Not into veggies
- Thread starter RemiBird
- Start date
), but not greens. He loves peas and shreds cooked broccoli, but is not interested in veggies in general. Anyone has ideas how to serve veggies for a picky green cheek?
clark_conure
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- Jul 14, 2017
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- A crossover Quaker Scuti (F), A Sun conure named AC, A Cinnamon Green Cheek conure Kent, and 4 budgies, yellow (m), clark Jr. (m), Dot (f), Zebra(f).
try corn....oh and peppers, like those sweet peppers you get in a bag.
I like making batches of birdie bread -- cornbread muffin mix with chopped veggies, pellets, seeds etc. inside! You can also add things like sweet potato baby food, etc to the mix and they love it! I split one muffin per day between my three tiels and they love it. I warm it up for around 10 seconds in the microwave then serve. It's a great way to get them to enjoy their veggies.
EllenD
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- Aug 20, 2016
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- Senegal Parrot named "Kane"; Yellow-Sided Green Cheek Conure named "Bowie"; Blue Quaker Parrot named "Lita Ford"; Cockatiel named "Duff"; 8 American/English Budgie Hybrids; Ringneck Dove named "Dylan"
He probably was not given any fresh veggies or greens by his breeder while being weaned, that's really common, unfortunately. It's the same as their breeders not giving them any toys inside of their first Weaning/Starter cages, then they go to their first home and they have no idea what toys are for or what to do with them, and you have to actually show them how to play with them...
**Same principle here, "Monkey-See, Monkey-Do"...Sometimes it's all about just trying lots of different types of dark, leafy greens and fresh veggies until you find ones that they like...I'll be the party-pooper her, or "that guy", but Corn is not a vegetable at all, it's a Starch, like Potatoes (except without the vitamins and minerals in the potato skins)..Corn provides no nutritional-value to them at all, or to us for that matter, and is best only given as an occasional treat, like when you have fresh corn-on-the-cob, they love that once in a while, but as far as eating it regularly like it's a veggie, well, it's just nothing but sugars that are turned into fat and stored in their livers, and contain no vitamins, minerals, etc...
You can basically try giving her any FRESH veggies that aren't in the Onion family or related to Onions, like Leeks, Chives, etc. So that gives you thousands of options...Broccoli, Pea Pods and fresh Peas, Green Beans, Carrots, all types of Squash like Butternut (they usually love this), Spaghetti, Acorn, Yellow, and Green (Zucchini), Sweet Potatoes (they usually love these too), Eggplant, Brussel Sprouts, Asparagus, all types of Peppers (birds don't have the receptors for Capsaicin, so they don't feel the heat of even a Ghost Pepper, and they LOVE the seeds from all of the different types of Peppers), Bell Peppers of all colors, Okra, I could go on and on, but there are a ton of FRESH Veggies to try....
Same goes for FRESH Greens that are dark and leafy (no "watery" greens/lettuces, like Iceberg Lettuce or types of watery Cabbages, they are all water and that's it)...Some of them like to hold big pieces of greens in their feet while they eat them, some like them chopped-up into little bits, just have to figure out what she likes and how she likes to eat it...Bok Choy, Pak Choy, Arugula/Rocket (they love this because it's peppery-flavored), Kale, Mustard Greens, Turnip Greens, Collard Greens, Dandelion Greens (either store-bought or ones from your own yard that you know have not been sprayed with chemicals, and that are washed thoroughly), Endive, Escarole, Broccoli Rab (if she likes Broccoli then she'll like Broccoli Rab), Swiss Chard and other types of Chards, different types of Spinach, and even a little dark, leafy Lettuce such as the Romaines...There are a ton more dark, leafy Greens, especially the ones that are used in Asian Cuisine, depending on where you live and what groceries you have access to...
Just keep trying different things each week, or whenever you grocery shop, and make a note of the ones she likes...And then you might also try putting the fresh Veggies and dark, leafy Greens that she likes or that she is willing to at least nibble at into some different "Chop" recipes, along with different grains like Quinoa, legumes, healthy seeds such as Flax Seeds, Chia Seeds, Hemp Seeds, etc., and a little fresh Fruit...
