HELP! Parakeets completely eating all their paper &yucca chip wood toy?!?!

allyvallee

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Oct 24, 2017
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Rialto, California
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2 male cockatiels
2 female and male parakeets
So I have two parakeets (female and male) and I made some homemade toys for them. One of them had a waffle ball stuffed with shredded paper and another one had an individual yucca chip that I bought from a pack on amazon. They liked it right away but the next morning I noticed that the ball had no more of the paper & I put a lot. The bottom of the cage only had a little bit but not compared to what I put. So I figured they ate some and will not put any more in case they get sick. I did check their droppings and it all looked the same.
However once again I noticed the next day after that half of the yucca chip wood was gone but there was nothing on the bottom. My two cockatiels always destroy all the yucca chips and wood but spit it out and leaves a mess. But these parakeets seem to be eating everything it put!!

Does anyone know if it’s safe or what I can do??? I’ve read a lot that it’s normal for them to chew but a lot of people say that they’re not swallowing but mine do!I do want them to have toys other than just plastic but I’m afraid that they’ll eat everything I put. I’ve even thought of putting maybe a little tougher wood but I’m afraid that they’ll swallow that too and get stuck.

Also some things to mention is that I’m not planning on them to breed. So I haven’t put a nest box or anything. They also refuse to eat anything other than seeds. I’ve been trying for a month now and neither of them even touch the pellets and vegetables I put. They do have a cuttlebone but don’t touch it or get near it.
 

wrench13

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You have to switch to, or at least introduce, veggies very gradually. Just a bit in their cup, with a good variety of colors & textures. One month is a short time to make them switch. A good balanced diet is 50% veggie, 30% fruits, and 20% seed or grains or nuts. More veggie then this is ok, too. For the seed/grain, chopped walnuts, pine nuts, dried or cooked pasta, sprouted seeds instead of millet or (ughh) sunflower seeds will be better. Look in the sub forum on diet for more ideas. I'd save the seed for treats.

On eating wood, sorry, not much to advise you on, none of my parrots ever did that.
 

reeb

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Berry (♀ Cockatiel) hatched June 2017
Opal (♂ Budgie) hatched 13 August 2017
Pearl (♀ Budgie) hatched 15 August 2017
+ an aviary of 16 other budgies! all hatched 2014-2017
From my experience (having had over 30 budgies), budgies/parakeets go nuts for spinach. I have never encountered a budgie that doesn’t like it or doesn’t want to eat it. Other vegetables, for some reason, have sometimes been harder to introduce - however, with some patience and slow introduction with the seeds you can improve their diet greatly with fruits and veggies. The advice that wrench13 gave is great on this front. Spinach is a definite favourite amongst my flock, so I suggest introducing fresh spinach as a start.

In terms of the toys, if you think the birds are ingesting them then remove the toys from the cage immediately. The paper can cause impaction in the crop which is deadly. Perhaps the design of the foraging toys just doesn’t suit your birds - some birds can’t have paper type toys because, instead of shredding it, they ingest it. The same goes for rope toys and even wooden toys. It depends entirely on the bird. Perhaps a more diverse diet will help to curb their need to eat their toys. So, for now, I think you should focus on diet and keep toys that are safe for them in their cages.

I hope this helps!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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allyvallee

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Oct 24, 2017
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Rialto, California
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2 female and male parakeets
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You have to switch to, or at least introduce, veggies very gradually. Just a bit in their cup, with a good variety of colors & textures. One month is a short time to make them switch. A good balanced diet is 50% veggie, 30% fruits, and 20% seed or grains or nuts. More veggie then this is ok, too. For the seed/grain, chopped walnuts, pine nuts, dried or cooked pasta, sprouted seeds instead of millet or (ughh) sunflower seeds will be better. Look in the sub forum on diet for more ideas. I'd save the seed for treats.

On eating wood, sorry, not much to advise you on, none of my parrots ever did that.

Well I've only had them for about a month so that's why there hasn't been that much progress. I've been putting little bits of broccoli on their plate and some leafy greens on a toy but they dont touch it. So I'll continue trying little by little. Thank you for the advice btw!
 
