What do Amazons eat?

[mgarvie]

What do Amazons eat? Not what they CAN eat, but what they really eat. I have a long list of what ours won't eat. Every week I try something new and by the end of the week I throw it out. Even tried fresh veggies from the garden next door. This morning I read a post about mashed potatoes, nope, and wouldn't even touch the almond next to it.

So far he'll eat Granny Smith apples, oranges, ONLY the green large Zupreem pellets, almonds, and peanuts that the wife sneaks him while I'm sleeping. Has to be something out there the green chicken can't refuse. And I thought my son was picky as a kid.

 

[texsize]

I think most people find Amazons to be chow hounds. They will eat almost anything they see you eating.
You must have a very picky Amazon.
I had a hard time getting my YNA to eat veggies..... Until he saw one of my other birds eating it day after day. He finally gave me his signal he wanted some. ever since then he likes his veggies.
Pasta---- check.
bread --- check.
Mango --- check.
rice --- check.
I can't list all the stuff he eats.
pellets and a handful of seeds are what he gets every day.

 

[Laurasea]

Welcome to the forum! How about bird bread stuffed with veggies? How about making a veggies omlet with some pellets snuck in? How about sharing a plate if food while making yummy noises and pretend try to keep him away from it? I don't have an Amazon, but I do have a rescue who picky I get pellets into her in warm oat meal and in scrambled eggs... Lucky fir me she does eat her veggies and greens

 

[noodles123]

My cockatoo eats a small amount of oatmeal with fruit and acorn squash mashed in lol..Kind of carb-heavy but I sneak stuff in there (like meds).


I cook the oatmeal with bananas and a tiny bit of fresh tangerine juice (too much citrus is bad for them). That is how I get her to take her probiotic...she is picky.


Anyway, I had some unseasoned butternut squash that I steamed in the microwave yesterday (originally fresh)...mashed that up and mixed it in and she ate it..she hates most new things and can tell the difference between spinach, greens, kale, romaine, nappa, iceberg, bok choy, and field greens without even trying them...She only eats (and begs for) romaine...it's amazing. I thought at least that the green cabbage/lettuce types would be hard to tell apart...


Try experimenting with cooked vs. raw.

Corn isn't great for birds either, but in a veg medley, I have noticed that mine will eat cooked corn, but she ignores raw corn...It's not the first time that cooking a vegetable or fruit has changed my bird's opinion (even without any seasoning). Sometimes I think temperature can also make a difference. Warm food can increase hormonal behaviors in a sensitive bird, but mine does like things more if they are luke-warm or cold, but not frozen...she does not like room temp lol (again, this isn't ideal, just telling you what I know). If your bird has a preference for a certain color, consider that as well. Also, try presenting new foods when your bird is most hungry.

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

They also love fingers and knuckles at certain times of the year
Amy loved a piece3 of banana,,green grapes one day and red the nevt A chicken leg bone with a piece of meat left on it on occasion. A slice of corn on the cob will catch her eye. I also make 100% organic birdie muffins. On occasion they get a piece of cheese,melted into scrambled eggs.


She get s very small piece of bread with her heart med squirted into it
And...as others have stated..anything in your fingers.lips and hands. :20:




Jim

 

[SailBoat]

The most dangerous place to be is between an Amazon and food!

That does not mean that an Amazon that does not have a trusting /bond relationship or has only been with an individual for a short period of time, has a past of being abused, etc, etc, etc... This group will be very slow in accepting anything.

We have no idea regarding your Amazon beyond it's an Amazon and its a really picky eater!

 

[texsize]

I should add that I recently got a new young amazon GCA at a bird fair.
He ate nothing the first day. This is not uncommon for any type of bird that is put in a new home/environment.
He is eating well and healthy now. It helps that he sees my other birds eating the same food so he is willing to give it a try.

 

[wrench13]

As you have been reading, most Amazon parrots do not have a problem with eating almost anything in cativity. In the wild, they are opportunistic eaters, feeding on what ever is coming into ripeness as the seasons change.

In captivity, itshould not be hard to get your Amazon eating a healthy parrot diet, by using some of the methods mentioned above. What was not mentioned was chop, a slang term for a variety of vegtable, grains, and what not, all mixed together. My 'Zon, Salty, gets his chop as the main dish in the evening, eating right alongside us. We make up a large batch and freeze daily portions ( this batch was something like 150 servings) which we alternate with sweet taters, chicken bone, spagetti squash, or just a slice of acorn squash. At 305 grams,he is a chubba chub for his species, but it is all muscle according to the vet.

 

[Scott]

Nevermind what I offer Gonzo, this is what he actually eats, in no particular order: Green peas, garbanzo, lima, and black beans, apple, pear, pomegranate seeds, banana, edamame in the pod, cooked yams and sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, (limited serving) cooked whole grain spiral noodles, red and green bell pepper, blackeyed peas. Primary diet when chop not served is Harrison's Lifetime Course. Scattered about the week as treats are bits of whole grain bread, millet, a small piece of cheese weekly, one or two almonds weekly.