**Same principle here, "Monkey-See, Monkey-Do"...Sometimes it's all about just trying lots of different types of dark, leafy greens and fresh veggies until you find ones that they like...I'll be the party-pooper her, or "that guy", but Corn is not a vegetable at all, it's a Starch, like Potatoes (except without the vitamins and minerals in the potato skins)..Corn provides no nutritional-value to them at all, or to us for that matter, and is best only given as an occasional treat, like when you have fresh corn-on-the-cob, they love that once in a while, but as far as eating it regularly like it's a veggie, well, it's just nothing but sugars that are turned into fat and stored in their livers, and contain no vitamins, minerals, etc...
You can basically try giving her any FRESH veggies that aren't in the Onion family or related to Onions, like Leeks, Chives, etc. So that gives you thousands of options...Broccoli, Pea Pods and fresh Peas, Green Beans, Carrots, all types of Squash like Butternut (they usually love this), Spaghetti, Acorn, Yellow, and Green (Zucchini), Sweet Potatoes (they usually love these too), Eggplant, Brussel Sprouts, Asparagus, all types of Peppers (birds don't have the receptors for Capsaicin, so they don't feel the heat of even a Ghost Pepper, and they LOVE the seeds from all of the different types of Peppers), Bell Peppers of all colors, Okra, I could go on and on, but there are a ton of FRESH Veggies to try....
Same goes for FRESH Greens that are dark and leafy (no "watery" greens/lettuces, like Iceberg Lettuce or types of watery Cabbages, they are all water and that's it)...Some of them like to hold big pieces of greens in their feet while they eat them, some like them chopped-up into little bits, just have to figure out what she likes and how she likes to eat it...Bok Choy, Pak Choy, Arugula/Rocket (they love this because it's peppery-flavored), Kale, Mustard Greens, Turnip Greens, Collard Greens, Dandelion Greens (either store-bought or ones from your own yard that you know have not been sprayed with chemicals, and that are washed thoroughly), Endive, Escarole, Broccoli Rab (if she likes Broccoli then she'll like Broccoli Rab), Swiss Chard and other types of Chards, different types of Spinach, and even a little dark, leafy Lettuce such as the Romaines...There are a ton more dark, leafy Greens, especially the ones that are used in Asian Cuisine, depending on where you live and what groceries you have access to...
Just keep trying different things each week, or whenever you grocery shop, and make a note of the ones she likes...And then you might also try putting the fresh Veggies and dark, leafy Greens that she likes or that she is willing to at least nibble at into some different "Chop" recipes, along with different grains like Quinoa, legumes, healthy seeds such as Flax Seeds, Chia Seeds, Hemp Seeds, etc., and a little fresh Fruit...
YSGC
New member
- Jan 6, 2019
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- Pico, gender unknown, is a hand-fed Yellow Sided Green Cheek Conure, born 2015.
I've noticed Pico will turn his beak up at certain new foods, but if I keep offering it to him he eventually warms up to it.
Some things are accepted only after months of rejection.
Some things are accepted only after months of rejection.
Another thing to try is serving the chopped up veggies warm, no more than 103 deg F. Our Salty's dinner is always "chop" and when it comes to him warm, man does he dig in. I use a laser thermometer to spot check the temperature , so there are no overly hot spots. He stays interested and eating even after it cools down to room temp.
Nike was the same way, would not eat any veggies and then I discovered Freeze Dried. Here's the thread. Nike now eats chop every day for breakfast.
Easy, no waste. You might need to entice with a little juice to hydrate it in the beginning and most birds (not Nike) eat it dry according to the owner. I feed about 1 dry tablespoon and hydrate it with about 1/2tsp of coconut water and heat for 7 seconds. It's still mostly dry when I put it in the microwave but the heating complets the hydration. The web site is kinda crappy but they have chop, sprouts and various other healthy foods.
