Help Me Transition My Birds To Real Food

bandmeeting · Jul 19, 2012

I'm tired of feeding my birds highly processed fake food consisting largely of flour (and the moths that come with it). I've already searched and see that plenty of you feed your birds real fruit and vegetables. I tried that yesterday and I'm pretty sure my Senegal and Meyer's think I'm attempting to starve them.

I have always fed them pellets and the other things they like such as apples, blueberries, cherrys. They've always had one or the other of these things and will readily eat them. Also millet and "NutriBerries".

Yesterday I put out red bell peppers, mangoes, kale, lettuce, green beans and carrots. I'm not sure that they ate ANY of this. The big winner of the day was tuna. My Senegal made a squeaking noise that she does when she is thrilled by something.

One of the other threads mentioned Totally Organics and that looks like something I'd be willing to use. Also, perhaps, a bag of seeds and nuts from the bird store? It's been a long time since I've bought one but I'm sure they'd eat it.

Sorry for all the words. Any thoughts (well, not mean ones) would be appreciated.

wenz2712 · Jul 19, 2012

Welcome to the forum

It sounds to me like you are feeding him with all the right type of Foods already! Just keep trying him with different types of Veg chopped up small... eventually he will eat it! It takes a while for them to take to new types of food!

WharfRat · Jul 19, 2012

"Bird muffins" or cornbread is another good way to supplement their diet, I put fruit, veggies, nuts, etc. in mine & ALL the birds love them. (I use organic ingredients when baking for them)

Parrotmamma · Jul 19, 2012

Birdie bread is a great way to sneak in veggies that you can't normally get them to eat. I also cook beans and brown rice for mine . Black beans are there favorites.
They also love quinoa mixed in mashed sweet potatoes. As far as seeds , mine love Higgins Mayan seed mix.

evesta · Jul 19, 2012

I think you just have to keep trying till they get use to it. My boys are suspiscious of anything new, toys, food and anything else. Once they get use to seeing it they usually check it out. I have also mixed in real foods they do like with ones they don't so they are more likely to at least touch the new food(usually to flick it out of the bowl). Also size and texture are a big deal to my birds. If the food is too big, they won't eat it and they also perfer cooked veggies to raw but they are smaller birds and it is easier for them to eat.

I like to buy frozen veggie mixes because we don't have a lot of organic food locally. At first they only liked the carrots, then the rice, then the corn, then peas. Then I got a mix that also had beans and they like those now too. I found another mix with green and red peppers. Haven't had much luck with fruits yet but they tend to be scared of red things which right now are a lot of what is in season here. Also eating what you want them to eat with them helps. Monkey see, monkey do

Good luck!

bandmeeting · Jul 19, 2012

Thanks for the replies. Keep 'em coming if you've got something to say.

I'm really busy today but will post some replies tomorrow.

Day two.

Sallie the Senegal: "What are you trying to do to me?"

DeeDee the Meyer's: "That goes double for me."

masterrez · Jul 19, 2012

Hmm well idk if this will help you or not but if I'm trying to introduce something to my gcc I make it to bite size bits first and then I try to feed her myself kinda like a treat. It took a while And sometimes she would take it, taste it in her mouth And then throw it out. But eventually she would eat it a little. Once she started eating it more and more she would actually take the piece of fruit or veggie without hesitating. At that point I would mix it in her food and then introduce something else.

Keep in mind that some parrots hate certain food and if your parrot does not like certain things don't get frustrated just try to find something equally healthy.

Another trick you could do is introduce the food with a treat so they don't get so nervous. And try to introduce one type of food at a time that way they won't get so overwhelmed.

Hope I helped

Rio Mom · Jul 19, 2012

Try eating the new food yourself in front of them. Be very enthusiastic about it making a big fuss about how good it is. It may help make them curious to try it themselves.

masterrez · Jul 19, 2012

Rio Mom said:
Try eating the new food yourself in front of them. Be very enthusiastic about it making a big fuss about how good it is. It may help make them curious to try it themselves.

Lol that actually works for me sometimes and I can never keep a straight face cuz its like tricking a baby into eating baby food haha

Alisana · Jul 19, 2012

masterrez said:
Rio Mom said:

Try eating the new food yourself in front of them. Be very enthusiastic about it making a big fuss about how good it is. It may help make them curious to try it themselves.

Click to expand...

Lol that actually works for me sometimes and I can never keep a straight face cuz its like tricking a baby into eating baby food haha

If your parrot looks up at you, be secretive. It can spike their interest even more.

Just make sure they can see how much you are enjoying it.

Works with birds AND kids! lol

Side story:

I tried it on my friend's 4 year old daughter the other day when I was eating sesame snaps. She had her own food, then looked over at what I was eating. Glanced at her, then slightly turned away. She stood up to see what I was eating.
"What is that?"
"Sesame Snaps." *munch, making an mm sound*
"It looks yummy. Can I try?"
"Oh, I don't know...."
"Please...?" *staring intently at the packet in my hand*
"Oh, OK then." Success! Another snack to add to the list!

Spiritbird · Jul 19, 2012

My bird likes the veggies cooked. She has liked it this way since she was a baby. Have you tried this? There are many spices you can use on the food also. I learned to make mashes which is really helpful.

