Pepsi challenge?

I've had Bogart, a 5 month old male Eclectus, for about two weeks now.

I started out giving him vegetables which were broken up into small pieces, and he seems to love it. However, it was (somewhat of) a lot of work, especially in the morning when our house is crazy trying to get three young children dressed and out the door for school, before 7 am!

I read numerous threads, and decided to make him a chop with a wide variety of veggies... first morning, he wouldn't touch it until I warmed it up in a microwave, and put some coconut oil on it. Then, he ate a little of it.

This morning, 2nd attempt with the chop, he again took a few bites, then walked away. I waited about an hour and a half, then put a bowl of pellets in his cage. He immediately went over to the pellets and gobbled them up as if he were starving!

So I started thinking, one or two items that he doesn't like, and the entire chop is probably not going to entice him! If he hates, say, radishes and I put radishes in the chop, he probably won't want it.

So, I'm now thinking of doing a taste test....put three vegetables, broken up into small pieces, into his bowl, with the same number of pieces for each veggie. Then, I can later see which he ate the most of, and which, if any, he completely ignored.

After the first three veggies, I move on to three more.

This is based on the old Pepsi Challenge commercial (some of you may be too young to have seen it)

Any thoughts? Anyone care to share with me which veggies their Ekkie loves!

I really want to find veggies that he loves to eat, so that he fills up with that rather then pellets.

Thanks in advance!

Try homemade and fresh apple sauce mixed in with the chop and things like sweet potato may make it a bit more palatable.
Have you seen this?

http://www.parrotforums.com/eclectus/60500-stressing-food-not-anymore-chop-convert.html

I was also looking for a post relating to what Stephen, Anansi, feeds Jolly and Maya (please help me out if reading this?)

My ol' man loves to cook, and is also a competitive cyclist, so he cooks very healthy foods for us. During an average week, we will have a good mix of the following things.
Kale, Beets, Corn, Beans, Carrots, Peas, Cauliflower, Oatmeal, Pasta, Fruits, Healthy Nuts...
I got into the habit ages ago of offering the Rb the same stuff we're eating. He doesn't get a chop, but he winds up getting the same stuff (along with his Harrison's). Even if I don't/won't eat them (I'm not exactly a health nut like my husband) I give the bird some. Also, that saves me freezing and thawing. And I know exactly what the Rb likes (the above) and doesn't like (Radishes, Asparagus, Turnips, to name a few).

I think I'm correct in thinking that a ton of chop-contents doesn't need to be offered at every meal, as long as you get around to them regularly. Sometimes i have made chop for him, but he seems to enjoy the individual elements, maybe/probably because he's used to that...

Anywayyyyyy... just a suggestion for those who may be looking for a chop alternative.

Having a chop with a wide variety of veggies and fruits is extremely important when dealing with eclectus parrots. Fact is, they do not do well on most pellet brands. There are a few members on this forum who have found pellets specifically geared toward ekkies that they report has worked well for them, and I'll let them tell you more about that themselves. But personally, the diet for my ekkies is all fresh.

As you've said, some fruits and veggies they'll like. Others? Not so much. In some cases I'll just work with their preferences. If, for instance, my ekkies were not big fans of cucumber, that would be fine. It doesn't have much nutritional content anyway. Or if they didn't like something with a high nutritional content, but there was another food with similar values that they did like, I'd have no problem substituting one for the other.

Buuuuuuuuuut... there are some foods that are non-negotiable. Carrots and dandelion, for instance, are mainstays of my ekkies' diet. But they need a bit of coaxing to eat those. So I chop them into fine pieces (previously, when they detested carrots, I even had to grate them) and mix them in with foods that they find more palatable. For instance, my ekkies LOVE pomegranates and blueberries. So when I make chop, I include those in the mix. (Rotated out with other fruits that they enjoy from time to time.) The juices from the beloved fruits mix in with the barely tolerated veggies, and since everything is cut up so small they are far less apt to take the time to separate everything.

Also to help entice them, I always wash the portion of chop they're about to eat in very hot water so that it's quite warm when I give it to them. And I'll also melt a little coconut oil into their food right before serving. Or another tactic is to serve some of the most nutritious veggies in an oatmeal mash. Few birds can resist some good oatmeal.

