what snacks do you feed your conure?

[Sarvesh]

just wondering because my conure doensn't seem to want to eat anything besides his goldenfeast natural conure blend :/ i heard birds love millet, but he doesnt seem interested in eating it when i hold it in front of him...should i leave it in his cage for him to discover on his own?

any other snacks you can recommend? preferblay stuff thats bought as whole fresh food like brocolli or something packaged like millet? (He wont eat brocolli or carrots or apple either :/) im a terrible cook and i dont even cook for myself D: but i do make sure that the food i feed my birds is all natural.

i wanna try to teach him to do things like flying to me on command, but idk how to reward him and i think he is getting tired of headscratches lol. food is the best reward, so what snacks ya recommend?

btw I LOVE IT when conures eat something big like a seed or nut and they hold it with one foot and eat it with their mouth like people LOLOL

 

[Dinosrawr]

Have you ever tried making a chop and mixing his conure blend with it? It doesn't require cooking per se, but it does require preparation. It would help give some better nutrition.

Have you ever given him a small piece of pine nut, almond, or sunflower seed to see if he would like those as specific rewards? If you're giving him the GF blend, stay away from anything that he already receives in the blend. Otherwise it won't be a novelty food or reward that he'll look forward to receiving. Personally I don't like blends with sunflower in them because of their fat content and the fact that they tend to be a favourite and hence picked out before filling up on anything that's nutritionally better.

Training wise, you won't want a big piece of anything, despite how ridiculously adorable it is (did you know that approximately 90-95% of birds are "left handed"? Fun fact!). Mainly because it decreases desire and training time.

My birds only ever receive small pieces of almond or sunflower seeds during training. They'll do ANYTHING for it. And it's because they like it and rarely receive it that they'll listen and do tricks. Another common treat is bites of grape - cut the grape in half, queue a trick, then let the bird have a small bite of grape. It's messy, but it works. Banana is also another good one. Personally I don't make my birds work for fresh foods because it's just something they're given, instead I make them work for things that are a bit fatty and they shouldn't receive in high quantity anyways.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

@Dinosrawr I never knew that about the left-handed thing. I don't think I've ever seen Skittles hold food or a treat in his left foot. It's always his right. In fact I just sorted through all the pics I have of him eating and in every one he has the food in his right foot. He also steps up with his right foot too. So I guess the left foot is for balance. It would seem to make sense if you are standing on one foot, you'd stand with the strongest one. I'm right handed and I can stand longer on my right foot than my left.

@Conurepower Anyways, for treats - that's really more an individual bird thing. Process of elimination works best. Offer your conure a variety of treats - fruits, vegges (AVOID avacado and anything containing it!)

Observe which ones he goes for more. Same goes with nuts (make sure they are unsalted) Also, I'd go with organic nuts (if you can get them) - try peanuts. Skittles goes nuts for those (pun intended) but quite a few people on this forum feed theirs almonds and pine nuts too. I've never tried those with Skittles cause I hate almonds. LOL.

I find Skittles likes things that are bitter or tart. IE, he loves apples, grapes, strawberries, broccoli. He also likes canteloupe and other 'sweet' fruit. He loves pasta and bread but I REALLY try to limit the latter two.

 

[Dinosrawr]

I know right? It's a super random fact. It varies from species to species, but overall in the studies they've conducted approximately 90% are left handed! Sulphur crested cockatoos are one of the species that are hugely left handed, with only a few being right handed. Both of my birds are left handed too, hahaha. They will hardly ever use their right foot to hold anything, and often use their left foot to step up first as well. Random facts about parrots are fun

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Then I guess that means Skittles is definitely right-footed. Everything yours do with their left foot Skittles does with his right. I hadn't even thought about that until you mentioned it and looking at all the pics and observing him he uses his right foot for 'tasks'. I just assumed it was 'random' like they're ambidextrous but looking at it now, that's not the case.

 

[LeaKP]

Now I tried to find out if Peep was right or left footed/handed and he keeps alternating feet. Of course he would.

 

[Dinosrawr]

Hahaha! Looks like Peep is one of the few ambidextrous parrots out there

 

[Sarvesh]

Hey i agree with the blend thing...im gonna try to give him harrisons pellets agian, i gave him zupreem before and he didnt accept them, but i tried my harrisons super fine that i bought for my parakeet and he actually ate that!! maybe i will make his daily staple boring with harrison, then when he's with me i can give him sun flower seeds for trianing

as far as non training snacks, what snacks can i give him so i can watch him stand on one foot and hold it? that is the coolest thing in the world tbh.

 

[Dinosrawr]

Hahaha! Anything as big as the tip of your pinky will be more than big enough to bring out the adorable foot handling they do. Even a whole sunflower seed. If they can't eat it in one bite, they generally hold it until it's all gone

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

I was lucky in that both Peaches and Skittles took right to the Harrisons.

I wish I had thought of the super fine back when I had my parakeets. I kept trying to get them to eat the ones I give Skittles & Peaches (HP Fine) when they should have had the superfine. Hence, why they didn't eat it.