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allyvallee

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Rialto, California
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2 female and male parakeets
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From my experience (having had over 30 budgies), budgies/parakeets go nuts for spinach. I have never encountered a budgie that doesn’t like it or doesn’t want to eat it. Other vegetables, for some reason, have sometimes been harder to introduce - however, with some patience and slow introduction with the seeds you can improve their diet greatly with fruits and veggies. The advice that wrench13 gave is great on this front. Spinach is a definite favourite amongst my flock, so I suggest introducing fresh spinach as a start.

In terms of the toys, if you think the birds are ingesting them then remove the toys from the cage immediately. The paper can cause impaction in the crop which is deadly. Perhaps the design of the foraging toys just doesn’t suit your birds - some birds can’t have paper type toys because, instead of shredding it, they ingest it. The same goes for rope toys and even wooden toys. It depends entirely on the bird. Perhaps a more diverse diet will help to curb their need to eat their toys. So, for now, I think you should focus on diet and keep toys that are safe for them in their cages.

I hope this helps!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I havent tried spinach but I always put broccoli and kale. My two cockatiels are crazy over that but refuse to eat any fruit. So i'll definitely buy some to see it that can attract them more.

As for toys Ive only been putting plastic for now but am looking to find a toy that can help their beak and just play with it.
 

reeb

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Cape Town, South Africa
Parrots
Berry (♀ Cockatiel) hatched June 2017
Opal (♂ Budgie) hatched 13 August 2017
Pearl (♀ Budgie) hatched 15 August 2017
+ an aviary of 16 other budgies! all hatched 2014-2017
From my experience (having had over 30 budgies), budgies/parakeets go nuts for spinach. I have never encountered a budgie that doesn’t like it or doesn’t want to eat it. Other vegetables, for some reason, have sometimes been harder to introduce - however, with some patience and slow introduction with the seeds you can improve their diet greatly with fruits and veggies. The advice that wrench13 gave is great on this front. Spinach is a definite favourite amongst my flock, so I suggest introducing fresh spinach as a start.



In terms of the toys, if you think the birds are ingesting them then remove the toys from the cage immediately. The paper can cause impaction in the crop which is deadly. Perhaps the design of the foraging toys just doesn’t suit your birds - some birds can’t have paper type toys because, instead of shredding it, they ingest it. The same goes for rope toys and even wooden toys. It depends entirely on the bird. Perhaps a more diverse diet will help to curb their need to eat their toys. So, for now, I think you should focus on diet and keep toys that are safe for them in their cages.



I hope this helps!





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



I havent tried spinach but I always put broccoli and kale. My two cockatiels are crazy over that but refuse to eat any fruit. So i'll definitely buy some to see it that can attract them more.



As for toys Ive only been putting plastic for now but am looking to find a toy that can help their beak and just play with it.


I just thought of something else! Maybe consider a mineral block or a cuttlefish for their cage? Those will be really good for their beaks as well as for their health!
 
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allyvallee

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Oct 24, 2017
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Rialto, California
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2 male cockatiels
2 female and male parakeets
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From my experience (having had over 30 budgies), budgies/parakeets go nuts for spinach. I have never encountered a budgie that doesn’t like it or doesn’t want to eat it. Other vegetables, for some reason, have sometimes been harder to introduce - however, with some patience and slow introduction with the seeds you can improve their diet greatly with fruits and veggies. The advice that wrench13 gave is great on this front. Spinach is a definite favourite amongst my flock, so I suggest introducing fresh spinach as a start.



In terms of the toys, if you think the birds are ingesting them then remove the toys from the cage immediately. The paper can cause impaction in the crop which is deadly. Perhaps the design of the foraging toys just doesn’t suit your birds - some birds can’t have paper type toys because, instead of shredding it, they ingest it. The same goes for rope toys and even wooden toys. It depends entirely on the bird. Perhaps a more diverse diet will help to curb their need to eat their toys. So, for now, I think you should focus on diet and keep toys that are safe for them in their cages.



I hope this helps!





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



I havent tried spinach but I always put broccoli and kale. My two cockatiels are crazy over that but refuse to eat any fruit. So i'll definitely buy some to see it that can attract them more.



As for toys Ive only been putting plastic for now but am looking to find a toy that can help their beak and just play with it.


I just thought of something else! Maybe consider a mineral block or a cuttlefish for their cage? Those will be really good for their beaks as well as for their health!

