How do you get stubborn parakeets to eat fruits and veggies?

[JaycieErtel]

I can't get my beautiful, but highly stubborn, parakeets Bentzi and Eden, to eat fruits and veggies! I need some tips on how to get them to eat them.

 

[Zoruace]

i had the same problem with my cockatiel!
but i finally got her to do so try these:
1) mix the chop with seeds
make sure to mix them well so the seeds do have the taste of the vegtebles on them
2)offer it in very thin slices and you might even cover it with seeds (this worked for my tiki)
3)put a bowl of veggies and fruits and start pretend eating it (or actually eat it) and make yummy noises birds are usauly very curios they will bw interested in what you are eating pretend its not allowed but in reality offer them once they bit it take it away and then say no (try not to make your voice stern) you know how much birds break rules

there are a couple youtubrs on youtube that can help

elle and the birds

birdtricks

denny the budgie

all of them have made a how to feed a bird vegteble and fruit videos

 

[Skarila]

Budgies must be one of the most stubborn birds I have ever came across when it comes to diet!! So you do have posed one of the hardest questions.

Our little Csilli the budgie will eat only her greens - lettuce, spinach, carrot leaves, very rarely some apple. No chops, no mashes, no other veggies, she never even tried it.

In 7 years I have owned her, not once she wanted to even try to eat anything else or having her converted to pellets. Forget all the tricks in the books, budgies are HARD. Especially if they are not tame/strongly bonded to you.

And there was only one way after 7 years for her to start eating pellets or try veggies - she saw my conure eating it. She ate from his bowl so she FINALLY started eating pellets, now it is part if her daily diet along with her seed mix (having budgies purely on pellet diet is bad). I did see her nibbling on veggies from Pascal's cage, but she never recognized it as the same stuff in her cage!

I even had another rescue budgie who refused to eat any other seed other than millet. He did see Csilli eating her (temporary) milletless seed mix, he was so hungry, but he refused to eat that stuff (it's different type of grass/canary seeds). He just kept tossing it out of the bowl. We were trying this for weeks, months, but no, he was SO stubborn. He saw Csilli was eating it, and he followed her, only to toss the food.

So don't feel bad if your budgie doesn't want to eat no veggies. Perhaps start with putting fresh pieces of pepper and carrot on those kabob sticks, give daily fresh on same spot. Maybe, just maybe they might give it a try, thinking of it as a toy and maybe start at least chewing on it and realizing it's food.

....or borrow a bird who eats veggies, let the budgie see them and let it steal the new bird's food xD

Good luck on your journey!!

 

[fiddlejen]

Budgies often like Romaine. The dark outer leaves. Clip them daily to inside of cage walls. At first they will be terrified and avoid them but after quite a long time of doing this, they will start to investigate this New Toy. Once they do, they will taste it and realize they like it.

You should also do this with a carrot. Peel a carrot daily and clip it inside the cage (i use a holder designed for a cuttlebone). Eventually they will investigate this toy also, and also will begin chewing on it.
Just remember it takes a LONG time. Anything "new" to a budgie, is highly terrifying. So just keep putting it in there every day, let it become part of their decor. Eventually they will investigate it and get around to tasting it, but, it will take a while.

...IF your budgies love millet, after a few days you could start attaching millet to the lettuce/carrot, and IF they are millet-lovers this might speed the process along A Little Bit.

 

[Laurasea]

my budgie love leafy greens, romaine, Swiss chard ect, and veggies.

Clip to cage, offer on a plate or wide shallow dish, sometimes offering outside of the cage and letting them find it works fantastic! The more they try the better they get at trying new stuff.
Fresh corn cut from tge cob, thawed frozen peas, broccoli, celery, pepper, cucumber, green beans and more! Keep offering!

 

[ETinSC]

I started off by mixing in seeds with whatever veggies & fruit I was offering. Now, I hardly have to put any seeds on them since he loves trying new stuff, thank goodness. You have to really cut the veggies up pretty small. Broccoli is a different story. He'll just eat it however I offer it. I boil it for about 3 minutes to soften it up just a little bit because when I offer it raw, he just tears it apart without eating much of it.

Now, If I can just figure out how to get him to actually play and interact with me and bathe, I'll be a happy camper!