My conure wont eat anything except seeds.

[bonitabird59]

Hi guys! I've run into a bit of a dilemma. I have a GCC named Jello who is about 3 months old. He refuses to eat anything except seed mix, millet, and nutriberries. All 6 of my other birds eat roudybush mini and the crumbles, but Jello will not take to it. I've offered him individual pieces, mixed a small amount with seed, mixed a large amount w seed, I've tried social eating, and hell even I ATE SOME infront of him and he won't budge. He tosses the pieces of roudy out of his bowl and screams for more seeds. The last time I ran into this issue, it was my red lored amazon Bonita, who was eating seeds for over 50 years by the time I got her. She barely switched over to roudybush but she loved veggies and fruit so it wasn't a major issue. That leads me to my next issue with Jello, he does NOT like fruits, veggies, or much of anything. At first, he loved watermelon and papaya, but now he looks at me like I'm crazy when I offer it. Right now, he'll eat apples if they're sliced into 'fries' for him to hold, but I can't keep with an 'only-fruit' diet because that's a ton of sugar for my little boy.
How do you guys get stubborn conures to eat veggies? I've been going to the store to try different greens on him, but the main thing I want him to try is brocolli. I only feed organic so I genuinely don't understand why he doesn't want it. I also make Bird Trick's chop, with beats and beans and sprouts. All my birds LOVE it. It's like crack. Jello shows interest when the other birds are eating it but the moment I offer him some, he acts as if I had just slapped him in the face and ran his mother over with a car. I know Jello, the AUDACITY I have for wanting you to eat better. SMH.
Do you guys have any tips? Also, do you guys recommend any seed mix over others? I've been using vitaseed natural's California blend because it has no sunflower seeds and everything is hulled, but I'm sure at the place I got him (I work there) we were feeding Higgin's Sunburst conure blend. Which... to say the least... is not the greatest thing out there. But hey, atleast it ain't kaytee... or worse... great choice.
Any tips or suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for your time reading, I type a lot because I tend to talk a lot!

 

[ravvlet]

The only seed mix I have tried so far is the TOPS seed mix, and it seems pretty ok.

Have you tried other brands of pellet besides Roudybush? Our Amazon Sammy came to us as a “pellet fail” because her previous owner couldn’t convince her to eat Roudybush. My other bird eats a mix of Harrison’s and TOPS, so I started offering her those and she went for the Harrison’s immediately. I’ve had a lot of success with that brand of pellet particularly. We have actually been able to phase seed out of her diet entirely besides treats or in birdy bread, etc.

As for getting them to eat veg, you can try purée, baby food without added sugars/vitamins, or freeze dried. For freeze dried I’ve had a lot of success with the blends and treats from Christine’s Chop Shop. Sammy also doesn’t like veggies - but we have discovered she will eat peas, corn and carrots, specifically if they’re steamed! Target has little bags of organic pea/corn/carrot/green bean mix that’s steam-in-bag and I made that with some steamed spinach and quinoa and her highness has finally deigned to try some. I think sometimes with birds perseverance is key.

 

[bonitabird59]

The only seed mix I have tried so far is the TOPS seed mix, and it seems pretty ok.

Have you tried other brands of pellet besides Roudybush? Our Amazon Sammy came to us as a “pellet fail” because her previous owner couldn’t convince her to eat Roudybush. My other bird eats a mix of Harrison’s and TOPS, so I started offering her those and she went for the Harrison’s immediately. I’ve had a lot of success with that brand of pellet particularly. We have actually been able to phase seed out of her diet entirely besides treats or in birdy bread, etc.

As for getting them to eat veg, you can try purée, baby food without added sugars/vitamins, or freeze dried. For freeze dried I’ve had a lot of success with the blends and treats from Christine’s Chop Shop. Sammy also doesn’t like veggies - but we have discovered she will eat peas, corn and carrots, specifically if they’re steamed! Target has little bags of organic pea/corn/carrot/green bean mix that’s steam-in-bag and I made that with some steamed spinach and quinoa and her highness has finally deigned to try some. I think sometimes with birds perseverance is key.

Thank you SO much for all the tips, I really am grateful for them all. Is there a specific Harrison's diet that you recommend? My goal is do tdo the same with Jello, I don't want any seed in his diet except for treats.
I'll try the puree method, I have a ton of beechnut babyfood frozen into bricks in my freezer from when my Bonita was sick, it was all she could hold down(she had bouts of vomiting and the vets recommended green-bean baby food. it was a hit for all my birds!). I also have not tried much cooked food with him, as he seems to be really turned off by human food. I'm running to target now to get some steamer bags of veggies, maybe he'll like stuff thats seed shaped? Who knows. Currently, he's chewing on my ear. I think he's telling me I should get a cartilage piercing.. or maybe he'll give me one himself!

 

[ravvlet]

We have had a lot of success with the Harrison’s Lifetime Pepper blend. I hope you find the magic food that works for him! For Kirby (also converted from a seed only diet) it was peppers.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Our two cents... good for you for trying so hard!