Didomum · Jul 19, 2012

I try only one new food at a time. Gives them chance to get use to that before adding something else.

bandmeeting · Jul 20, 2012

wenz2712 said:
Welcome to the forum

It sounds to me like you are feeding him with all the right type of Foods already! Just keep trying him with different types of Veg chopped up small... eventually he will eat it! It takes a while for them to take to new types of food!

Hey, Wenz. I want to feed them food that is as unprocessed as possible. I've got the bag that I've used for, I guess, 12 years now in front of me. The first few ingredients are corn, soybeans, wheat and vegetable oil. The first three are amongst the most genetically modified crops that exist. They scarcely resemble the foods that my birds' ancestors might have eaten way, way back when. Vegetable oil doesn't even exist. At least until some crazy processing turns that vegetable into oil.

That is where I'm coming from with this. You might ask, "After 12 years, why now?"

I guess I just woke up.

I should add that I'm not trying to barge in on this forum and become some type of scold to the rest of you. I'm not trying to convert anyone, it's just me (and my little guys).

Parrotmamma · Jul 20, 2012

I agree with you totally on the GMO junk they are pushing on us. Have you tried Tops Totally Organics....there is no GMO in them. I feed them along with a good seed mix and lots of fruits and veggies.

bandmeeting · Jul 20, 2012

"Bird muffins" or cornbread is another good way to supplement their diet

I'm going to do something on this line, thanks. Probably not with corn though but I'm not going to draw a REALLY hard line on that. Just minimize corn.

Oh, yeah. I know all the tricks (look away, be enthusiastic, etc.) for getting them to eat things. This is where it is different though: putting some red/yellow bell peppers or whatever vegetable, into their bowl, leaving it and having them dig into it. That's unusual.

"Cooked veggies and one at a time." I suspect that they will be more likely to eat their vegetables cooked. I'll likely start introducing one new thing at a time if for no other reason than I'm wasting food. I've gotta say, the plate I set out for them looks fantastic. I'd eat it (and that's pretty much what I'm trying to do). Virtually untouched.

I looked at the Totally Organic when I was at my local birdy joint and it looks pretty much like real food (I'm not a shill and had never heard of the stuff until two days ago whilst searching around here) so I'm going to try that and see if I can strike a balance between what I eat and what they have been eating in the past.

Thanks all and feel free to continue the discussion if desired.

bandmeeting · Jul 20, 2012

Parrotmamma said:
I agree with you totally on the GMO junk they are pushing on us. Have you tried Tops Totally Organics....there is no GMO in them. I feed them along with a good seed mix and lots of fruits and veggies.

A question for you. One of the reasons that I was using "Brand X" is that it is pretty chunky and my guys like to hold their food in one claw and eat it. It looks as if the Totally Organic only comes in a slightly larger than sand size which will fully preclude their holding it (change that to half the size--or smaller--than a grain of rice) . I guess they'll get over that but, any thoughts?

WharfRat · Jul 20, 2012

here's a "muffin" pic, you can definitely see the fruit in them, but not the nuts (don't think I put veggies in this batch) I plan on making more today, we usually use these for their breakfast time in the AM, just easier and faster when everyone's in kinda of a hurry. Obviously they can hold chunks of it

Alisana · Jul 20, 2012

WharfRat said:
here's a "muffin" pic, you can definitely see the fruit in them, but not the nuts (don't think I put veggies in this batch) I plan on making more today, we usually use these for their breakfast time in the AM, just easier and faster when everyone's in kinda of a hurry. Obviously they can hold chunks of it

Looks great! I bet it makes your family members/friends jealous when they see you cooking for them.

I've been working over the past few months transiting my budgies from seed to pellets and fresh food. They ADORE grapes and apples, which is great. It's the veggies they don't like touching. lol But persistence pays off. I believe a success is when I can see nibbles in the bits of food.

slowly, but surely.

I'm also supplementing them with many native plants too - strangely enough, they like shredding bottlebrush flowers (I believe they have nectar in them that lorikeets like) and some mini native nuts.

Parrotmamma · Jul 20, 2012

bandmeeting said:
Parrotmamma said:

I agree with you totally on the GMO junk they are pushing on us. Have you tried Tops Totally Organics....there is no GMO in them. I feed them along with a good seed mix and lots of fruits and veggies.

Click to expand...

A question for you. One of the reasons that I was using "Brand X" is that it is pretty chunky and my guys like to hold their food in one claw and eat it. It looks as if the Totally Organic only comes in a slightly larger than sand size which will fully preclude their holding it (change that to half the size--or smaller--than a grain of rice) . I guess they'll get over that but, any thoughts?

They have crumpet size and also a size that is bigger, kinda like rabbit pellets . Mine like the bigger size cause they like to hold them with there foot like yours do.

WharfRat · Jul 20, 2012

I bet it makes your family members/friends jealous when they see you cooking for them.

LOL!! Ali, I do 98% of all the cooking in our house already (along with all the grocery shopping too

)

I actually enjoy cooking (just not the clean-up afterwards) and have alot of fun creating new dishes once in a while

All the birds go absolutely nuts when I'm in the kitchen cooking

Like last night I made a batch of spaghetti with whole grain pasta and "Texas Toast" garlic bread.......got so loud the wife couldn't hear the TV......and yes, the birds go nuts over that particular meal, they love it! Anyway, I had made the wife some oven baked parmesean chicken breasts for her lunches this week, she had to cut some up and give it to the birds to quiet them down LOL

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