I caved...just how bad are sunflower seeds?

[Abigal7]

I had one in his cage for a few weeks. He never touched it...or at least it looked like he never touched it. I gave it to the Severe Macaw to start him on foraging and he finally got a nut out yesterday. I can try something again. I have something that might work. If it doesn't work it will let me know that he is truly a lazy bird.

What's your plan?

I have this flat piece of wood with holes drilled part way through the wood. You are supposed to put some type of spread (I'm using organic peanut butter) in each of the holes then the bird has to spend some time getting the spread out. I will put the sun flower seeds in the hole and then the peanut butter over it. He will have to work to get to the seeds but he should like the work. My Severe loved it and worked on it for two days. Licked the board clean.

Then after I get him hooked on the peanut butter I will start mixing it with other veggies. Then I will cut down on the sun flower seeds.

That is my plan unless someone else has a better one.

I have no doubt you will in the end win in getting your Amazon to lay off the sunflower seeds and eat more variety. There are seed mixes without sunflower seeds, mix blends (such as the blends mysafebirdstore sells), natural nuts, nutriberries, and avicakes. I would be shocked if your bird would turn up such things. I mixed veggies with other stuff but never peanut butter. I hand a green cheek conure that acted like a seed junky and would not eat her pellets. I knew she liked apples. For a little while I flavored her pellets with non sugar added apple juice. After awhile she was eating the pellets regularly. Sometimes eating something infront of a bird will tempt the bird to try it.

 

[Dopey]

Speaking of occasional foods, does anyone give Cheerios as a treat? It's one of the better commercially made dry cereals, relatively low in sugar. Cheerios now are non GMO, at least the product produced in the US. They are very "beak friendly" for most any bird!!

I have never thought of Cherrios as a treat. I will have to buy a small box and check it out.

 

[Dopey]

I have no doubt you will in the end win in getting your Amazon to lay off the sunflower seeds and eat more variety. There are seed mixes without sunflower seeds, mix blends (such as the blends mysafebirdstore sells), natural nuts, nutriberries, and avicakes. I would be shocked if your bird would turn up such things. I mixed veggies with other stuff but never peanut butter. I hand a green cheek conure that acted like a seed junky and would not eat her pellets. I knew she liked apples. For a little while I flavored her pellets with non sugar added apple juice. After awhile she was eating the pellets regularly. Sometimes eating something infront of a bird will tempt the bird to try it.

I have several bags of bird seed without sun flower seeds. He eats those but still screams for sun flower seeds. It's the screaming that gets me. I don't for one minute think he is hungry.

 

[Dopey]

Update - I put the wood with the holes in it with cashew spread and sunflower seeds in it. As of this morning he still was not touching it. It is right next to one of his food bowls. (This is the White Front Amazon.)

For the record...the other Amazon isn't working on his wood treat with pine nuts either. He did however try tasting the cashew spread.

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

Not sure why but Zilla doesn't like peanut butter, cashew butter, almond butter, apparently no nut butters for this picky Zon! She will eat all of them and is in love with almonds and cashews if I give them to her either whole or in pieces, but not if they are in a spread or butter form.

 

[Dopey]

I haven't tried the cashew butter with the Severe yet. It's crazy what birds will and won't eat. Jingle wasn't crazy about the yellow pepper I gave him yesterday. He did eat the piece that I help for him.