I feed Harrison's, supplemented by fresh healthy treats. My first, and later, my current avian vet recommended it. 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 enough to try new stuff. I presume the same technique could be used to get him to eat other healthy stuff, like fruits and vegetables! My guy 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. Pellets are out all day... fresh treats a few times a day. I also like Harrison's via mail because I never have to worry about out-of-date products.
Another couple of ideas...
My ol' man is an athlete and health nut. He actually EATS all the good stuff, so it's always around. I find that tossing various stuff into the food bowls at random is good... the variations and differences seem to stimulate curiosity and attention.
The other idea... if you can stand it (lol) EAT the stuff in front of the birds, yes. That encourages them. I have also found that if my ol' man eats stuff in front of the bird, the bird WANTS it for himself. Kinda a rivalry thing!

HARRISON’S BIRD FOODS – CERTIFIED ORGANIC BIRD FOOD

See what's new at Harrison's Bird Foods: Certified organic, non-GMO diets for birds. Nutritionally complete for all life stages.

www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com

 

[bonitabird59]

Our two cents... good for you for trying so hard!



I feed Harrison's, supplemented by fresh healthy treats. My first, and later, my current avian vet recommended it. 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 enough to try new stuff. I presume the same technique could be used to get him to eat other healthy stuff, like fruits and vegetables! My guy 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. Pellets are out all day... fresh treats a few times a day. I also like Harrison's via mail because I never have to worry about out-of-date products.
Another couple of ideas...
My ol' man is an athlete and health nut. He actually EATS all the good stuff, so it's always around. I find that tossing various stuff into the food bowls at random is good... the variations and differences seem to stimulate curiosity and attention.
The other idea... if you can stand it (lol) EAT the stuff in front of the birds, yes. That encourages them. I have also found that if my ol' man eats stuff in front of the bird, the bird WANTS it for himself. Kinda a rivalry thing!

HARRISON’S BIRD FOODS – CERTIFIED ORGANIC BIRD FOOD

See what's new at Harrison's Bird Foods: Certified organic, non-GMO diets for birds. Nutritionally complete for all life stages.

www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com

Thank you so much! I won't lie I've literally eaten the pellets in front of him. They don't taste bad but I think a brand switch might do the trick. I'll try that 'seeds out for 15 mins' thing, he gets really bored really easily so I feel like he would be curious enough to see whats in the bowl. Do you recommend anything specific from the fresh catagory to entice my little conure? I've tried brocolli, green beans, watermelon, mango, pineapple, strawberries, spinach, beans, sprouts....literally the works.

 

[Rowlet]

For veggies, my conure was picky too. He would only eat carrots and apples at first. Everything else kale, lettuce, cucumber, broccoli, chard he would fling out of his bowl or use as shredding material. Literally all his greens lol.

What I found worked for me was I used a food chopper and mixed everything and added a little bit of apple and a tablespoon of water to make an apple-y chop. I hand feed him a few bites first (I just dip a finger into the chop and offer a tiny amount to him after he gets a taste he's usually interested enough.

Also, I find he eats the most chop in the morning when he's hungry for breakfast. I take out his food bowl when I cover him so he's hungry when he wakes up. I also do the food prep with him and and offer him tiny bits of veggies that I'm putting in for him to taste or chew on and I think that also helps a lot!

Also don't give up on the foods he's rejected before! I took a break from offering broccoli to my conure for about a weekish (tried different chop with sweet potato instead of apple) and I started offered broccoli again and he just immediately took to it as is (I did offer it to him whole instead of sprinkling it on top his chop like I did before)

My conure's favorite is sugar snap peas though. He LOVES biting through them while for the peas inside. When I first offered it to him I showed him there were peas instead by peeling it open in front of him and letting him taste it.

I would also try to offer veggies sliced or whole. I find that he likes the texture on some veggies a lot like cucumbers, zucchini where he'll at least be interested enough to bite into like a shredding toy and get a few bites in.

Good luck!

 

[Cagzo]

The trouble is,you can spend a fortune on stuff,just to throw it away when they wont touch it. Harrisons has such a short life when opened,I had to keep it in the freezer and just offer a tiny amount at a time.

 

[ravvlet]

According to their website, Harrison’s pellets last two months after opening when kept in the original bag. Refrigerating or freezing them keeps them fresher; and they sell smaller 1lb bags for little birds. If you give your bird 3 tsp a day, 16oz of pellet should be 32 days of food. I’m assuming you’re giving them more than that; and also throwing the food that’s left out at the end of the day.

 

[bonitabird59]

WELL TODAY WAS AMAZING!! He tried brocolli AND the pellets. AND GET THIS... SEEMS TO PREFER THE PELLETS OVER SEED! The 15 minutes of seed twice daily is the method that worked for me. It took a day and a half for him to just eat the pellets and now he doesn't show any interest in the seeds at all. Thank you all SO much. I got him to try brocolli by feeding it to all my other birds first, handfeeding some to my budgies which got him really excited. He then picked up the floret and turned it upside down and ate the stem only. Progress!