Bill-e's Texax Natural Freeze Dried Chop thread
Easy, no waste. You might need to entice with a little juice to hydrate it in the beginning and most birds (not Nike) eat it dry according to the owner. I feed about 1 dry tablespoon and hydrate it with about 1/2tsp of coconut water and heat for 7 seconds. It's still mostly dry when I put it in the microwave but the heating complets the hydration. The web site is kinda crappy but they have chop, sprouts and various other healthy foods.
Bill-e's Texax Natural Freeze Dried Chop thread
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Wow, that's different!
EllenD
New member
- Aug 20, 2016
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- Senegal Parrot named "Kane"; Yellow-Sided Green Cheek Conure named "Bowie"; Blue Quaker Parrot named "Lita Ford"; Cockatiel named "Duff"; 8 American/English Budgie Hybrids; Ringneck Dove named "Dylan"
The other thing to try (that I forgot to mention earlier, but that I buy regularly) as a kind of "substitute" for the fresh Veggies and Greens are the "Worldly-Cuisines" that Higgins makes, and that you can order online by the pouch...There are 8 different varieties/flavors of them, and I first saw them at Petco (they only sell one of the varieties in their stores, it's called "Sunset" something or other, I can't remember, but my guys all love it), so I bought one pouch for like $2-$3 of the "Sunset" variety, and they loved it, all of them at their entire bowls of it. So I went online to see if I could order them cheaper, and then saw that they have 8 different flavors...So I ordered one pouch of each flavor and we tried each of them, and they love them all! They come in little pouches that you simply tear-open a crack and then put in the microwave and heat-up, and then I empty them into different little bowls for each of them, let them cool-down a little, and they each get a little bowl of them, and not only do all 4 of my larger guys love them all, but so do all 8 of my Budgies! There's never any waste, and I'll be honest, the "Sunset" one smelled so good that I tried it, and they're all pretty good! (the "Sunset" one smells like cinnamon oatmeal or something)...They are all made-up of different veggies, greens, healthy grains (they all have Quinoa as their base, which is awesome), legumes, healthy seeds like Chia, Hemp, and Flax, etc., herbs, and spices. I was worried about their sugar-content at first because they smelled so good, but when I tasted them I could tell that they definitely had no added-sugar or salt, they are all naturally-flavored by the herbs, the Quinoa and other grains, and the spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, red bell pepper, etc. They are a nice change of pace for them from just their regular fresh veggies and greens, and much healthier for them all the way around than any fresh fruit you could give them as a treat, because they are LOADED with lots of protein, vitamins, minerals, amino-acids/digestive enzymes, and they all have added Probiotics (acidophilus) in them as well...And they are all low fat, low sugar, low sodium...So they're not only good and they look at them like they're treats, but they're good for them too.
We started buying the Worldly Cuisines in large cases at the Avian Rescue I work for (most companies will give Rescues and other 501c3 non-profit animal services a wholesale account for all of their products, from food to cages to toys, etc., and we already had one with Higgins because we feed their low-fat/high-protein "California Blend" seed-mix to the birds who first arrive as "seed-addicts" on junky, cheap seed-mixes), and they are now feeding them to all the birds as one of their weekly servings of fruit, and the birds we have that won't touch any veggies, greens, or even fruit (we get A LOT of birds that won't even touch a single piece of fruit, like a strawberry or blueberry, nothing, let alone eating veggies or greens), they get a portion of them once daily to provide them with the extra protein and other nutrition. So they are definitely worth checking-out, since the entire point of feeding pet/captive birds and parrots fresh veggies and greens is so they get the added/extra nutrition from them that their staple-diets may not supply, and they are very good for them and contain nothing but healthy, good stuff for them..And they seem to work well on the stubborn birds...If nothing else, swing by your local Petco sometime and just buy one pouch of the "Sunset" variety that they sell in their stores and see if your guy likes it; if he/she hates it you're only out a couple of bucks.. (I'm sorry, I am blanking on the flavor, I think it's called "Sonoran Sunset", but I'm not sure, it's the only one I've ever seen sold in any of their stores around me so you can't miss it)
