Cuttlebones??

[Starlit_Night]

Last night I was setting up the cage in preperation for our new baby's arrival. (I can hardly wait!!! )

I have always given my budgies cuttlebones (which they have ignored as long as they have been in the cage - never changed them). The budgies are on a seed diet - I could never convince them to eat anything else! - The baby will of course be getting a varried diet of pellets and fresh foods.

Chewing toys and rough perches are plentiful in the cage.

Should I be putting a cuttlebone into my conure's cage too?

 

[Sammy01]

I always try and offer them a cuttlebone. I don't know why it's just something I've done with all my lovelies.

ETA: I know you didn't ask, but have you tried switching them to pellets by ratio? That's how I got my budgies to eat pellets. I believe it took me a bit over a month and in the beginning it was going to waste but in the end they started eating them. I didn't start with the "hardcore organic" pellets - rather just normal fruit zupreem.

I got them to explore fruits by first introducing dry mixes and even made chew toys with them so they could get use to the taste. Again, there was a big of waste but later on they got use to eating fresh fruit and veggies. Sometimes it helps to try and just leave fruit in little bite sizes for them to go and explore. Try eating some in front of them too and leaving what ever you were eating in their cage.

 

[crimson]

all of my birds have cuttlebone in their cages, some like to devour it, some ignore it, mostly my finches.

if they don't eat it, I get a grater and scrape it onto their seed, same with the iodine block

 

[Starlit_Night]

Thanks for the ideas! I will see if my budgies will switch over to pellets gradually. Fry is VERY stubborn and Sprite will just follow suit with whatever he says. Neither are interested in anything I am eating. If I try to put anything fresh (aka foreign) into the cage they just boycott the whole area of the cage. Sigh! I can only hope they will be interested in what the new baby is eating and will want to test it out.

 

[BoomBoom]

I think having the option is good just to give your bird something 'else' to do while in the cage. Good for mild entertainment, great for calcium and beak grooming

My bird can go months without touching his cuttlebone, then one day he'd have white beak from chewing on it all day. When he does that it reminds of a drug addict snorting questionable substances.