Point is to figure out ways to trick your ekkie into eating what's good for him. Learn what he loves the most, and be inventive in using that to draw him into eating more. (Your guy eats pellets, so the transition may take time. Don't expect anything overnight.)

And here is the list of foods to which Plumsmum was referring: (6-8 types per feeding) various sprouts, carrots, bell peppers (red, yellow, orange and green), jalapeno peppers, Jamaican peppers, chili peppers, squash (butternut, green and yellow),pumpkin, blueberries, pomegranates, snap peas, broccoli, cactus pears, starfruit, bananas, grapes, kale, turnips, radishes, brown rice, quinoa, cucumbers, endive, dandelion, sweet potato (cooked), red swiss chard, granny smith apples, papaya, African horned melon, hominy, oatmeal (sans sugar or flavoring), kiwi, barley, calendula flowers, fennel, star anise, chamomile flowers, milk thistle, elder berries, rose hips, hibiscus, bee pollen, chocho beans and garbanzo beans, as well as Volkman's Fancy Soak and Simmer for the majority of his legumes and grains.

Twice a month, I'll give some hard-boiled egg (with the crushed shell for calcium). Slightly more frequently during a molt. And an assortment of unsalted nuts or even millet spray for their treats.

Hi, I love your 3 veg sample plan. It will definitely indicate what is being favoured or ignored. But be sure not to just exclusively feed the favoured foods and continue to offer foods even if they are being rejected, I learnt that from Scott and his experience of having one of his birds reject something for decades and then decided they liked it!

Some of my ekkies veg is grated so it sticks to the favoured foods to ensure a better balance and variety.

I keep small amounts of already washed, patted dry, chopped or grated veg refrigerated in separate small containers. It gives me the flexibility to offer different combinations daily so she doesn't get bored or expectant of particular foods, whilest saving me time. I just get my tubs out of the refrigerator in the morning and mix a spoonful of each ingredient into her bowl. So I usually do my bulk of washing and chopping veg on a Sunday and then a smaller batch of washing and chopping on my day off later during the week. The prepared veg I usually keep for upto 3/4 days in the refrigerator.

I also have some frozen veg that I can just add some boiling water to warm up if I'm in a hurry, or if the diversity of my refrigerated veg has dwindled.

Here's some of the veg my girl gets raw:

Chopped
Bok Choy
Red Cabbage
Bell Peppers (Red Green Yellow Orange)
Kale (small amount)
Broccoli (small amount)

Grated
Carrot
Beetroot

Whole
Sweetcorn

Warmed From Frozen Bag Pre Chopped
Carrot Sticks
Peas
Sweetcorn
Green Beans
Broccoli

Cooked
Sweet Potato
Butternut Squash

Does your Bogart like any fruit?
Sometimes I mix half a passion fruit with chopped veg to make it taste nicer. Sometimes I mix a tiny bit of coconut oil as suggested by Anansi.
Many people tend to create a mix of fruit and veg with 6-8 different veg and 2-3 different fruits.

My Bella Eats the following fruits:

Fruit
Blueberries
Pomegranate
Banana
Apple
Orange
Kiwi
Passion Fruit

I've also given her some herbs:
Mint
Coriander

You may like to have a read of my thread in the new members category
My First Parrot ! Female Vosmaeri Eclectus
Both Scott and Anansi have posted some helpful comments and links.
I have only had my eclectus since the 18th August - So I'm still quite new to attempting to master her diet. She's getting about a teaspoon of seeds daily too.

Im not sure if any of that was at all useful to you, but good luck with the vegetables!

Just got the post from Anansi show up when my page refreshed after posting (I was multi tasking so typing took me a while!) His post is probably much more helpful with regards to advice regarding feeding!

Violet_Diva said:

...Just got the post from Anansi show up when my page refreshed after posting (I was multi tasking so typing took me a while!) His post is probably much more helpful with regards to advice regarding feeding!

Click to expand...

Your advice is quite helpful as well! We all put our own spins on how we feed our birds, and something about how you do it may strike a chord with a particular reader that my technique doesn't. You never know. As long as the primary goal of providing as much variety and natural nutrition as possible is met, the ekkie wins.

I have really been intrigued to learn about Ekkie's special dietary issues.
The rest of it have it relatively easy.
Fascinating birds... I read a bit about the Solomon Islands. Apparently it's a very specialized environment, with many unique animals.

