Wranglers diet

coopedup

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After reading several posts recently on foods people feed their ekkies, I decided to start experimenting a bit more with Wranglers diet. He's notoriously picky but he's come a long way in that he is no longer on any form of pellet, just fresh/frozen fruit and veggies...with a bit of doctoring. This is how this morning went.

Round 1: Fresh quinoa---warm.
His response: meh, boring...not interested

Round 2: add paprika
His response: I'll take a bite, but the african violet on the counter is more interesting

Round 3: (Mom caves in) add sunflower seeds and crumbled sweetpotato potato chips---he LOVES these.
His response: That's more like it, ok--I'll eat breakfast now.

I also read that they really like bottlebrush branches so on our walk yesterday I pulled a few "brushes" from trees along the way. Some were in flower, some just cone/buds. He nibbled one or two buds and has ignored it ever since. Didnt even look twice at the red blooms. I thought for sure he'd at least shred them
*sigh*
 

SilverSage

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I find my birds like the quinoa best cold and sprouted :)


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coopedup

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He managed to pick out all of the seeds and anything resembling a chip and based on the amount of quinoa on the counter top it appears he managed to cherry pick his way through it.
 

steveandbarb1

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Try cooking and make fun birdcakes, or french toast coated with the greens and good stuff using a non wheat nut bread. Fake mine into heathy eating
 

Violet_Diva

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It's totally worth the hassle of experimentation - even just for getting to giggle at his reactions to the meals you present him with! :) I'll be interested to read how your food trials go and what his verdicts are on the new cuisine!
 
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coopedup

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It's totally worth the hassle of experimentation - even just for getting to giggle at his reactions to the meals you present him with! :) I'll be interested to read how your food trials go and what his verdicts are on the new cuisine!

I think im going to stick to the quinoa since I made up a pot and froze it into ice cubes. I can baseline with that and use different spice/seasoning combos to see what gets his attention. I already know he likes cayanne and pepper flakes...the paprika was a one-off that failed to garner any enthusiasm. Veggies are a bit harder because ive yet to find one that he will eat as a stand alone...he will eat chop (when doctored) but no single veggie enthuses him.

Today at lunch he decided to skip the bread crust I offered him (in self defense) and he did an end around and started eating the cheese off the half sandwich on the plate....cheeky bugger!
 

davefv92c

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i feed so different then many, so i won't get to deep into it
but with 6 birds i chop everyday and they never get the same mix 2 days in a row.
i feed at noon everyday 1 bowl fresh mixed veggies with a small kick of fruit.
1 bowl feed. sometimes i throw in a little roudybush pellets natural of course just
can not give em to Maxx even just a little got a toe a tapping, took em away and it stopped . i am a chronic pain suffer so i also do keep some frozen veggies around for those days i would rather sit around smoking painkillers,rather then chopping.lol
 

Violet_Diva

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I've found cooking chunks of Butternut Squash in the oven (using a bit of coconut oil) to be a supreme favourite of Bella and Dexter! They like to both eat it independently or be fed it between my pinched fingers.

Has Wrangler tried it?

Anansi was the one who introduced me to the world of coconut oil, originally for melting a smidge over those not so tasty vegetables to get them to be gobbled up! I must say it worked well for us :)
 
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coopedup

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I do coconut oil with most feedings, though i sometimes alternate with red palm. I agree the coconut helps but I still dont get the gusto reaction. Ive also done the pumpkin/squash as well as sweet potato. Both are in his chop so Ive offered chunks to test his reaction and he shows no real interest but has tried them--and if I include pieces in his bowl he'll flip them out. He pretty much detests carrots, cooked or raw, which is a surprise--and the chop residue in his bowl is always orange. He'll eat the chop if I add coconut oil, nuts, and a crunchy topping (prefers crush sweet potato chips to granola). I also mix with a quinoa/pasta seasoned mix from the bird store. His base chop is usually a combo of kale, red pepper, jalapeno/serano, cooked sweet potato/chaoyte squash/carrots and peas. I do separate cubes of quinoa or barley and alternate with cooked 10-bean mix, but he doesnt like beans so ive just about given up on them because they can also go bad if left out all day. Of all those, the pepper and squash are favorites but that's probably overstating his reaction to it. The pellets gave him wing flips, so those are off the menu--plus he would eat those and ignore his chop. Fruits dont fare much better. Granny Smith apples are the only fruit he eats with consistancy---and pomegranates. Grapes and bananas are good for a few bites but not a meal, he wont touch any type of dried fruit. He eats kiwis on the green side, but again it's hit or miss. Im trying to add variety to his meals but havent found much success in adding things. Keep the suggestions coming please--and thanks for the responses.
 
