Cooked Foods?

[GoffinMama]

Hi, I was wondering if there is food you can cook every day for a Goffin Cockatoo? Zephyr refuses to eat any form of bird food but chows scrambled eggs and almonds like there's no tomorrow. I only give him scrambled eggs twice a week but I don't think he's eating anything else. Any ideas for what I can do? Thank you.

 

[tab_xo]

You can cook veges!

Make a big mash for him

You can cook pumpkin, zuchini, sweet potato, carrot, capsicum, finely chop some brocolli, and other leafy greens!

Cook it all up, then mash it up and see if he likes it!

You can add his scrambled eggs, considering he loves it, so might get him wanting to try it..


Fargo gets this mash every single day,, it is the easiest way to make sure he is getting every piece of vegetable, and he never drops any piece..


Some people won't like this but i also put in the TINIEST bit of cheese and just gives it a yummier taste that Fargo just bites down haha





If he doesn't like that, then you can try precooked bird mixes

Have you heard of them?

They come in a packet, and you just put however much you want, in a saucepan to boil for 5 minutes.. and thats it!

and it smells great, you can get different mixes.. The one i get Fargo has-

Herbs, spices, carrot, beans, peas, corn, rice, grains, and other little pieces of veges !



So they are all very small pieces, which makes it less wasteful again

You could also try adding egg to that and see how you go!

 

[tab_xo]

You can try any of these:
Cookable Food for Birds - DISCOUNTED & HEALTHY!

I use these:
https://www.birdzone.com.au/shop/index.php?act=viewCat&catId=32


America has a much wider range to try.. But i assume they would be similar to the ones we have in Australia..


I just know Fargo loves the taste of those cooked foods, he makes his happy sounds when he eats it hahaha




Have a little read of this thread started by one of our members, it has great advice and ideas
http://www.parrotforums.com/general-health-care/23367-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html

 

[GoffinMama]

Thank you! That helps a lot. I'll see if he'll like it. I'll let you know how it goes!

 

[MikeyTN]

You can search within the forum to find bunch of helpful hints! Here's one specific link for you to visit! ---->http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-food-recipes-diet/24213-bird-safe-fresh-foods-toxic-food-lists-sprouts.html

 

[jenphilly]

We have a bare eyed that is a picky eater. We have tried all types of cooked foods and birdie breads. You will just need to keep trying things until you find something that Zephyr likes. Since you know almonds is a favorite, grind them up and add them to any bread, mix or mash you make, start with larger chunks and slowly make them smaller and smaller.

We also have the challenge of Ivory not eating pellets, so I use a coffee grinder to make the pellets into almost a dust, then I add it to everything, she eats what she should without knowing it. A cornbread based birdie bread is usually successful. Try adding cooked beans or lintels, quinoa, favorite nuts, puree fruits and veggies.

We have probably 4 types of birdie bread in the freezer, all with quinoa and veggies mixed into them. We just rotate them so they get a variety, but still the essentials they need. Another food we found to be a big hit, either chinese rice noodles or bean sprout noodles.

My daughter came up with a mix / chop salad that just about every bird in the house eats, the part that is amazing, it has fresh beets and they all seem to love it! If you look up posts by riddick07, you will find her posts with the recipe and photos of the mix. Was not a cheap mix, but it made up enough to easily feed our menagerie of birds for quite a while.

While he should not have eggs everyday, if you use the scrambled eggs mixed in to introduce new foods, use the eggs. You can just back out how much egg you add in, but getting him to eat new things is more important right now then him having eggs a little too often for a week or two.... least that's my personal opinion, I know what you're dealing with!

A separate suggestion, once you have him eating foods, keep the almonds out of the food bowl. Use them only for treats and training. Ivory's favorite is pistachios and she'll just about stand on her head for one. So now we use them just for treats or teaching her something new, she still gets quite a few everyday and she has learned to 'break' into the pistachio container and steal one.... and we let her, if she can plan out the caper, least it keeps her busy!!! She was a forage challenged bird, so we're happy to see her track down the container and get it open

Good luck!

 

[GoffinMama]

Thank you for the great suggestions. I will try a few of them out today and see how he reacts. So far he hates the color green but I'll keep trying.

 

[jenphilly]

It must be a cockatoo fear... Ivory screams like greens are going to eat her!! I tried all different types and put them thru the bars and such as people suggesting, she literally would scream when she got near them Guess she saw the old swamp monster movie or something!!! But the chopped stuff colored reddish from the beets was not a problem and it had some of the greens chopped up in it, go figure... talk about bird brains

 

[Allee]

Zephyr should like something from all the great suggestions mentioned above. I use Bird Street Bistro meals. They are premixed and filled with nutritious, organic ingredients. I order sample packs, that way they have variety. I add a cup of one of the mixes to all my birdie bread. My U2 went on a short hunger strike when he first got here but he didn't hold out very long. He wouldn't touch pellets for a couple of weeks either, but he likes the large veggie pellets soaked in water or organic apple juice until they are softened. He likes dry veggie pasta, sliced apples, brown rice, cooked sweet potatoes. We also use almonds for treats only. He gets air popped popcorn occasionally too. His absolute favorite is whole wheat toast with crunchy peanut butter, but he only gets a tiny square and not very often.