By the way, I'm sure you already know this, but I'm going to write it anyway because the other day I read a post where a newer member wrote about how their bird would only eat "canned veggies", and there isn't much worse than canned veggies, greens, or fruit that you could feed your bird. You always want to feed them Fresh or Freeze-Dried Veggies and Greens ONLY, because they are the only ones that retain their vitamins/minerals, or like Wrench said, just very lightly/quickly heat them for a minute and that's it, otherwise if you actually cook them through you lose all the vitamins/minerals and there's no point to even feeding them to them at that point; same goes for "canned" veggies, greens, and fruit except they are actually dangerous to feed them believe it or not...they are horrible because they contain loads and loads of salt and sugar, same with canned fruit, it's nothing but sugar because they can them all in some kind of syrup, which is nothing but sugar...And the canned veggies and greens (as well as canned legumes, like beans) are also purposely canned in a TON of preservatives so that they have an unlimited shelf-life, like Nitrates and Nitrates, along with the amount of salt you should eat in a week in one can....And I have never fed them to my birds just because I buy a ton of fresh produce every week, but I think frozen veggies and greens are okay to feed the, I wouldn't see why not, they are usually just fresh veggies/greens that are flash-frozen and put in a bag, that's it, they aren't cooked first I don't think (are they?) and nothing is added to them as far as salt, sugar, or preservatives...So you might try some frozen veggies and see if your bird will eat them as well, like some kind of frozen "mixed-veggies" variety...
Please correct me about the frozen veggies/greens if they are actually not good to feed to birds due to them having added stuff like salt/sugar/preservatives, or if they are actually cooked first before they are frozen, because that would remove all of the vitamins/minerals from them and there would be no point to feeding them to birds in the first place then...I'm just guessing because I haven't ever bought frozen veggies/greens myself, but I was always under the impression that they were just fresh veggies, greens, and fruit that were picked and then quickly flash-frozen, and that they weren't at all cooked...But I honestly don't know now that I think about it...
****One last thing you probably want to try to see if your bird likes are some of the many, many types of commercially-sold dehydrated/freeze-dried veggies and greens that are now sold in every grocery store in the country along with every Walmart, Target, etc. I'm talking about the veggie and fruit "chips" and "sticks" that they sell, such as "Green Bean Sticks", "Apple Chips", etc. There are hundreds of different brands and varieties, everything from bags of green bean sticks and sweet potato sticks to containers of dehydrated Kale...You just have to make sure that you always buy only the "Unsalted" varieties, and that you stay away from most of the different flavored ones and buy only the "Plain" varieties, because a lot of them are salted, and many of them have flavorings on them that are not good for birds, like Ranch for example. But they all come in an unsalted and plain variety, and you really could try a different type once a week for a year and not buy the same one twice, that's how many there are...Lots of dehydrated pepper varieties that birds usually love because they can't taste the heat of any type of pepper and they love the seeds...I think they are absolutely disgusting and are just like eating a shingle or a piece of cardboard, but I bought a container of that dehydrated Kale that they sell everywhere, the plain or "original" variety of it that is nothing but just pieces of dehydrated fresh Kale, just to see if they would eat it (Kale is loaded with vitamins and minerals and is very healthy to eat), and my birds all love it, so they have each been getting a piece of that a day along with their fresh veggies and greens, and they go for the "Kale chip" first every time and devour it immediately...So that's another one to try out, I first noticed this kind of stuff in Walmart when I was buying some fresh veggies and greens, they have a huge stand next to the fresh veggies and fruit that is nothing but these kind of snacks, and they sell the containers of plain, dehydrated Kale chips cheaply. I'm glad I decided to buy them and try them out, because they all really love them, with Bowie, my Green Cheek, actually attacking me as soon as I pick the container up...i have no idea why, but they love it, and it's healthy for them so whatever...