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coopedup

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Todays test/s

Preliminary: Put a whole orange pepper on his playstand. He ignored it. Pulled the top off and speared it on one of his steps/rungs so now it was open. Maybe if he smells it he will be more interested. He looks at it, steps over it, and proceeds to explore the table looking for leftover bread or chip crumbs. I will put it on a skewer on his cage later, but I dont have much hope for it.

Taste test A: Plain quinoa divided in half with cumin and tumeric. Im tasting right along with him. The cumin is clearly preferred but he abandons the quinoa after about 6-8 bites. I dribble coconut oil over it and he returns for a few more bites, but not enough to even think that he's full. He just isnt excited about it.

Test B: Half quinoa, leftovers from before, and half chop mix with coconut oil. OK, I KNOW he's hungry...I worked 12 hours yesterday so he didnt get a proper dinner. I left a kiwi in his bowl with his chop, which he picked at, but didnt fully eat. If he's only mildly interested in the quinoa maybe the chop will be met with more enthusiasm.

Nope. He ate a bite or two of chop and then went for the quinoa...for another few bites. At least I know that cumin can be added to change up the taste...he doesnt hate it but it doesnt get much of a response. Tumeric will only be used pretty much for health benefits..it's not making it on the rotation list. Time to add nuts and chips to the mix to get him to actually eat SOMETHING today.

Edited: Put his bowl in his cage, he didnt even bother to come down to check it out. After 30 minutes I moved it to his play stand and brought him over...he's eating with gusto now that he has figured out there are goodies in there. He's currently fishing them out---hoping some of the chop makes it with the sunflower seeds and chips.

Edit 2: We had full on messy beak, chowed for 5 minutes. Every. single. sunflower seed. gone. No evidence of chip crumbs, cant even tell the chop/quinoa was eaten at all...the boy has talent.
 
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coopedup

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Tried some different things today....

Threw out the bottle brush branches, he never did eat them.

I gave him pellets just out of curiosity to see what he'd do. What I remember was that in addition to giving him wing flips they were more of a toy than food. He has this silly game he plays with himself where he will get a pellet, or small piece of wood, or toy he has chewed up and put it on his back/wing. He either then tries to flip it out of the cage (if he's in there) or chases it as it rolls off his back. He checks under his wings, beneath his tail...really odd but funny.

I have 3 types of pellets: Harrisons coarse, Roudy Bush regular and Pretty bird. I put the Harrisons in his food and got the "gusto" reaction Ive been hoping for. Unfortunately it only lasted as long as there were pellets. I also put a mix of Harrisons and RB in a cup on his play stand. He didnt go onto his stand all day while I was at work (sometimes he does), but ths evening he did...and the RB is allllll over the place. He uses it for his game. If i can figure out how to upload the vids I will post them. He didnt actually eat it.

While I was at work I left the bell pepper he's ignored for two days and half an apple skewered on top of his cage. The pepper is in a million pieces on the cage floor, cant tell if any was eaten but based on the mess my guess is it was a fun shred toy. The apple was almost all gone, no mess/evidence, so it looks like that was lunch.
 

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Try something other than quinoa. Brown rice is great as well.

Also try some red palm oil. Use Nutiva brand, which is likely to be found at a Whoe foods or similar organic market - this is produced in Ecuador so no orangutans were killed or lost their habitat for it.
 
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coopedup

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Monday's test:

I had to be at work at 6am today---so I just cut up an apple and put it in his bowl. When I got home around 4pm the apple appeared untouched but it was pretty clear he'd been up on the counter, found the bowl of popcorn and demolished most of it. The bowl was on its side and the floor was littered in crumbs. Interesting side note that he's apparently exploring more. The bowl has been up there for days and he hasnt noticed it, or gone on the far end of the counter to check things out...until now. Dont worry...it wasnt a huge amount, and I had set aside an unsalted/unbuttered serving just for him. I pop mine on the stovetop....no microwave stuff here.

