Introducing new foods to Jack

[alleng8304]

Hi everyone! I am trying to introduce as many new foods as possible to my 3yro QP. He likes banana, grapes, walnuts, mashed potato, egg and small amount of chicken only once a week. What do you think of the Lafeber line of food-Nutri-Berries Parrot food, tropical fruit mix, and veggie mix. Anyone have success with AviCakes. He will NOT eat Zupreem pellets. Thanks

 

[ChristaNL]

Nutriberries are loved by one grey, tolerated and incidentally munched by the other and the macaw won't touch them (yet).
They do not like the one with the strawhat-parrot (yellow? original?) but love the tropical.
I tried the peppery ones, but it made no difference and it is harder to get, so its mostly the purple and darkgreen here.
(Since they are colourcoded I ignore the names / sorry)

I just bought nutribird-pellets and while they love the coloured ones, they will *not* eat the beige variety (and I don't blame them: they seem to be drenched in fake-vanilla-scent that even makes me gag!).

(Zupreem, the beige pellets anyway, is terribly sweet, my CAV thought it was budget human breakfast cereal for kids at first ... and got quite worried since that was about all Sunny was fed, apart from peanuts, that I knew of)


Oh, do not introduce it to him/her, just try your hardest to keep it all for yourself and your bird will inmediately do its best to steal from you: if it is *so* special...it must taste really really good!

 

[alleng8304]

Thank you. Yesterday, I was talking to Jack (he was on top of the cage) and I was eating a donut (very healthy) and drinking coffee. He came after my donut which I did not give him. I am going to rename him "Vinny Bag of Donuts" after the movie "My Cousin Vinny"

 

[ChristaNL]

LOL


seems you've already mastered that technique!

 

[noodles123]

If you try something new, like apples, try all of the different types and then try baking them or mixing them into other dishes. My umbrella cockatoo will sometimes eat raw green apples and doesn't like the red ones, but I recently microwaved/steamed an apple (cooled before presenting it to her) and she gobbled it up! She likes green grapes but doesn't like red....threw watermelon off of her cage the first 6 times I tried and then loved it!
Of course, novelty is key and the shine does sometimes wear off, but I would say keep trying new/even disliked foods and EAT IN FRONT OF HER. If she is anything like mine, she will be more willing to eat something if she sees you eating it (or something similar). For example, if I am eating a large salad, I leave out some undressed romaine for my bird and we eat at the same time.

 

[alleng8304]

Thanks. See the donut comment above. I will try an microwave apple

 

[cnyguy]

I received a sample of AviCakes from Lafeber, and neither parrot liked them. The AviCakes are a bit sticky, and both Ralph and Scooter hate sticky food. They do like the Lafaber NutriBerries though.
With any foods Jack is unfamiliar with, don't give up if he rejects them at first-- keep trying. It took me all of eight months to get Ralph to try broccoli, and he'll usually eat it now whenever I offer it. You might have to try preparing things in different ways. Things that can be fed either raw or cooked can be offered both ways. If larger pieces of any food are rejected, try chopping it into smaller pieces.
If you can get some fresh green peas, try those. They're Ralph's favorite food.

 

[alleng8304]

good advice-thanks

 

[Laurasea]

Bell peppers, abd red chilly peppers, they love mango, plums, squash (usually liked cooked better, brussel sprouts cooked seems they like better. I also make oatmeal with pellets mixed in I also fool mine with a teaspoon of scambled eggs with warmed moist pellets mixed in. Truely I sneak pellets in everything!

 

[MonicaMc]

Here's some ideas!

http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...7-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html