(They had a lady passing out little cups of the dehydrated Kale chips from a little stand by the fresh produce, that's how I first learned about it...I walked up to check it out because I'd never seen it before, and I couldn't tell what the hell it was just by looking at it...When the sample lady asked me if I wanted to try some "Kale chips" and handed me a little cup full of the stuff, I looked at it and then said "Am I supposed to eat this or smoke it?"...My humor totally went right over her head, she didn't get it at all and looked at me like I was insane...
We started buying the Worldly Cuisines in large cases at the Avian Rescue I work for (most companies will give Rescues and other 501c3 non-profit animal services a wholesale account for all of their products, from food to cages to toys, etc., and we already had one with Higgins because we feed their low-fat/high-protein "California Blend" seed-mix to the birds who first arrive as "seed-addicts" on junky, cheap seed-mixes), and they are now feeding them to all the birds as one of their weekly servings of fruit, and the birds we have that won't touch any veggies, greens, or even fruit (we get A LOT of birds that won't even touch a single piece of fruit, like a strawberry or blueberry, nothing, let alone eating veggies or greens), they get a portion of them once daily to provide them with the extra protein and other nutrition. So they are definitely worth checking-out, since the entire point of feeding pet/captive birds and parrots fresh veggies and greens is so they get the added/extra nutrition from them that their staple-diets may not supply, and they are very good for them and contain nothing but healthy, good stuff for them..And they seem to work well on the stubborn birds...If nothing else, swing by your local Petco sometime and just buy one pouch of the "Sunset" variety that they sell in their stores and see if your guy likes it; if he/she hates it you're only out a couple of bucks.. (I'm sorry, I am blanking on the flavor, I think it's called "Sonoran Sunset", but I'm not sure, it's the only one I've ever seen sold in any of their stores around me so you can't miss it)
By the way, I'm sure you already know this, but I'm going to write it anyway because the other day I read a post where a newer member wrote about how their bird would only eat "canned veggies", and there isn't much worse than canned veggies, greens, or fruit that you could feed your bird. You always want to feed them Fresh or Freeze-Dried Veggies and Greens ONLY, because they are the only ones that retain their vitamins/minerals, or like Wrench said, just very lightly/quickly heat them for a minute and that's it, otherwise if you actually cook them through you lose all the vitamins/minerals and there's no point to even feeding them to them at that point; same goes for "canned" veggies, greens, and fruit except they are actually dangerous to feed them believe it or not...they are horrible because they contain loads and loads of salt and sugar, same with canned fruit, it's nothing but sugar because they can them all in some kind of syrup, which is nothing but sugar...And the canned veggies and greens (as well as canned legumes, like beans) are also purposely canned in a TON of preservatives so that they have an unlimited shelf-life, like Nitrates and Nitrates, along with the amount of salt you should eat in a week in one can....And I have never fed them to my birds just because I buy a ton of fresh produce every week, but I think frozen veggies and greens are okay to feed the, I wouldn't see why not, they are usually just fresh veggies/greens that are flash-frozen and put in a bag, that's it, they aren't cooked first I don't think (are they?) and nothing is added to them as far as salt, sugar, or preservatives...So you might try some frozen veggies and see if your bird will eat them as well, like some kind of frozen "mixed-veggies" variety...
Please correct me about the frozen veggies/greens if they are actually not good to feed to birds due to them having added stuff like salt/sugar/preservatives, or if they are actually cooked first before they are frozen, because that would remove all of the vitamins/minerals from them and there would be no point to feeding them to birds in the first place then...I'm just guessing because I haven't ever bought frozen veggies/greens myself, but I was always under the impression that they were just fresh veggies, greens, and fruit that were picked and then quickly flash-frozen, and that they weren't at all cooked...But I honestly don't know now that I think about it...