Thanks for all of your excellent suggestions and your list of veggies/fruits to give Bogart!

I know that he'll eat veggies, as he ate them with a flourish before I chopped them up.

I'll try three samples at a time, to get a better idea of what he likes and what he doesn't like, but I'll certainly mix it up once I get into a general routine!

I also already give him a mixture of fruits, but he seems to eat those without any issue.

Perhaps, as was suggested, I'll toss some berries in with his chop?

Thanks to everyone! I'll let you know how it goes.

Day One of my testing went very well!

I gave Bogart Califlower, Broccolli and Butternut Squash, cut into small squares, and in equal amounts...

Within an hour, the Butternut Squash was nearly all gone, only tiny pieces remained in his bowl!

The cauliflower and broccoli was nibbled on, some of it was eaten, but much (most?) of it remained in his bowl.

He was later spotted walking on the bottom of his cage! Seems he had dropped a nearly stripped piece of corn on the cob! He obviously LOVES corn on the cob! I cut a small section about 1-2" wide of a corn on the cob and drop it in his bowl, and he loves it!

Should I limit how much corn he eats?

Next up on my test, Red Bell Peppers, Green Bell Peppers and string beans.

I already know he loves string beans, so if I have another veggie in the fridge, I may replace the string beans with something else.

Can anyone tell me, do you give your Ekkie Jalapeno Peppers, and if so, do you simply put the entire pepper in their bowl? I haven't been able to find Jalapeno Peppers, but I believe I read that Ekkies really enjoy them!

Thanks!

Great start to testing! Yes, I would limit the amount of corn. Some ekkies have been known to have an adverse reaction to an abundance of corn in their diets. But I also say so because filling up on corn means less room for other, more nutritious foods.

As for jalapeño peppers, personally I chop them up same as the rest of the food. But that's really a personal preference.

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Hello again. My Bella will eat jaapeño peppers, but I usually chop 'em up same as everything else like Anansi. Bella loves corn on the cob too! So I give her about 1" on a kabob hanging from the top of her cage once a week as it makes her 'work for it' a bit by having to climb and hang. But she'll get a tiny amount of sweetcorn mixed into her food daily (from a frozen bag), maybe 10 individual kernels? She's also mad for peas! So she gets about a teaspoon of those daily. Things high in beta carotene, like sweet potato and carrot she gets a table spoon of one or the other (or both) mixed into every meal I present to her, as she isn't fond of them, but it's important she has them! I do apologise, I have just lost my train of thought, as I have just been splatted in the head with an indistinguishable piece of squishy food flung from her beak! That's another thing, how messy they are when eating, you may have noticed this! They do require regular bathing in order to maintain skin and feather health aswel as rinse off any food debris, in order to help avoid any bacterial infection. So far I've only used a spray bottle (with bottled water in - tap water is too risky here in terms of chlorine and fluoride). She gets misted nearly every day and soaked through once a week. She looks sooo funny and scrawny when wet!

...where was I, oh yes, I give her 3 meals per day:

Morning
Purely raw veg, as I'm at work during the day and it will stay fresher and safer for longer than cooked food or fruit.
Eclectus can be more susceptible to bacterial infections and such. So it's important to make sure food doesn't have the chance to breed bacteria or 'go off'.

Evening
When I get home from work she gets a meal a bit more fruity (still with veg mixed in).

Supper
She gets either a cooked meal with some cooked pulses, or whatever needs using up, (It's kinda my wildcard meal!)

Her daily teaspoon of seed mix is typically spread over her 2 latter meals each day. I find that if I mix it into her food, she has to beak through other healthier food to find it, plus I figure that the seeds will probably absorb some of the goodness of the veg and fruit it's mixed with...