They have a cuttlebone right next to their food tray cos I thought maybe it might attract them even more since they’re always eating but they don’t touch it. So I was thinking of buying a mineral block and drill a hole to make it as a toy. Or if I can drill the cuttlebone without it falling apart also :)
 
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allyvallee

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Have your tried attaching kale and carrot in clips on the side of the cage?

I actually haven’t tried it with vegetables just with millets once in a while. I put some on their toy last night but had no luck. I think they knew what I was trying to do so they didn’t play at all until I removed it lol
 

wrench13

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You can also try to vary the presentation... big pieces, chopped fine, long stringy cuts, you get the idea. Salty likes his yams but mashed up, broccoli in big chunks, leafy greens medium and hot hot peppers in any form. The peppers are very good for them too.
 

Frozengirl

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Make bird muffins. Great toy and gets them tasting vegetables and pellets.

[ame="https://youtu.be/0OuKiWJS7kQ"]Cockatiel parrot treat bird muffin on skewer - YouTube[/ame]

More ideas to get your pet eating healthier:


Ideas to convert pet bird to healthy diet:

Make sure the seed mix is near the lowest perch. Always put healthy foods higher.

Pellets:

Some birds will prefer small pellets, some will prefer cockatiel sized pellets, be prepared to try more then one size / brand if the first one doesn't work. Zupreem natural (small/ parakeet/ budgie size) and roudybush crumbles are more seed size and might be easier for the seed junkie . Some birds prefer variety and zupreem fruitblend are more tastier but have sugar in them, but can be very helpful to get them interested in pellets at first. I mix different size pellets for my tiel because she enjoys variety. ( cockatiel and budgie size)

1. Grind pellets and sprinkle pellet dust on fresh or cooked veges. This only works if your bird likes vegetables. Slowly grind them less and less, then just add pellets sprinkled on top of veges. Once u see them eating pellets put in its own bowl, near the top perch.

2. Mix pellets with seed mix, 2 tablespoons of seed with 1 teaspoon of pellet for 1 week. Week two add 2 teaspoons of pellet with the seed. Week three add 2 tablespoons. Week 4 , just put pellets in a dish near the birds favourite perch. Don't expect the bird to eat them right away. Most should try within 3 days. If the bird won't eat any after two weeks then try another method.

3. Hide pellets in cactus wood perch.(it's a perch with holes) Hide pellets in paper toys. Stuff pellets in balsa wood , yucca wood toys. Put a pellet dish near their favourite perch, and hide them with crinkled paper on top, small plastic toys, crinkled cardboard strips.

4. Try cooking birdie bread/muffins and hanging it on a skewer or put in food dish. This bread will have grinded pellets in the recipe. Once the bird starts eating the bread, place pellet dish in cage. Bird bread recipe below.

5. Place pellets on a mirror.

Vegetables (Always remove after 3 hours)

You don't have to try all of these things all at once. Start with one specific vege meal then add a new meal next week or so. Tiels take awhile to become familiar with new foods.

1. Hang kale / spinach / leafy greens (no lettuce) or clip it to the cage bars. Clip or stuff brocolli florettes between cage bars. Clip carrot slice/stick.
2. Finely chop up veges and mix them together. If the bird isn't interested, add 1 teaspoon of seed (or pellet if bird likes them) for 1 -2 weeks.
3. Buy a dehydrator. Dehydrate veges. If the bird won't eat them after a few days, mix dehydrated vegetables with pellets and seed for 1 week, then slowly remove the seed.
4. Try a cooked birdie mash and warm it a little before serving. (5-10 seconds in microwave. Be careful of hot spots.) This works especially well for young tiels. Cooked mash recipe below.
5. Try cooking birdie bread/muffins and hanging it on a skewer or put in food dish. The bird will probably see the muffin paper and start attacking it for fun, then tasting the muffin. This bread will have shredded veges in the recipe. Bird bread recipe below.
6. Sprout/soak seeds. Sprouted seeds are just as nutritious as vegetables. Use a plastic or stainless steel strainer. Most sprout mixes only require 8-12 hours of soaking, then rinse every 6 hours, sooner is always better especially in hot temperatures. Rinse your seeds in a strainer to remove any dust. Then onto the soak. When you do your first soak, you can add a tablespoon of organic apple cider vinegar to reduce chances of spoilage. This kills bacteria. You can feed the sprouts to your bird after the second rinse, because soaking starts the germination process. On day two you can spray some apple cider vinegar or soak them in some diluted ACV for two minutes then rinse. Smell your sprouts before giving them. They should smell earthly or no smell. If sour grow away. Flax seed doesn't sprout well. I use brand TOPs- all in one mix.(thingsforwings.ca) . Hagen brand mix for tiels seem to sprout too. All seeds that can be soaked together 8-12 hours: All organic: Kamut, spelt, pumpkin, barley, buckwheat, millet , sunflower, safflower, alfalfa, brocolli seed. You can also sprout some other seeds but most of these seeds are usually in seed mixes, so the bird is familiar with them already. If the bird doesn't eat them for the first few days, try mixing dry seed with it for a couple of weeks, slowly removing dry seed.
7. If your bird is bonded to you, try offering some veges you are eating or pretending to eat. ( just not the exact piece you are biting on, human saliva is not good for birds).

