Pickiest eater in the world? I think so

[corkyness]

I have a rescue African Grey named Dany. I have had her for 5 years and dont know any of her background before she came to me.

She is the sweetest and goofiest bird but OMG GUYS she is so picky. I am just absolutley amazed by how picky she is.

I'm reaching out for some help because I have hit the wall after 5 years of what to try and give her so she can have a balanced diet.

Everything I have tried so far:
Zupreem(all flavor) pellets (dry and soaked soft)
Harrisons pellets (dry and soaked soft)
TOPS pellets (dry and soaked soft)
Roudybush pellets (dry and soaked soft)
Fruits (fresh and frozen)
Vegetables (fresh and frozen)
Chop
Mash's from Avian Organics
Oatmeal
Baby food
Healthy cereals
Volkmans cooked mixes
Edible plants/flowers
Yorgurt
Seed mixes
Beans
Sprouts
Eggs
Chicken
Herbs
Birdie bread

What she likes:
Mixed nuts
Nutriberries
Some granola mixes
Crackers
Red grapes

 

[Scott]

Welcome to you and Dany! You are not alone, diet is one of the greatest challenges faced by parronts!

A menu rich with fresh veggies and fruits supplemented with some form of dry pellets or minimal seed is generally best for a Grey. Most pellets are superior to seeds, though some folks will disagree. The key to introducing a new pellet or seed mix is presenting as stand-alone for several hours. I like Harrison's conversion protocol and it ought work for any brand. If you have any of the dry foods and wish to try again: https://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/using-our-foods/large-bird-conversion/

My technique for veggies/fruits aka "chop" is preparing two bowls, one for Dany, the other for you. Begin to eat from yours, making "mmmm" sounds, bob your head in delight. Parrots are flock eaters and you are part of the flock.

Additional threads of interest:
http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...7-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...afe-fresh-foods-toxic-food-lists-sprouts.html

You've certainly tried a broad spectrum of foods! Rather surprised she did not like oatmeal as it is one of my flock's favorite treats. It is also a superb conduit for oral medicines in the event of illness.

Unfortunately, Dany's "like" list is not ideal. I hope persistence results in breakthroughs!

 

[noodles123]

How many times did you try each food before giving up? Also, did you eat it in front of your bird? Don't eat off the same plate as them (your spit is unsafe for them) but do eat what you want them to eat..sometimes if you put it on a plate for them, they will want to try it more because it feels "special" but note that doing this will possibly increase their interest in YOUR plate... I have tried raw carrots on my bird FOR YEARS...It took 3 years for her to nibble one and I was offering probably 30 times a year...at least. That probably wasn't enough repetition (on my part). My bird used to refuse spinach and lettuce but she likes it now. I eat a lot of it myself...but the struggle is real...I feel you...

 

[noodles123]

You can also try cooking foods-- My bird used to refuse raw apples but ate them cooked--- now she eats either. You want more veg than fruit in their diets though....have you tried making birdy bread? Pumkin/squash/sweet potatoes?

 

[fiddlejen]

My Sunny eats pellets but only as a side dish. That is, I keep them in a separate, small food dish in a spot far away from her regular food bowl. I refill it when it gets low - usually a couple times a week. Also, as a medium-small parrot, she prefers pellets that are sized for tiny birds. IF you still have pellets on-hand from your past attempts, you might want to try something like that.

In the same vein, I give my birds their veggies as, basically, foraging toys. I clip lettuce, kale, broccoli etc to the walls of the budgies' cages, and yellow-peppers slices to Sunny's cage walls, along with green beans, peapods, etc threaded into her toys. (Those aren't the only ones, just most common.) This is foraging for them but also it makes toys of them. My budgies are especially picky, and will not eat veggies from their food dishes, but they will happily destroy them when clipped up like chew toys.

And speaking of chew toys. Does your Dany like to chew on stuff? You say she likes nutriberries so she might be amenable to the taste of Lefebers pellets, since they are made by the same folks & share ingredients.

I got a container of Lefebers pellets. Take about a cupful or so and grind it up dry in the bullet blender. This turns it into sort of pellet-flour. Then stir in enough water until it's a thick batter. I then added some seeds, you could add chopped nuts or something Dany likes. The first time I did this, I just shaped it like cookies and baked it on low until it was hard. The second time, I used a little more water, added some baking powder, and cooked in a waffle iron. Then I sliced the waffles into sticks and baked on Very Low about 45 minutes until they were Very Dry and Hard. I clip these into my birdies' cages as chew sticks. The great thing now, is that my picky budgies who have Refused pellets ever since I got them, are now willing to (occasionally) eat lefebers pellets!

 

[bill_e]

Wow, she is even more picky than my Nike. What I have found is that if I cycle through the foods I've tried in the past she often eats them at some point when tried again. recently after 3 years since the last try, I gave Nike Nutri-berries again and now they are one of her favorite foods. I also have to stop and start her freeze dried veggies on occasion because she stops eating those as well. I'm pretty sure that most of what she eats today was initially rejected by her.

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

Yep Greys can be little so-and-so's when it comes to food :28: My wild caught Timneh Smokey was the same way....UNTIL Amy came along :18::60:
Smokey was a Pet Shop imported fid,my first "real" parrot ( I had Wally,a Budgie when I was a teen,ALWAYs wanting a parrot and specifically an AG as I grew up :08:
My wife and I were talking divorce,both agreeing we need to do this before we ended up hating each other,and she knew how I felt about fid's. She'd always catch me in a store pet area with the birds. When she saw me talking to Smokey,she said " I know how much you love birds and how much joy you get from them and happiness and we are both hurting now,so if this bird will ease some of your pain,then buy her" which I did!! ( Thanks for understanding so much Debs!)
I knew some about what to feed her and I knew the completely seed diet she was getting at the pet store was soooooo wrong,it was going to be challenging to say the least to try and convert her ( we are talking about 32 years ago lol).

So began the task...slowly eliminating the amount of seeds in one bowl and having another bowl of fresh goodness.Fruits,veggies,some seed,nuts,some people food ( she loved a small piece of pizza crust..chicken leg bone with a piece of meat left on the bone and banana!) BUT before she started to sample,she'd growl like a pack of wild dogs at the bowl and cower in the corner of her house

I had Smokes about one and a half years when Amy joined the household at four months old. Amy was eating pellets,NO SEED and other good things. He'd be chowing down on all sorts of good things as Smokey would stare in bewilderment and shame as Any scarfed down 0n strawberries or grapes.Then one day,out of the blue,she is munching on anything she could get her beak around!! Almost anything she would try. She'd eat green grapes and throw red/purple ones.. :-/ LOVED banana's and chucked oranges...chicken leg bones..cheeto's..cheerio's apple sauce. She would shuffle from foot to foot while under the coffee table,looking up at me,BEGGING for a piece of whatever I was eating then beat feet back to her house to chow on whatever morsal I gave her. Smokers passed on up to Rainbow Bridge on 4/20/2015. I miss her more and more with each passing day. :-//


Jim
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