I stuffed a few slivered almonds into one of those chinese handcuff woven finger things...and sealed the ends with pistachios in the shells. he saw me do this but when I handed him the toy he was pretty nonplussed about it. I presented it a few more times, rattled it, put it under his beak...he is fairly lazy about foraging it seems....

I knew he probably had to be hungry (this is before i discovered the raid on the popcorn) so I decided to try some oatmeal I got on sale at the store. It's a healthy blend with honey and almonds..quinoa, flax, barley and rye---perfect for a bird, right? I think I nuked it too long, it had a fairly gluey texture and he wasnt too excited about it--cant say i blame him. He ignored it all night, so around 9:30 I decided to thin it down a bit and add some chopped mango to it....He really liked tha-----as long as i was feeding him off a fork. As soon as I put it in a bowl for him to eat like a big boy he was no longer interested. Tomorrow its back to the tried and true veggie chop with cayanne and coconut oil---he needs to eat.
 
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coopedup

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Try something other than quinoa. Brown rice is great as well.

Also try some red palm oil. Use Nutiva brand, which is likely to be found at a Whoe foods or similar organic market - this is produced in Ecuador so no orangutans were killed or lost their habitat for it.

I got some sustainably harvested red palm oil last summer on the advice of my vet. I use it a few times a week. I know it's healthier for him, but he prefers the taste of the coconut. I have blended both a few times but didnt want to overload him in vitamin A so i usually alternate it.
 

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I've found cooking chunks of Butternut Squash in the oven (using a bit of coconut oil) to be a supreme favourite of Bella and Dexter! They like to both eat it independently or be fed it between my pinched fingers.

Has Wrangler tried it?

Anansi was the one who introduced me to the world of coconut oil, originally for melting a smidge over those not so tasty vegetables to get them to be gobbled up! I must say it worked well for us :)

coconut oil on food? really?? never heard of that! I have a big jar of all natural 'nut oil that I rub on amy's tootsies and beaky ( I saw/read that Dan (angeleyedboidan) does that to Max his U2 to keep them smooth and not cracked),but never heard about melting a smidgeon on food..i'll have to give it a try.

Jim
 

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Are you keeping track of his weight as you experiment with his food? That'll give you a better idea of how much he's eating and how much you can push. You mentioned that you'd gotten Wrangler completely off pellets, so I wouldn't put him back on them unless there was no other choice. Especially since he has a proven history of wing-flipping while on them.

Chris' idea of switching up a bit from the quinoa is a good one. Not saying to give up on it, as variations present limitless combinations and possibilities, but mixing things up a bit with the base can make a difference. Also, try giving the oatmeal another go... without the nuclear option this time. Lol! He might dig it. (Though I'd suggest plain oatmeal and add in your own flavoring for better control over what goes in.)

Also, how fine do you make his chop? If you make it extremely fine and add slivers of nuts, he might have more trouble separating out what he wants from what he needs. Oh, and if possible you should eliminate sunflower seeds entirely... except as a treat.
 
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coopedup

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What a week. Worked 25 hours in 2 days, plus Mondays 8 hour day that started at 6am...and Wrangler told me off for it when I got home last night. I knew I'd be gone for 13 hours so I left him his chop in his cage and a whole apple. The apple is on top of his cage so when my husband gets home and lets him out, that would be his dinner. I checked on him first thing when I got home and the apple was largely intact---odd. And the marks on it were fresh, not browned over. I can usually always count on him to eat an apple so what DID he eat? There isnt any more popcorn, and I know he will choose apple over chop (and it's a very fine chop Anansi, for just the reason you stated). I sit down at the table and he comes over and asks to come down too...so I hand him over to his table stand and he jumps from there, back to the table and immediately poops on me. That is a clear message that says "mom, where the hell have you been for the last 2 days!!!" As Im picking up in the kitchen I notice a glass in the sink on its side...so I ask my husband (who for some reason cant find the dishwasher which is right under where he puts all his dishes) why it's in the sink? He comments that he heard Wrangler banging around earlier....Ok, so he sucks as a baby sitter, but there isnt much that the bird can get into, I keep the kitchen tidy. Then I see it. My poor african violet is down to ONE LEAF. Wrangler has eaten the entire plant--and there is very little mess around it so it wasnt just a shred toy. Now I know what dinner was, and why the apple is untouched. If only I could get him to have this type of enthusiasm for his OTHER greens.

