Jenday Conure dislikes new foods

[ALittleBirdly]

Hello, I'm a bit new to the bird world. In March 2017, I adopted a 25 year old Jenday Conure named Hercules. He is very sweet and loves sleeping on my shoulder, though I try to make sure he moves around at different points of the day via playing with a paper toy I got from the bird rescue.
Now, the issue starts with Hercules' past. I wasn't told a lot, but according to the people who work at the rescue he was in, his previous (first?) owner was fairly neglectful. Apparently, Herc was mostly just fed sunflower seeds. Maybe even exclusively. As a result, he tends to only want to eat sunflower seeds. With us, he's able to eat his food mix and some types of nuts, so that's not too bad. The problem is that he refuses to try fruits and veggies.
And before you say it, yes, I do eat the foods in front of him to make him want some. It sometimes makes him curious, but not enough that he'll go for it. Of course, if I'm eating something he SHOULDN'T have, like a cheeseburger or a sandwich, he'll climb over and try to steal a bit of the bun or bread.
Another issue with trying foods in front of him is that I'm very picky, and don't like a lot of fruits. I can't get myself to eat blueberries or most grapes in front of him... Should I just try eating salads in front of him? Since I don't use any seasonings or dressings, I could likely just pluck a lettuce leaf from the plate and give it to him... but is there anything else I can do? He's picked up a slice of grape before, but ended up dropping it moments later. I'd like some advice, since my bird-smart friend just tells me to eat it in front of him. Is he just not trusting me yet?

 

[plumsmum2005]

Yes continue to eat healthy food in front of Hercules. Not ideal BUT if he steals it from your plate 'ill gotten gains taste better'! Need to make sure it is all good to do this though because they take the one thing they shouldn't have, guaranteed.

Try grating some nuts on his healthy food? Is he keen on whole-wheat pasta or brown rice? If so mix some into some chopped veggies. Does he prefer them warm to cold? The thing being to get him to taste some of these foods whilst trying to get to the things he likes.

Things like chopped apples, kiwis, or melons are great and can be hung on a birdie skewer. Try different ways of presenting the food to see if this makes a difference.

Bake some birdie bread with loads of good healthy foods in.

Don't give up or get dispirited sometimes it takes a while.

Link FYI http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-food-recipes-diet/

 

[ALittleBirdly]

Thanks! I'll see what I can do over time. We give him almonds, pistachios, and (shelled) peanuts to him as treats, so maybe that'll work shredded-

Okay as I'm typing this, I'm watching Herc eat a slice of grape that has bits of crumbs from his food mix stuck to it. Since we're running low on his pellet mix, I tried mixing some slices of fruits and veggies with some of the mix, and he's eating a grape!

Since the mix I made is mostly fruits and a few cucumbers, I'll still try to attract him with salad. I'm just in shock that he's eating a grape and the skin is all over his beak and this is just precious!

Still, thank you!

 

[plumsmum2005]

Fantastic news, long may it continue lol.

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

Also...with things you don't eat..you can "fake" eating in front of Hercules..like with a grape,just put it to your mouth and make all sorts of "yummy" noises in front of him..you know..like"" MMMMmm YUMMMMMM...this is SOOOO good Herc! here! try some!" then hand it to him...he may surprise you and take it.




Jim

 

[clark_conure]

Jendays are quite a bit bigger than my little GCC but from most of what I learned on here is most conures will try to eat anything their parrot eats....

Apples, oranges, any fruit/veg is fine, anything you like, peppers, celery, eat what you like, the bird really won't care it will want what you're having.