How to offer new foods ?

Hello all

i got pair of congo grey and they only east seeds as from previous owner i'm trying to offer fruits like apples and vegetables but they don't take it at all so i put seeds for them so they can eat

what should i do to change their diet is there any tips or routines for that

sokkary said:

Hello all

i got pair of congo grey and they only east seeds as from previous owner i'm trying to offer fruits like apples and vegetables but they don't take it at all so i put seeds for them so they can eat

what should i do to change their diet is there any tips or routines for that

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Hi


There are far more knowledgeable people than me on this site but I've had experience of owning a Grey who was given nothing but sunflower seeds before I found him and would not eat anything else.


First of all, in this situation I believe no one should entirely cut out the seeds in an effort to force the Grey into eating new food. I got the feeling he'd sooner die of starvation than eat something unfamiliar, so that's a no-go.


You need to accept that introducing new types of food could take months to accomplish. Just keep adding the fresh new food next to the seeds every day even if the Grey doesn't eat it. Sprinkle the seeds over the new food.


Eventually the Grey will go for it, just be ready for a long wait. The most successful food I introduced to Pugwash was fresh corn on the cob cut into smaller bits, which he'd eventually eat any time every day.


Greys are far less adventurous about new foods than other species I've owned so go slow and good luck!

You have two, so that could be a big help

Usually they have different preferences, and one may be a bit bolder.
So they can stimulate/ challenge each other.

Do they understand/ play with toys at all? (mine almost did not)
Because if they are used to crazy things hanging from the bars or ceiling and are not afraid to touch them ... get some of those fruitspears.

The trick is to get their beaks engaged with fruit/veggies first...
Touching, demolishing etc.
once they get used to the taste and texture they will go from there to actually eating.

My greys ate a lot of things dangling on fruitspears they will not touch with a 10-foot-pole when it is in the foodbowl.
Sometimes its all about "this makes my feet sticky" instead of "no wanting this stuff at all!"

Of course: if you eat it (and decide NOT to share makes it want them even more) it might convince them it is safe.
Japie will not eat millet the first day they get it .. he watches Appie dig in, and if she is not dead the next day...only *then* will he eat it...

And with any other healthy animal: if it is not there...they cannot eat it.

If your goal is to also let them eat pellets...also put those out there!
(Start with a mix - so they get the hint taht 'this is also food' and if they keep ignoring them: no seeds till dinnertime, it will force them to at least try them without causing starvation.)

ChristaNL said:

Of course: if you eat it (and decide NOT to share makes it want them even more) it might convince them it is safe.

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This for sure, anything I eat Enzo wants, if I make lip smacking yummy noises she gets even more anxious and demanding to share the food. She will go as far as to actually try and get her head in my mouth to eat what im eating....... I cant eat mexican food in front of her due to the guacamole, which is poisonous to them!!!
So, the first thing id suggest is reading up on what foods are safe and which foods are not safe for them.
Id also prioritise vegetables as an addition to the diet, and to a lesser degree id try them out with fruit, grapes etc. Enzo is still a fussy eater with her veg but she will devour carrots (her favourite by a mile), pea's and sweetcorn. peas and sweetorn she enjoys steamed for breakfast or in the pod and on the corn as snacks/fun through the day.


The end goal is to get her on to mainly pellets and veg, with seeds/fruit as treats, I dont think ill ever get to that stage with Enzo however as she loves her seeds so much, however she does like some types of pellets as well (harrisons), some pellets she will not tolerate and she will simply throw them to the floor, not even in her cage......

One thing to add, ive found that keeping her seed/pellet bowl on the same side of her cage as the water bowl, she eats more pellets as she likes to dunk them in the water before eating. She also seems to just like making pellet soup
With any thing 'Parrot' the more of a game and fun you make things, the easier things get.

and another thing (sorry), try veg raw first as its easier for you, if they dont like that try steamed, Enzo definitely prefers veg when its softer.

Only advice I have is to add the new food to an already accepted item you offer. Depending on the food item try it warm or cold , tiny pieces etc. And be persistent.

Greys are notoriously resistant to change, so you will have to be creative, patient, and offer much encouragement.

Fresh vegetables and some fruits, aka "chop" are the ideal bulk of diet. Some protein is needed, but a quality pellet is better than all-seed diet. Various treats as reward for good behavior are important as well.

The Parrot, Foods, Recipes, and Diet forum has helpful "sticky" threads at top. Ideal place to start: http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...7-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html

Parrots are flock eaters, and you are the "alpha" member! A good technique is to prepare two identical bowls of chop, one each for you and your grey. Begin eating, showing delight by bobbing your head and chattering. When my birds are given chop, the pellets disappear until the chop is removed near end of day.

