Green Cheek Conour

Hello I am new to the site. Lots of useful info. I have a 6 week old hand fed green cheek He is a joy. after reading other posts now i am worried but so far have had no problems. Just wondering, i have a great advisor at a major bird store who said to give Sam the millet on the floor and seed they hand make. He seems to be eating the fruit and seed and millet and less at hand feeding. Wondering if i should have a vets advice before contining. I see no health issues in him. Thanks for any advice.

Welcome to the forums,

I'm not sure if I was clear on his food. Millet is a great treat, but it shouldn't be a major part of their diet - its all fat with no other nutrients. The same is true of most seeds so I'd be careful with their hand-made seed food, what's in it?

Unless you are going to do a bit of research into all their needs to make a balanced diet at home your best bet is to get a formulated pelleted food from a reputable company which can be supplemented with some fresh fruits and veggies.

I am hand feeding him and using the millet and the seed mixture is from Strickly Feathers been in busness for about 30 years and has many beautiful birds. They make the seed mixture with seeds, fruit, pellets. I was not sure because he is eating less hand feeding as he is learning to eat more in his cage. I am also starting him with other fruits and vegetables on a small scale. Was worried he may not get enough vitiamins by taking less hand feeding. Thanks for any suggestions.

I second the quote above. We feed our green cheek conure (1 year old) Harrison's, and started with the High Potency formula. It's a bit pricier than some pellets, but worth it. We also feed him lots of vegetables and fruit (excluding the ones he is not supposed to have). Seed is only a treat....we've trained him to spin, wave, shake, etc. by using seed as a reward.

Yep, seeds and millet are birdie "junk foods" feeding only these would be a human equivalent of feeding children nothing but McDonald's food everyday, every meal. That being said, just like at McDonald's, there are some healthier seeds for birds - Safflower and Flax seeds come to mind instantly without any other research (I'm feeling lazy and don't want to open another tab and google anything right now ... ) These seeds are lower in the "bad fats" and have a lower caloric value, but again these should just be supplements to a healthy diet of fruits and veggies (stay away from the normal "offenders" when it comes to bad veggies ... if unsure which these are please ask) and a good pellet based diet (I am personally in favor of Zupreem and Harrisons, but that's just my opinion as formed by my avian vet ... ). Green leafy veggies (Collard Greens, Mustard Greens, Kale ... avoid spinich) high in beta carotine will make for magnificent adult colors (it makes a hugh difference, their colors just *POP* if they've been feed a proper diet)

Helpful hint to all - My wife and I have started buying premixed "stir-fry" veggies for like $2.99 a bag (find them in the pre-bagged salad sections of your grocery/market) the bag usually contains brocolli (precut) carrots (precut) and snap peas. I then grab a few loose string beans and some sort of "leafy" veggie mention above ... my girls get fresh veggies all week long and it only cost me like $4 a week, and takes me like 10 minutes to chop everything when we get home from the grocery ... those supplement a pellet based diet and we have no stress bars, and no other heath issues (according to our vet) ... it is neither costly nor time consuming to make sure that our birds get a healthy diet ...

As for fruits ... they eat what we eat... peaches, plums, bananas, oranges we will either cut some up for them, or if wer forget, they will come over and help themselves to what we are eating ..

Again, it's easy ... and you will have healthier, happier parrots in the long run ...

Update Thanks for your advice am now on pellets and seeds and millet as a treat. Am doing well on veggies and fruits. Also have tried making some of the recipes on this site. Some they won't touch and others they liked. So I thank you all for advice. They both are doing very well.