My Green Cheek Conure won't eat vegetables.

[Socosmias]

Hi, everyone!

I'm fairly new to this site/forum, and I am also a novice Green Cheek owner. I purchased my Cinnamon Turquoise Green Cheek (Beep-Beep) from Petco this year in April. Her birthday is January 13, 2016, so she's going to be coming up on a year pretty soon. She is absolutely my EVERYTHING. I've never felt such love for an animal, she literally lights up my entire world. I would give 30 years of my life so she can live a full life span.

Currently she is on a pellet diet. Petco was feeding her a seed diet, and when I took her to the vet, they had told me how detrimental is could be on her health. So I began researching, and bought ZuPreem at the time. As I dug further in about her food, I discovered that ZuPreem doesn't have all the benefits and nutrients as they advertise. So I just ordered her Harrison's Bird Food. My biggest concern is the way she eats her vegetables. I have tried pretty much every vegetable there is with her, and she has chosen broccoli and green beans. The only issue is, I noticed that she just chews on it for the water/juices in the veggie, and shakes it out of her mouth. She can be so unhealthy! She steals my human food, which contains too much salt and sugar for her little bird body. She LOVES fruits, but vegetables are a bit of a hassle for her to eat. I don't like feeding her too much nuts because I'm so scared of her getting a blood clot. I know how fattening it can be for her.

Has anyone else had trouble feeding vegetables to their Conures? What's the best way to get through to her? I sometimes pretend that I'm eating the vegetables, and it'll work for a few minutes, until she figures out what it is. I am just too paranoid about her health. I can't even leave her alone at home. I even take her to college with me, lol.

Thank you so much!
Sophie & Beep-Beep

 

[GaleriaGila]

My experiences...
I love Harrison's, supplemented by fresh healthy treats. My first, and later, my current avian vet recommended it. 30-ish years ago, Harrison's was still a small company. My vet was actually able to talk to Dr. Harrison about my bird's species and status, and they decided on the High Potency. My bird loves the pellets now, but to get him converted, my avian vet suggested putting pellets out all day, and putting seeds (his old diet) out for two 15-minute periods a day. That would sustain him but leave him hungry. He was eating pellets in a couple of days, and now I can feed a good variety of other stuff, knowing he has the pellets as a basic.
I imagine that a similar tactic might get your bird eating a bigger variety. Put the pellets in for several periods a day, sustaining him, and keep the fresh stuff out a lot so that he gets bored/curious/hungry?
Good for you for researching and reaching out!

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

Have you tried corn niblets? or sweet peas? I know that with my African grey,she was picky with her veggies,but corn nibs and peas,she ate with gusto. And with corn, you can cook an ear,and slice off a hunk of the...whatever you wanna call it,with the nibs still intact,and your Beep Beep can chew on that after the corn has been eaten.
I find that BB, my very picky cockatiel,favors broccoli also.



Jim

 

[QuietSloths]

Mine used to hate vegetables but I found a way that he will it . I blend cooked kale and uncooked kale, apple, cooked carrots, cooked brown rice, sweet potato, little bit of pumpkin (cooked) green peas and little bit of all natural 100% apple juice ( for flavor)
I freeze it and i add some water to it because my bird will throw it if it is thick and my bird is the same way, I give him an apple and he just sucks the juice out.

 

[Socosmias]

Thank you all for your replies! I will definitely try everything you have said. She just has that bad habit of ripping the peas apart, and sucking the juice out of it. I'm just so paranoid that one day, she's going to die, and it's because the lack of vitamins and minerals. :40: (Lol, these smilies are so fun to use).

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

This is one of those things where its trial and error.

I feed Skittles the Harrisons HP Fine (I can't say enough good things about their pellets). They literally saved Peaches life ten years ago.

Anyways, my vet tells me that I should focus his 'human foods' on the meaty orange and the dark green fruits and vegetables. She mentioned star fruit, papaya and mango for fruits and she mentioned spinach, kale, squash, broccoli, sweet potatoes and carrots.

Problem is, the only fruits he will eat are grapes, apples and strawberries. As for vegetables, the only ones he'll eat are broccoli and sweet potatoes. So I give him the fruits as treats and I give him the vegetables as supplement to his regular pellet since they are better for him than the fruits he likes.

Point is, you'll want to look at the 'safe' fruits and vegetables to give your fid and give him/her different ones to see which ones they respond too and then build on that.

One vegetable you MUST avoid is avacado and anything containing it, its dangerous and even fatal for parrots. Another vegetable to avoid is onions.

Also, if you feed your fid Harrisons, you really don't "need" to give him/her any additional fruits/veggies- but you can for variety and for treats- but the Harrisons alone provides all their dietary needs. As for the health, a regular annual check-up with an avian vet will go a long way to helping your fid live a long healthy life. They can also tell you what your fid is lacking and what changes you should make.

 

[Grenage]

I don't know if it's necessarily a problem if a parrot doesn't eat vegetables - I have no idea if they would touch such things in the wild.

I tend to give me GCC 2 teaspoons of Harrisons pellets, and one teaspoon of seed mix each day. He also gets a bowl of chopped vegetables; winner in the vegetable department are baby sweetcorn, carrot, green beans broccoli, and chillies. Carrots are king.

He gets fruit as and when I'm eating it, and I cut some up on the side.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Usually, in the wild they eat fruits, nuts and berries. Not sure they even eat veggies in the wild. Truthfully, if a parrot is well cared for, they get better nutrients in captivity then they do in the wild, IMO.

It's not so much how much veggies they eat- but rather what kind. The point is, the most important thing is to make sure they are getting enough Vitamin A. Vitamin A is to parrots what Vitamin C is to us. It's essential for a strong immune system and proper health.

 

[itchyfeet]

My very fussy old wee 'tiel, Ethyl, didn't eat vege's until I had Henry. And then, only if I made her a super fine 'chop' and mixed in her usual seed mix. She got a taste of them when going for the seed, and now I can make a bulky chop without seed and she is happy as

 

[Aidualc]

Ah the pesky kids and their vegetables! I am not sure if I'm going to cause an uproar, but I have found that by switching to frozen vegetables all my birds have started actually eating them. I guess it's due to the moisture but the good thing is that technically frozen veg can actually be healthier than fresh produce from the supermarket as it is snap frozen just after harvesting. For a long time I had issues as well and tried loads of different types of fresh vegetables and they would snub it all. I get mixed vegetable bags from the supermarket and mix it up so they get different blends. I have recently started trying to mix in some sprout recipes I found here.. Still quite sure if they are eating them tho 😉. But yeah.. Frozen veg works for us 😊