Mine will only try new veggies, outside of the cage. I have one flat top cage and I put a glass casserole dish on there. It's large enough for me to place the new veggies so they aren't touching anything else. Because that freaks mine out. Then they explore the new item at their own pace. I've done this everyday, now after a couple of months, they run to the dish. They serch out any new stuff first. The glass casserole dish also offeres a nice view of the scary new food, so they can study it!

anything I eat Enzo wants

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^this. Initially I had brought our birds home and just kept taking them out and AWAY from their cage, keeping them with me on my shoulder or arm. I would eat, and they would get curious and go after the food. This way I got them to get used to eating people foods. We quickly stopped offering seeds regularly, just various of the colorful pellets. Seems parrots are more interested in the color of their foods than the taste; mine will eat green grapes, but not red or purple. Red apples, but not green, and so on.
Just take your bird out of his cage, remove the food bowl, only leave the water. You can put the food bowl back with whatever they like in the evening. This way they get hungry, see people eating, and go after it.
I intentionally brought my birds up on people food, because it's just simpler to give them some of whatever I'm eating than to have to get special bird foods. While my diet isn't considered great, they do get all kinds of things.
And FWIW, before we knew what was supposedly poisonous, i.e., avocado, onions, chocolate, our birds had already eaten those things with no ill effects. So apparently tiny amounts probably won't kill them. Just don't give them a whole avocado, spoonful of guacamole, an onion, or a chocolate bar.
This is what they had eaten; corn chips with a bit of guacomole on them (several times, while we were watching TV). White castle hamburgers and Big Macs, with the minced onions; and M&M peanut or peanut butter, and Reeses Pieces, all of which have a bit of chocolate in the shell of the M&M.

Once I got them eating fruits, I got some of the food hangers where you pierce the food with the long screw, which screws into a hanger. This way the fruit becomes food AND toy. a freshly cooked corn on the cob hanging there to be nibbled on, is a favorite, too.
I also have the foraging toys where you can put nuts and pieces of fruit into puzzle boxes so the bird can play with the box to get to food out.
Again, color makes the food more attractive. Though, he seems to know what all the other foods are, even though they're not fancy colors.
I always keep a mix of large size Pretty Bird, Kaytee, and Zupreme in their cage near their water, so there's always something to eat. As above, they like the large size, to dunk in their water.

Some other regular things on their menu:
Spaghetti, lasagna, ziti, pizza, hot dogs, hero sandwiches, chicken, chicken nuggets, various Chinese take out, Hot Pockets, slices of American cheese (they prefer the yellow for some reason), fruit juices and V8, french fries, soups (favorites are those with chunks of stuff in them, like Campbells rigatoni and sausage, wedding soup, chunky vegetable, etc.), oh yes, sausages, italian, breakfast, kielbasa, bratwurst, chedderwurst, omelets and scrambled eggs, bacon, cheese doodles, potato chips, pretzels, cake, donuts, & more. The key is often to give them something that they can hold with their foot while they eat it. I think that they see us holding our food, and they simply do the same thing.

nightfly, im with you on a lot of the snacks.... not all, but a lot of them. Enzo loves potato stuff, mashed,roast,chipped. She loves pretzels and hulahoops too. All in moderation and I think things are fine. She also enjoys a small piece of chicken meat and cheese, protein is good forthem but again, in moderation/occational.

Such great ideas. I wish I had had this Forum back in the day.

Anyway, here's my story, and my pitch for Harrison's as a staple/supplement...

Harrison's Bird Foods

I feed Harrison's, supplemented by fresh healthy treats. My first, and later, my current avian vet recommended it. My bird loves the pellets now, but to get him converted, my avian vet suggested putting pellets out all day, and putting seeds (his old diet) out for two 15-minute periods a day. That would sustain him but leave him hungry enough to try new stuff. I presume the same technique could be used to get him to eat other healthy stuff, like fruits and vegetables! My guy was eating pellets in a couple of days, and now I can feed a good variety of other stuff, knowing he has the pellets as a basic. Pellets are out all day... fresh treats a few times a day. I also like Harrison's via mail because I never have to worry about out-of-date products.
Another couple of ideas...
My ol' man is an athlete and health nut. He actually EATS all the good stuff, so it's always around. I find that tossing various stuff into the food bowls at random is good... the variations and differences seem to stimulate curiosity and attention.
The other idea... if you can stand it (lol) EAT the stuff in front of the birds, yes. That encourages them. I have also found that if my ol' man eats stuff in front of the bird, the bird WANTS it for himself. Kinda a rivalry thing!