Hope some of that was useful - If not, at least you got to laugh at my being splattered with a miscellaneous squishy food missile!

corn is more sugar than nutrition so I generally leave it out of Wranglers diet. Like many others on here, my guy can be super picky about what he likes and dislikes...and it may be time of day dependent, so be aware of that. One minute I can feed him grapes which he devours with gusto and an hour later he and will flip them out of his bowl. It takes time and patience so one or two "challenges' wont give you the entire story. Texture also has a lot to do with it. He flips out all brown beans---have no idea why--and eats the rest. He prefers his peppers minced but likes to crunch on sugar snap peas--whole He wont eat sweet potato in chuncks but if its mixxed in with chop he doestn pick it out. I tried readish and beet root...wont touch them whole but mixed in chop, the chop didnt get rejected. Proportion is also key. I overdid the cauliflower in my last batch of chop and he is less than enthused with it. I will likely throw it out. I freeze my chop in ice cube trays and store in plastic bags...or containers with a few days portions. Same with the beans. I can mix/match the cubes and content and it cuts down on food prep for those hectic days. I treat him to hand cut, etc on weekends when I have more time. All that really matters is that he gets a balanced healthy diet. It doesnt have to be perfet every day. Pasta and granola are your best friends when you need a quick meal for them.

Violet, thanks ! Very informative to hear how others are feeding their Ekkies... I agree about giving raw vegetables in the morning so that it stays fresh longer.

Coop... I will limit the amount of corn he gets, to, say once every three or four days. Wow... you've really got it down as to how Wrangler likes is veggies!

I'm also having a bit of trouble finding a treat to use for training... sometimes he'll go for pine nuts, other times, he is indifferent.

what he ALWAYS loves is millet, but that isn't a very good treat to use to train... makes too much of a mess! I also try to really limit how much millet he gets.

Gave him red bell peppers, radishes and sweet potato today, and he seemed to like 'em all in equal measures...

Thanks for everyone's input!

A bit of background on Wrangler: I was his fourth home in 2 months, and prior to that he was in a neglect situation with a poor diet. He was heavily plucked. Getting him to eat decent food has been a bit of a challenge at times. Brittany (who gets credit for the rescue) started him on chop/mash for the month she had him, and Ive continued to try and introduce more variety in his meals. I made chop last night...seems to be a winner with Wrangler even though there are things in there he isnt wild about. He was miffed with me when I got home (only he knows why!) and even refused his favorite tortilla chips. He growled and threw everything that I gave him (pasta, chips, chilis, banana) so it was clear that the Pepsi challenge was not going to work for us tonight. He just insisted on being on my shoulder the entire time--that seemed to make him happy.

Chop was kale, green pepper, yellow pepper, acorn squash (semi cooked), sweet potato (same), jicima, broccoli, a few brussels sprouts, fresh basil, jalapeno, 4 small chilis, bag of baby carrots (lightly steamed), a bit of leftover pasta, 2 radishes. I ran by the grocery on the way home without a list and just grabbed things I thought would work well together without being being overwhelming in taste/flavor. Most of it was a semi-fine chop, not mash. I can serve it cold or heat it up--which will cook the veggies and possibly decrease the nutritional value but please him more, and of course add egg, beans, pasta/quinoa, etc and spices as I feel like it. This seems to be a good working base though. BTW, short of the pepper, most of the items in the chop he WONT eat on his own or whole. I avoided beets and cauliflower this time. No need to ruin a good thing. I can experiment with them by adding them in and not having to toss the entire batch out like last time! Not as super duper as some chops out there, but certainly one he will eat---and for me, that's the goal. Total cost was around $15. I find additional seasoning with chili or red pepper flakes pleases him most, and I add either coconut oil or red palm oil several meals a week. Please make sure your red palm oil is sustainably harvested--dont want to harm the environment just to feed the fids! You can find flax/chia/hemp seed and coconut oil at Homegoods much cheaper than most other sources. Hope this helps you--

Just curious, do most of you give your Ekkies jalapeno peppers whole, or chop them up?

Are the tiny seeds a problem for Ekkies, do I need to remove them?

Thanks!

I chop them up. This isn't due to any inability of ekkies to handle them whole, mind you. It's just that if one dropped, it might be a waste.

And as for the seeds, no, I don't remove them.

I buy several kinds of peppers...
Poblanos, to stuff the end between the bars tightly (above a perch) so the Rbird can nibble at his leisure.
Jalapenos and Serranos, to toss into the cage's snack-bowl, to trick him into entering so I can shut the door. It's the only way I can get his flighted majesty in!
Common wisdom is that parrots have such poor taste and smell that hot peppers really excite and stimulate them. And they're very healthy (lots of good green and great nutrents)! So I give the Rickeybird lots! The only downside... when he eats a pepper, then preens, then wants to cudddle, it's a very incendiary experience. I just posted a video of the bird eating one in the thread about beak flavors, and you can hear me sneezing!