I thought it was just me who loved to watch them eat with their feet. I remember the first time I saw Peaches do that and I flipped.

I give Skittles a whole grape (peeled) or a slice of apple and he will hold it and eat it. If he happens to drop it, he usually flies over to my shoulder and 'shakes' my tshirt.

 

[EdgesofTwilight]

Now that I read this, I did notice Cosmo eats with his left foot as well. Lol He loves almonds as a treat, but his favorite seems to be pistachios. We call it birdy crack because he'll do anything for it and goes nuts, pun intended, while eating it.

 

[Mimsy01]

Foo didn't like anything but seed when I got her, so I understand.

I just kept offering and eventually she ate it. I think having her eat dinner with us helped a lot, she really wants to try anything we have.

Foo eats everything we do except onions, avocados and coffee.

We keep a lot of fruits around, so if anyone has some they take a little off and hand it to Foo. I make some sort of salad every day and I just make a small one for Foo without the onions, avocado and dressing. If I cook up pasta I take a couple pieces out before adding any sauces (sometimes she gets sauce if it's one that is safe, but thats not too often cause I have thing for onions and garlic) and give them to Foo plain. If we make hot cereal (I use like bob's red mill 5 grain, oatmeal or something like it) we give her a teaspoon with some cinnamon and soy milk. (just like I make my own)

I keep a little glass covered bowl of sprouts on hand all the time as well for us, the birds and the rats.

Basically all my animals eat the same things as us (as well as their own pellet or food to cover any bases I might of missed and to snack on), with a little modification as I mentioned above based on their species.

By eating with us she learned the word yum, so now if I'm giving something she hasn't had before and I say yum she will give it a try.

 

[Xraysrrad]

I fry an egg for Bodhi several times a week. (picky little devil won't eat scrambled)

He goes crazy for it and its an excellent source of protein.

Keep re-offering fruits and veggies. I had to make multiple attempts to get him to try them.

 

[Sarvesh]

Which food will my conure hold and eat that takes a long time to eat so I can watch him hold it for a while? I got him to hold and eat sunflower seeds but he only holds it for 2 seconds then bites it open and grabs the seed :/ would almonds be better for this?

 

[Notdumasilook]

I have yet to have a bird that doesnt enjoy scrambled eggs. I wouldnt worry too much about the millet. It offers little in nutrition... its more like birdy popcorn. And as said before.. peanuts, as well as walnuts, pecan, pine nuts. Keep in mind this is a young bird and he needs to learn about foods.. just like he would in the wild from "mama bird". Once you get them taking different little snacks you can experiment.. sweet potatos, fresh peppers, well cooked hamburger, pork, and chicken are good too. They love a lil meat protein in their diets. Apples, grapes, melons, mango, strawberrys, cauliflower, carrots, brocolli, etc.. the list can get endless once you get them taking fresh foods. Of course they will have likes and dislikes. My Amazon will ONLY eat "granny smith" apples. Any other I have ever offered ends up tossed to the cage floor. And a note on that.. dont let fresh discarded food sit at the bottom of the cage. It can make them sick if/when it goes bad.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

My Gilbert is kind of a little glutton. He will eat almost anything, healthy or not (so I try to hide unhealthy things from him because if I have it, he thinks WE have it.) But he loves a piece of almond or a piece of cornbread and he absolutely goes bananas for dried fruit. There is so much sugar in it so when I give him a dried fruit treat I break a tiny nibble off at a time. Craisins (the no sugar added ones) are a hit.


How about something like Nutriberries or Avicakes? My bird loves Nutriberries and my vet says as long as I only give one as a treat from time to time, it's perfectly fine.

 

[Sarvesh]

My Gilbert is kind of a little glutton. He will eat almost anything, healthy or not (so I try to hide unhealthy things from him because if I have it, he thinks WE have it.) But he loves a piece of almond or a piece of cornbread and he absolutely goes bananas for dried fruit. There is so much sugar in it so when I give him a dried fruit treat I break a tiny nibble off at a time. Craisins (the no sugar added ones) are a hit.


How about something like Nutriberries or Avicakes? My bird loves Nutriberries and my vet says as long as I only give one as a treat from time to time, it's perfectly fine.

thanks ill give nutriberries a try that looks like something that will take a while to finish and he can hold it for a while and i can video record it and gasp in awe

 

[Notdumasilook]

Both of my birds loving crunching up nutriberries ... they dont eat them, but they do enjoy tearing them up.. kind ended up being expensive chew toys )

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Both of my birds loving crunching up nutriberries ... they dont eat them, but they do enjoy tearing them up.. kind ended up being expensive chew toys )

Yeah, I find Skittles doing that often with his pellets. He will just randomly toss them onto the floor like he is laying a new carpet. Or laying a trail.

They choose their chew toys. Skittles has quite a few of them, but his favorite things to chew on are my tshirts and my zippers. The latter is a no-no though.

 

[Notdumasilook]

Hah no kidding... buttons, zippers, lampshades, baseball caps, wifes purse, TV remotes.. I give both birds plenty stuff to chew on.. but they seem to pick the stuff ya dont want em to chew. Just like a kid huh.