easily and keep trying

Thank you so much for the information! When I got my GCC, she was just eating seed. (Its really hard to type this since Kirby thinks my new glasses that I had to REPLACE is a perch. I had to get new glasses because he chewwed it up so bad... she's sitting on my glasses and chewing them as we speak Lol) I ordered a food processer and tried feeding her some fruit while I wait for the pellets I ordered to come in. She likes strawberries and LOVES apples. It didn't take her long to try it she just went for it since I was eating it too (Of course a different piece. I had my own bowl and she had hers) And of course I won't give up on her. I'm very blessed to have such an amazing bird with great personality.

 

[LeeC]

Veggies in the morning when your Parrot is most hungry is one way to get them to eat veggies and yes, they are social in nature, so joining you helps as well.

Yes, capitalize on the food motivation in the morning, assuming you have not left them a dish full of "Lucky Charms" from the day before that they can feast on before you get to offer fresh fruits and vegetables, which can take a little prep time. I like the idea of letting them "run" out of food each evening. They do not have a cache of food in their nest in the wild; I see no reason for them to have food access 24x7 in captivity.

I do think "pulling" their only food dish could be a psychological issue for some parrots. (I volunteer at my local rescue--lots of parrots with lots of different issues.) At home, my parrots have several food dishes, spread around the house, to encourage flight, and discourage general territorial behavior. It keeps them from being so dish-territorial, too. If they see me take a dish, they've learned that another one will likely show up soon, or worst case, they can see their other dishes off in the distance. We keepers inadvertently create some of "their" issues, by the way we keep, albeit with good intentions. Washing and managing more dishes for each parrot, times seven at the moment is not ideal for me; being in captivity is not ideal for them. Relationships are a compromise, right?

Yes! They are beyond social--they are flock animals. I have four Senegals. At first, they all "liked" very different foods. Once one sees another eat something, they typically become interested in it. I call it conspecific observation, or "monkey see, monkey do"--for better or worse.