Veggie questions

[Birdlover11]

I'm in the endless battle of trying to get my budgies to eat veggies or fruit. I wasted A LOT of fruit because of them. Now I'm trying to see if they like veggies, I finally got them to like pellets so I just have to get them to eat veggies and fruit as I know it's bad for them just to eat dry food. Can you give the cucumber ? If you can do you have to take out the seeds ? Can you boil the veggies or will it take out all the nutrients ? Can you tell me any tricks for them to eat veggies ? What are some favorite fruits and veggies for them ? What are the most nutrisest foods ?i know these are a lot of questions it's just that when I took pepsi for a check up the said he has a wieght problem so that's my goal.

 

[MeganMango]

Mango will eat anything I eat and thinks its a big treat. Try letting them join you at the table with their own heavy bowl. Let them watch you eating veggies, then put some in their bowl. Make a big display about enjoying it. My vet said that raw is best for them, and suggested I start with very nutritious veggies like dark leafy greens (Mango quite literally fights these despite my efforts), peppers (especially red ones including seeds), carrot, sweet potato, squash (even my guinea pigs wouldnt eat this raw), and aim for vitamin rich fruit in small amounts like dark berries and mangoes. Avoid starchy sugary foods like white potato, corn, grapes, apples, bananas. Sugary foods should be offered in small amounts and as treats. If you find they love something sweet like grapes, you can use the juice on other veggies to entice them to eat it. Mango loves orange juice, so I put a small amount on his greens to get him to try it. Its helped a bit to get him to pick at it.
Note-avocado and onion is toxic and should never be offered.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Yes, you can try cucumbers and no, you don't have to remove the seeds. I'm not sure on the nutritional value of cucumbers - I don't think it's a high powered, vitamin rich food, but that doesn't mean don't try them.

You said you've tried many different fruits. Have you tried cutting them into different shapes, perhaps? Small, large, even try fruit on a Kabob like this:
Super Bird Creations Stainless Steel Toy Base - CUSTOMER FAVORITES by MY SAFE BIRD STORE

As for vegetables, you could try peas, carrots (grated, chopped finely or more coarse, you may have to experiment with how they like it), kale in a basket like this:
JW Pet Nut Case for Birds - FORAGING TOYS by MY SAFE BIRD STORE

Then you can try corn, broccoli (steamed and/or raw), squash, cooked sweet potatoes (perhaps make a mash with them), etc. etc. etc.

As for fruit, don't go out and buy heaps of them. Just buy 1 fruit of each. For example: Peach, plum, banana, orange, apple, pear. And then experiment with cutting them into different shapes, as I said earlier. You could also stuff them inside the "basket".

These are just some ideas. Don't give up. You've already achieved a great feat by having them eat pellets.

 

[MonicaMc]

Try these two threads....

http://www.parrotforums.com/general...afe-fresh-foods-toxic-food-lists-sprouts.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/general-health-care/23367-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html


They shouldn't be eating more than 50% pellets in their diets... and if you want to feed them healthier seeds, get them eating sprouted seeds instead of dry seeds!

 

[cdnbirdlover]

Basil was a seed-a-holic when we got him. We successfully converted him to pellets (seeds are for training and treats) and while he does eat green veggies (raw broccoli, kale, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and romaine, cooked green peas) he refuses to eat anything else. No carrots or peppers. No fruit. I am happy that he's eating the best of the veggies and his pellets. And he's more likely to eat cabbage when I throw a big leaf into his bird bath. I did that to encourage him to bathe and instead he decided to eat "soup". What a bird.

 

[cdnbirdlover]

Try these two threads....

http://www.parrotforums.com/general...afe-fresh-foods-toxic-food-lists-sprouts.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/general-health-care/23367-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html


They shouldn't be eating more than 50% pellets in their diets... and if you want to feed them healthier seeds, get them eating sprouted seeds instead of dry seeds!

Oh dear really? 50% pellets only? There is so much conflicting advice about birdie diets. I thought I was doing so well getting Basil on the pellets (it wasn't easy).

 

[MonicaMc]

Most medium and large parrots do fine on pellets as 75% or more of their diet. However, in the small species such as budgies, cockatiels, parrotlets and various parakeet species, it's not recommended for them to eat more than 25-50% of their diet in pellets! Pellets with them can potentially be just as bad as seeds only! Kidney failure is a common side effect of feeding a high pelleted diet to small birds.


I've been feeding my birds 50/50 seeds and pellets, and whatever fresh/cooked foods I can give them. Eventually, I'd like to change that to 50% pellets, 50% sprouted seeds (or 25/75) and whatever fresh/cooked foods I have on hand.