Good advice from Laura above...Parrots don't really "need" fresh Fruit at all (except for species like Lorikeets, Eclectus, etc.), as Laura said although fresh Fruit is healthy as far as vitamins and minerals go, it is also loaded with natural sugars, which are turned into fat and stored in their livers just like the fat from the seed and the nuts is...So fresh Fruit is like a "healthier treat" than sunflower seeds, nuts, or people food...The problem is that captive/pet birds don't get even a fraction of the exercise that wild parrots do, so the fat they eat just accumulates in their Livers and causes Liver Disease, which is one of the main causes that pet parrot die younger than they should...So giving your IRN fresh Fruit at most 2-3 days of the week is plenty...
*****Do not EVER feed your bird Avocado, as it's toxic to birds...Also, do not regularly feed your bird any type of Citrus Fruit, like oranges, grapefruit, lemons, limes, and this also includes tomatoes, as they are extremely high in Vitamin C, and Vitamin C greatly enhances their body's absorption of Iron, and birds cannot handle much Iron in their diets at all, they will develop something called "Iron Storage Syndrome/Disease", which can be fatal. So if you ever decide to feed your bird any Citrus Fruit/Tomatoes or Citrus Fruit Juice, like Orange Juice, only once in a very great while. My Green Cheek's favorite thing in the world is Orange Juice, he'd sell me for a cap-full of Orange Juice, I swear he would...So I made that his very special "Training Treat", as well as how he gets any oral medications that taste horrible. But otherwise, for your IRN's regular diet, there are plenty of safe, healthy fresh Fruit that they love, such as Apple, Banana, Seedless Grapes of all varieties, Strawberries, Blackberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, Kiwi (Remove the Seeds First!), Mango, Guava, Papaya, etc.
What they do need in their DAILY DIET, in addition to whatever their "staple" diet is (pellets or seed-mix) are fresh Veggies and dark, leafy Greens. Your IRN should get his daily amount of his staple food, either pellets or a healthy, low-fat seed-mix, and then should also get a good helping a fresh veggies and dark, leafy greens. A lot of people make "Chop", which is simply a mix of all kinds of different fresh Veggies and Greens, and often also have fresh grains, legumes, seeds, herbs, etc. mixed in with them as well. There are tons of great Chop recipes in the "Food and Diet" forum here, and once you find one that your IRN really likes, then you can make the Chop in very large batches, put daily portions into individual freezer-baggies, and put them in the freezer. Then you can just pull-out a baggie of Chop from the freezer either at night or in the morning first-thing, put it in the fridge and let it thaw, and then it's all ready to go...
It's all about finding out what fresh veggies and greens your IRN likes, as all birds seem to like different types of veggies and greens, and sometimes you actually have to add something to the fresh veggies/greens to entice them to eat them, especially if they've never had veggies before...My Quaker Parrot is the only bird I have that just hates all veggies, greens, and Chop recipes, she's a pain in the butt about this and refuses to touch them all, UNLESS I add a little bit of cooked egg-white and mix it into the veggies/Chop really well. I actually use both real egg whites and also the Egg-Beater egg-whites, and will just put one-egg's worth of egg-white into a container, microwave it for a minute, and then chop it up into tiny, little pieces with the side of a fork, and then dump the chopped, fresh veggies right into the container with the egg-whites, and mix them up really, really well so that pretty much every veggie has some egg-white stuck to it, and she goes crazy and eats the whole bowl of veggies that way...So it's all about experimenting to see what your individual bird likes...
****Do not EVER feed your bird any Onion, Chives, Leeks, or any other veggies related to the Onion family, as they are toxic to birds...However, pretty much every other veggie and dark, leafy green is perfectly fine and healthy for birds. Don't feed any of the "watery lettuces" or cabbages, as they are nothing but water and have little nutritional value at all...However, the dark, leafy greens that my guys all love include Bok Choi and Pak Choi, Arugula/Rocket, Collard Greens, Mustard Greens, Turnip Greens, Dandelion Greens, Swiss Chard, Escarole, Endive, etc. As far as fresh veggies go, the big ones that they like are Broccoli, Green Beans, Pea Pods (all varieties), all kinds of Squash including Butternut, Spaghetti, Acorn, Yellow, and Zucchi, as well as Okra, occasional Eggplant, a little Carrot, etc. Try as many different veggies and greens as you can to see what he likes the most, and then again sometimes you have to get creative and add other healthy foods that bring some flavor to the veggies, such as Egg/Egg-Whites, different fresh Herbs such as fresh Cilantro, Basil, different Parsley varieties, Watercress, fresh Alfalfa (which is actually high in protein as well), etc. You can also add-in Flax Seeds, Quinoa, and a little trick is to mix up your fresh veggies that you've chopped-up into pieces for him to eat, and then since he's a "seed-junkie" you can take a millet-spray and shake off a little bit of millet to mix into the veggies the same way you use the cooked Egg/Egg-Whites...Whatever works for your bird...
***Always feed your bird ONLY fresh veggies and fruit, NEVER feed him any canned fruit or veggies, as not only is most of the nutritional benefits gone, but they are typically loaded with salt (and sugar/sugar syrups for the canned fruit) and other horrible preservatives, and are actually harmful to your bird...I know people who buy frozen veggies and fruit, thaw them/cook them, and then feed them to their birds, which isn't harmful like the canned veggies and fruits are, but isn't as beneficial as the fresh veggies/greens and fruit are, and any time you cook/heat veggies up, you lose the vitamin/mineral content, so buying only fresh veggies/greens and fruit is best...It's also cheaper...
he has been great with sleeping, he gets into his bed anytime between 7pm and 9pm and sleeps until the morning, I washed his bed a couple of nights ago and now he's refusing to sleep in it, is he just being stubborn or is it something else? He is fine in himself, still playing and talking and eating as normal. Thanks all.
