Getting him to eat fruits, he is scared of them!

[izmail1215]

Hello, sorry I ask a lot of questions but my YNA (sam) he is just 1 and a half years old. He is target trained and can do a few tricks answers questions and loves head scracthes and fly around the house. he eats zupreem pellets(main food) lettice and celery sometimes a little pasta and once a pair.Sam wont eat apples he is very scared of them and backs up also grapes. I had him targeted to an apple and he touched it, licked it but only for the treat. I had put 80% chopped apples (no seeds of course) and 20% zumreem, he had just ate around the apples. He wont eat any fruits like grapes oranges apples ect. If I put them in his cage he ingors them and it just spoils! he is very young and I intend to keep him forever and never gve him or sell him but I would like to eat furits so in the future it wont be a issue. thanks you for reading and helping!

 

[Rio Mom]

Try eating fruit in front of him. If he sees you enjoying it, it may make him curious to want some too.

 

[izmail1215]

Alright, but he can careless what I eat.... unless its his fav treat like penut or sunflowers lol.

 

[suebee]

lol keep them treats outta sight!! but continue to eat in front of him!

 

[Pedro]

Try cutting up a fruit & veggie salad for him. If you do it everyday he will get that this is good healthy food to eat. here is a pic of what i feed my parrots. You have to remember to give a variety of foods so they don't get bored with the same day in day out.

 

[henpecked]

Boy that sure is some good looking stuff !! I can't give mine that many choices LOL

 

[stephend]

I think Bob would see that as a large bowl of projectiles.

 

[parrottoys]

May I offer a suggestion regarding fruit. The first thing to be concerned about in a parrot's diet is organic sprouted grains that have been cooked and dark leafy greens along with other veggies. Fruit is a not a necessity. It does not have much in the way of nutrition. It can be a wonderful adjunct to a healthy diet, but there are many more important things. A parrot on primarily pellets does not the nutrition that is available in living food. The way I get mine to eat what I want them to eat is to give them exactly what I want them to eat and nothing else. When they eat their nutrient dense breakfast THEN... and only then do they get their fruit or corn or whatever it is that I have for them. That bowl of food pictured above is really too much food for one medium sized bird. Too much opportunity to pick and choose, too much corn. Corn is full of sugar (corn syrup) and is best as a treat rather than a standard mealtime offer. About offering new things. If they don't like it cut up, try the whole item, like a head of broccoli, or mince it, or cook it if it's raw, or give it raw if it's been cooked in the past. It's a numbers game. If you try it enough ways one will work. You can also try my recipe for birdie bread made with buckwheat pancake mix and the one for broccoli pancakes. My birds will not eat broccoli any other way. Just some thoughts on food. You might also want to join Feeding Feathers, a Yahoo group. Fabulous information there.

 

[Pedro]

We all have our own way of doing things. I also might add that my Avian Vet recommended the diet i feed my birds. That bowl of food is only a small noodle size bowl & is what my parrots get daily. There isn't much fruit in it at all, it mainly consists of sprouted seed mix along with vegetables & apple, grapes & orange. And what's more a pair of eclectus or Amazons will eat every morsel in that dish. Actually that dish was made up for 4 young weaning eclectus babies. It was also just a sample to show the OP what can be done to encourage a parrot to eat a varied diet.

I favour a raw diet for my birds & they also get dried seed, very few pellets, The reason for a varied diet is to get your birds used to all healthy food & not pick & choose. Even my budgies will eat that. What's more i think people will use their own commonsense with regards to the amount of food they give their birds. You must also take into consideration is that most of my parrots are breeding birds & must be fed correctly.

 

[Pedro]

This link will also explain the food requirements to keep all our parrots happy & healthy.

Bird Nutrition: Feeding Pet Birds, Parrot Diets, and Nutrition Recommendations