New Jandey Conure. Newbie questions...

[Bullvyde603]

Hi everyone my names Walter and me and the family have adopted a one and a half year old Jandey Conure his name is Charlie. I just had a few questions the original owners they decided to let charlie go because he does not like other birds he wants to be the center of attention. He or she is very sweet loves my wife to death. Loves to be held. He is friendly we are very happy to have him he is a great addition to the family but the problem is is that he does not like baths at all spray mist he also runs away from. And he will not go near fresh fruit or veggies or pellet food by itsself he just wants dried fruit and seed pellet mixture. The original owner said he likes carrots and lettuce but he wont go near them he also said he gave him animal crackers and pretzel thins. But im not sure if that is a good idea i want him to be healthy. Im thinking of maybe using the animal crackers or pretzel thins to train him he needs training. I just want to know how to get him to eat fresh fruit and veggies and take a bath..

 

[takito]

Hello and welcome,
My conrues are a different type, but on the baths, none of them really like it if I spray them, or get
them wet, forcefully. How ever usually in the mornings, they will bathe on their own, and quite eagerly if and when they want to, not when I try to make them take a bath, so I don't even try, I just make sure the have a medium sized , not very deep bowl with water, that they can easily climb in and out of.
On some occasions, when I splashed a little water on one, it had triggered him to start dipping his head in, and then finally just climbing into the bowl,splashing around, going in and out of the bowl, when one starts, the others all ways follow,.. since I have 4 , sometimes I need to add more water. When they are done, I change the water, put fresh water in the bowl because they also use the same to drink on occasion, even though they do have other water containers that are to small
to bathe, and intended for drinking.
Usually though for drinking, they prefer the container that are up higher, close to their perches.
The water for bathing is down at the bottom,and usually that is what they use it for. I any event
I make sure it is clean, and check it various times daily.
I never try to force them to take a bath, I wouldn't/don't like that myself, if and when somebody says I have to take a bath, and right now,.... when I was a kid this was all ways a issue , not that I never take a bath, but I like to do that when I feel like it, not when somebody says I have to.
You might find that if you have the bird with you, and you are washing your face, hands,... let the bird be on a towel, with a bowl they can bathe in, maybe splash a little water on him, and then splash some water on your face, etc. It might kind of "inspire" him to do the same, in his bowl ,...
The water should not be cold, nor hot, mine seem to like room temperature best, of course
for us "room temperature", in warm weather is really warm, obviously in a air-conditioned , environment room temperature might be kind of cold.
Other then apples, mine are not really very fond of fresh fruit, they love apples, so I not only give them some pieces of apple almost daily, but use that as a treat as well. I am not sure about pretzles nor animal crackers, we don't have those here.
Corn tortillas, are a good treat, at least mine like pieces of soft tortilla, they like broccoli and peas, but not very much (I mean amount), that is to say, at first they are very eager, and seem to
like it, but never eat very much. So I just give them small amounts,...
Lettuce, mine like, but it is not all ways available, what all my parrots seem to really love is fresh green grass, and clover, I am not sure what kind of grass it is, we have t 2 major types,..also they
like other legumes, like alfalfa, they love pieces of palm leaves, and also the leaves and branches from the mesquite trees, We don't have pellets available here , so I don't know on that.
Oddly enough, one time when I went to the US, I did bring back a large bag of a mix that I bought at a pet store, supposedly for conrues, it was a mix of seeds and dried fruits, and stuff,..
Hah, what a joke, mine did not really like most of it, they picked out the sunflower seeds and peanuts, but most of the rest they would not eat either.
I am not any nutrition expert or anything, so maybe someone else will have some other ideas , better on that. You really can not force them to eat anything they don't want to eat though.
If he is happy with a dried fruit and seed pellet mixture, it should be enough, and then maybe sometimes it will like a piece of carrot or lettuce, occasionally, for a change.
They do seem to get bored, just like we do, with the same old thing every day,... "Oh no, not this again",..

 

[itzjbean]

Hello, what a beautiful Jenday! I used to own one a long time ago when I was a teen and he was the BEST!

As for food, he may not like the food you offer because it may be in too big of pieces. Try chopping different veggies, fruits in the food processor and offer them to him that way. You can also incorporate cooked legumes and grains! Check out my thread of my latest batches of bird CHOP I made for my cockatiels!

The CHOP Chronicles!

 

[Scott]

Welcome to the forums, Walter and Charlie! Beautiful bird in pristine feather!!

There are many techniques to improve diet. Birds have very well developed preferences, but are not beyond persuasion! I'll post some helpful links, but one technique is to rely on their "flock eating" instincts. You are a member of Charlie's "flock" and eating from your own dish of veggies/fruits may encourage him to eat his.

There are worse treats than animal crackers and pretzels, but give them very sparingly as they contain sugar and especially salt with the latter.

http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...7-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...afe-fresh-foods-toxic-food-lists-sprouts.html

 

[Bullvyde603]

I really appreciate everyones information Thank you. We have had him for two weeks now im sure he is still getting use to his surroundings. I have been doing alot if reading for awhile now. Figured first hand advice is way better.

 

[Jen5200]

Welcome Walter and Charlie!

I can sympathize about the diet, and I'll share what I've been doing with my 6 and 2 year old conures. Mine came to me on a seed diet and I have been slowly converting them to fruit, veg and grains (with pellets on the side). The pellet conversion went relatively smoothly but fresh foods have been more of a challenge. I've tried lots of different things - cooked, raw, big pieces, little pieces, tiny pieces, blended..... sigh. Persistance does work, mine eventually try things and decide that they like them. Sometimes I let them sit on my shoulder while I eat something that I want them to try - I make it very obvious how much I'm enjoying my little nibbles of the food. Curiosity inevitably takes over and when they REALLY want a piece, I eventually "give in" and let them taste what I'm eating. It often becomes their next favorite food lol . It's been about 8 months now, and their diet is now about 75% grains/fresh stuff and 25% pellets. Seeds are now their treat. We're still working on expanding the variety of fresh stuff - mine have this thing about not wanting to eat anything green, and I find myself cleaning most of it off the walls, floor, table, etc

Mine also hate being sprayed with water, so I have tried a variety of different containers to try to make bathing fun. They seem to prefer bathing in their water bowl, so I put an extra water bowl in their cage and now they use that for bathing.