Birdie Bread Recipe

1 cup cornmeal- (no jiffy brand or additives) (can substitute bird safe flour-see below)
1 cup almond flour( can substitute for whole wheat flour/corn meal/ whole oat flour)
1 -2 egg
1 cup shredded veges( carrot , kale, or anything your bird won't eat normally)
1/4 cup ground natural pellets (roudybush or zupreem I use)
3 banana ( or 2-3 cup applesauce)
Water (til soft and wet)

Optional bird bread additions:
1/2 cup cooked / mashed strawberries/raspberries
1 teaspoon sesame seed / chia seed/ hemp seed
1 teaspoon organic pumpkin seed
2-4 tablespoons of seed mix if this bird is a fussy seed junkie

Coconut oil is safe for light greasing for birds or use muffin papers.
I cook at low temperature for 30-40 minutes , 275 Fahrenheit, but I watch and check every 5-10 minutes as it can vary per oven.
Once toothpick comes out clean it is cooked! You may freeze left overs, or use less flour and only 1 egg if you want less bread ��
*note: some whole wheat flour brands have addictives. Do not use if it has anything added, unless you make sure it is birrd safe. Cornmeal should be easy to find with no addictives :)

Cooked Mash/Chop Recipe

The monthly chop I cook then store into zip bags and freeze and unthaw daily:

Everything cooked:

Cooked quinoa , buckwheat (1 cup each)
Green beans
Cooked sweet potato
Carrot
Brocolli
Cauliflower
Corn
Peas
Asparagus or boy choy

Sprinkle sesame seeds on top for a couple of weeks.

*You can use frozen veges and cook them for 5 minutes too. Be wary of Lima beans or certain beans in frozen packaging, they need to be soaked and cooked for a long time. Green beans are safe and cook fast.
*You don't need to have all of the listed vegetables, just remember variety is better.

Note: If your cockatiel is older and less trusting then a socialized /young tiel, it can take months for the bird to accept a new food . Just getting them to taste it is the first step. Bird bread with seeds help with this slow process. Sprouts help a bird get adjusted to wet food (veges) . Don't give up trying , it took me three months to get my old rehome eating sprouts, by tricking him to try them mixed with his dry seed for 2 months. (Soaked/sprout seed look very similar to dry seed). He would shake his head when he picked a sprout and throw them across the room for 2 months ! It was because he didn't trust wet food. But in time he accepted the sprouts because he became familiar with their wet texture, and was not scared of them no more. Sprouts also are pretty tasty!
 

Frozengirl

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Dec 17, 2017
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Also, your birds may not be ingesting their toys. When they chew, they can sometimes roll up the paper ( or wood ) into a neatly packed up ball and toss it aside ( outside of the cage or in the corners) . It will be very hard to see if your bird does this.

Your birds poop will tell you if they are swallowing it.

The absolute best way to determine if a bird is eating nonfood items is to examine the poop. Birds cannot digest cellulose like in wood or wood pulp paper, so all you have to do is look for lumps in his droppings to tell if he is actually eating the paper. pick up hose wet poops and squish it in your fingers. Are there any paper balls inside?

The things you do for your pets :) lol
 

FlyBirdiesFly

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My parakeet LOVES those individual yucca chip toys. I just put those at the bottom of her cage and she completely destroys them in a couple days. Your parakeets are probably not ingesting the wood. Observe them when they play with the toys, do you see them swallowing the wood pieces?
 

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