 

[Anita1250]

Mine loves all pellets. I alternate between Harrison's Coarse, Roudybush medium and occasionally Zupreem Fruit Blend medium. He gets dried corn and peas, one small spoonful of seed and some dried parrot fruits. Then, the real diet comes in. He eats almost all veggies and fruits. We alternate with what we are having, but mostly fresh or purchased frozen. He will not touch chop. If I mix and freeze it, it will go on the floor immediately. I guess he is spoiled by all the fresh stuff. We eat a lot of veggies, so he gets what we get. Loves brussels sprouts, green beans, peas, corn on the cob, carrots, cabbage, beans, blueberries, banana, apple, grapes. He also gets brown rice, oatmeal, barley and pasta occasionally. Goes crazy for peanut butter on whole wheat bread ( small pinkie nail size piece ), mashed potatoes, pizza and walnuts.

I have found that whatever we are eating is fair game. He will almost always try it. Except sweet potatoes. He hates those! Go figure.

 

[noodles123]

Okay- may have just had a revelation with my U2 (and it probably encourages the wrong ideas but)...I presented some new chop--if you can call it that--- to bird (she didn't want it..complained..ignored it after climbing down to look). I had the same thing in my bowl and I showed her them side-by side...No luck(she looked, but then whined and walked off).

She watched me eat it. up close...still no luck.

Last resort- I put some on a white ceramic salad plate (not one that I had eaten off of) and brought that over to her. Then, she tried some off of there and decided that what was in her dish might be acceptable after all. She just ate the chop for like 5 minutes lol. Just a wild rice blend (+ ginger powder),romaine and hot peppers, but for a VERY picky bird, this is a victory. I have tried this same blend before with no luck!



SO, bottom line:
Consider display and plating!!! HHAHAH

 

[Kiwibird]

Mine is more of a "treegull" than a parrot- i.e. an avian garbage can that'll eat most foods and isn't above snatching something right off your plate or out of your hand lol. He used to react to fresh produce like it was radioactive but after a few years of relentless vegetable pushing he finally decided to try more and more new things. The thing with parrots is they may be super fast at picking some things up, but those things they aren't interested in (like vegetables), you might as well take how long you THINK it should take and multiply that by like 10-50X longer for a more accurate timeline. A couple months=a couple years in parrot time to get over mental hangups regarding things they don't want to do. Patience is extremely important with parrots.

 

[Joon]

One of mine can be really fussy about what he's willing to try. Often he'll refuse food he previously enjoyed to the point where last year he lost so much weight he was a few grams shy of being taken to the vet to be force fed.



He loves sugar rich food, nuts and noisy cellophane bags will send him scrambling to the sound to beg for whatever is inside. A short list of what he may or may not be willing to eat that day; corn (dried, frozen or on the cob), carrots, hot peppers, beets, apples, oranges, bananas, guava, pomegranate, lentils, chickpeas, almonds, walnuts, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, red palm oil, rice. Oh and he's curious about anything I'm eating so I've made a point of making up a bird safe(r) plate of food for him when I eat supper.

 

[clark_conure]

In my experience back in the 1700's most the amazons used to eat the "long pig" (you don't want to know) and made totems of their shrunken heads.....I narrowly escaped many such encounters but only from the help of a clan of conures that had me lead their leader, Clark, to America!

(please don't ban me for this it was such a rich setup with that title!!!! I HAD TO!)

Also it's probably true...

 

[SailBoat]

In my experience back in the 1700's most the amazons used to eat the "long pig" (you don't want to know) and made totems of their shrunken heads.....I narrowly escaped many such encounters but only from the help of a clan of conures that had me lead their leader, Clark, to America!

(please don't ban me for this it was such a rich setup with that title!!!! I HAD TO!)

Also it's probably true...

Clearly, you're ready to spin a story as part of a new Thread. Time to consider starting that Thread. I'm sure the clan of conures (and other Parrots) will quickly join in.

 

[texsize]

All us Amazon snobs know how fond of "long pig" our feathered friends can be.

 

[clark_conure]

All us Amazon snobs know how fond of "long pig" our feathered friends can be.

I can only imagine.....conures also have a taste for it at times....

 

[Birdmom12]

I have a food related question. Do you all let your amazon eat all day? By that I mean do they have a pellet dish then a fresh food dish full that they can snack on through out the day? Or do you regulate portions? Currently our small birds get a set amount each day. We have simply learned anymore then that they don't touch and gets tossed.

Also has anyone come across a list of safe and non safe foods for parrots? I've come across some small lists but it doesn't cover in detail.

 

[Anita1250]

Mine will eat ALL THE TIME! I have even been known to hide in the kitchen when eating something inappropriate for a parrot. He will eat just about anything we do, and can beg better than any dog I ever met. He has even climbed down from his cage and walked over to bite my feet if I don't give him what he wants. One time we were eating popcorn and he threw himself onto the table and climbed in the bag. Nothing more than a moving bag and a big green tail sticking out!