Tuesday night I reheated some of the oatmeal and thinned it down a bit so it wasnt like glue...added cayanne, my go-to spice, and some chia/flax seed mix. I dont know what he thinks of the chia mix, but I know he loves sunflowers... He ate 2 bites and then pooped on it. SIGH.

The worst of the week is over and Im home until 5 pm today so back to food testing. Breakfast is warmed up oatmeal with chopped mango and seasoned with coconut oil, chia/flax mix, a half dozen sunflower seeds--my cheat to make sure he gives it a decent try. I reduced the number of seeds per Stephens input but I figure he needs the fat, and he's not getting treats since Im not home---he gets slivered almonds at bedtime and a pistachio. Spice of the day...Cinnamon. Ive done a lot of reading about Cinnamon since there seems to be conflicting information about if it's parrot-safe or not. The net of it is that the expensive cinnamon (Ceylon) is fine, all other cinnamons (Saigon, Cassia, etc) have a blood thinning effect so it should not be a diet staple. I also put part of a kiwi in the bowl since it was left over/rejected from last night. He gave it a decent go---the kiwi is 70% eaten, the sunflower seeds are gone (of course!) but he didnt reject it all outright so I'll take this as a win. I'll try the same combo this weekend to see if he will eat it with more interest.
 
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coopedup

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Took his weight this morning...he's down 10 grams or so from last time I weighed him---not sure when that was, but not terribly recent. He's down about 20 grams from last year.

He got basic chop and quinoa with coconut oil---no spices, no seeds this morning. He ate a decent amount but he can do better. Dinner was an experiment. I got a chaoyte squash from the grocery, chopped it up and steamed most of it but kept some raw as well. He wasnt interested in the raw. He nibbled on the steamed but didnt really get excited until I sprinkled chili powder on it and added a few chip crumbles (he LOVES them) He chowed until almost all of it was gone...only found a few pieces on the floor so i gave him more. He immediately started tossing them out of his bowl. I added sprinkles and he ate more...but not as well as the first round. A lot more on the ground this time. On a whim I gave him celery....he likes it! Of course he would--it's high in sodium and has little nutritional value, why would i expect Mr. Picky would like anything healthy?
 
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coopedup

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He's a gourmet/gourmand? (and hungry). I got up late (the alarm was an ekkie sitting on my head trying to feed me through the sheet pulled over my face) Breakfast was a resounding success. 5 minutes of silence and messy beak. Gave him the super healthy "ekkie oatmeal" with a touch of red palm oil, diced cooked sweet potato and seasoned with Chinese 5 spice powder. Cinnamon, anise, fennel, ginger, clove, and licorice root. Finally found a seasoning that doesnt involve peppers!

Im also logging before and after weights so I have an idea of how much he's eating. Granted, todays meal was pretty dense but he ate 19 grams. Not sure how this translates nutrition wise and weight wise...but I figured it cant hurt. Im taking his before weight for a week to get an average since I dont weigh him at the same time each morning...sometimes he does a second poop after getting up if Im late. I felt his keel and breast and he checks out fine. It's pretty easy since he only has down there. There is no hint of bone on either side of the keel, just plump and firm, so Im probably worrying for nothing but I just want to make sure he's not undernourished. It would probably help to know what subspecies he is--but until he gets decent feathers it is impossible to know. The concensus is that he's too large to be a SI, and is most likely a Vos.
 
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coopedup

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Today for breakfast I gave him a birdie bread (Costco organic Aussie-Bites mini's) but he just doesnt get into things like that for some reason. He chose celery over everything else. After several days of basic chop/quinoa and sweet potato chunks I took Chris' suggestion for brown rice. I had a few microwave pouches of Costco organic rice w/quinoa so that was dinner for us both. I put red palm and cayenne in his, topped with some leftover granola ceral for crunch. He immediately went for my bowl, did an end around on his...until I showed him they were the same. Then he ate for 5 solid minutes---silence was golden :) Im starting to put him up in his cage more--hoping he'll eat some while he's in there, and also trying to reverse a bit on how lax we've gotten with him. He's out 99% of the time, including nights because he sleeps upstairs with us still. He's such a good bird, it's hard to confine him---especially knowing that for 5 years he never got out of his cage.
 

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