****One last thing you probably want to try to see if your bird likes are some of the many, many types of commercially-sold dehydrated/freeze-dried veggies and greens that are now sold in every grocery store in the country along with every Walmart, Target, etc. I'm talking about the veggie and fruit "chips" and "sticks" that they sell, such as "Green Bean Sticks", "Apple Chips", etc. There are hundreds of different brands and varieties, everything from bags of green bean sticks and sweet potato sticks to containers of dehydrated Kale...You just have to make sure that you always buy only the "Unsalted" varieties, and that you stay away from most of the different flavored ones and buy only the "Plain" varieties, because a lot of them are salted, and many of them have flavorings on them that are not good for birds, like Ranch for example. But they all come in an unsalted and plain variety, and you really could try a different type once a week for a year and not buy the same one twice, that's how many there are...Lots of dehydrated pepper varieties that birds usually love because they can't taste the heat of any type of pepper and they love the seeds...I think they are absolutely disgusting and are just like eating a shingle or a piece of cardboard, but I bought a container of that dehydrated Kale that they sell everywhere, the plain or "original" variety of it that is nothing but just pieces of dehydrated fresh Kale, just to see if they would eat it (Kale is loaded with vitamins and minerals and is very healthy to eat), and my birds all love it, so they have each been getting a piece of that a day along with their fresh veggies and greens, and they go for the "Kale chip" first every time and devour it immediately...So that's another one to try out, I first noticed this kind of stuff in Walmart when I was buying some fresh veggies and greens, they have a huge stand next to the fresh veggies and fruit that is nothing but these kind of snacks, and they sell the containers of plain, dehydrated Kale chips cheaply. I'm glad I decided to buy them and try them out, because they all really love them, with Bowie, my Green Cheek, actually attacking me as soon as I pick the container up...i have no idea why, but they love it, and it's healthy for them so whatever...
(They had a lady passing out little cups of the dehydrated Kale chips from a little stand by the fresh produce, that's how I first learned about it...I walked up to check it out because I'd never seen it before, and I couldn't tell what the hell it was just by looking at it...When the sample lady asked me if I wanted to try some "Kale chips" and handed me a little cup full of the stuff, I looked at it and then said "Am I supposed to eat this or smoke it?"...My humor totally went right over her head, she didn't get it at all and looked at me like I was insane...
- Aug 21, 2010
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RIP Gandalf and Big Bird, you are missed.
I've found my flock universally loves sweet potatoes and yams. It is a matter of experimentation and patience. One of my Goffins spurned pear for decades, finally tried and enjoys!
Another technique recognizes birds are flock creatures, and you are a member! Prepare two identical bowls of "chop", one for you, the other for your conure. Begin eating from your bowl, expressing great interest and enjoyment. Bob your head, make "mmmmm" sounds, and watch the reaction.
Another technique recognizes birds are flock creatures, and you are a member! Prepare two identical bowls of "chop", one for you, the other for your conure. Begin eating from your bowl, expressing great interest and enjoyment. Bob your head, make "mmmmm" sounds, and watch the reaction.
charmedbyekkie
New member
Oooh, thanks, RemiBird, for this thread! I hadn't given Cairo warm chop for a while (I used to mix freshly cooked rice into his chop, which warmed it up), and after reading what Al does with Salty again, I just started heating it up. Now Cairo is happily flinging his chop around again 
You can use plain frozen vegetables as well. I thaw them and chop up in one of those little personal blenders. I know a lot of people look down on frozen stuff, but in many cases it's actually fresher than the vegetables you buy at the super market (google it) that's how I first got my budgies started on eating veggies. It took awhile, so the frozen saved a lot of waste. When I picked up my new GCC baby on Monday, I asked the man who hand fed her if she ate veggies and he said he "tried" a few times but that she primarily ate seeds...she started eating veggies the minute she got home lol She eats what the budgies eat (fresh organic kale, broccoli, swiss chard, endive, green beans, sprouts, sweet potato, carrots etc) which suggests that the man I got her from didn't try very hard. My budgies aren't big on fruit so I haven't tried many yet but she really likes blue berries and black berries. Good luck and just be persistent!
Just another plug for the Freeze Dried stuff. It retains virtually all of the nutrition like frozen and what I like abut it the most, cuz I'm lazy, is the ease in which it can be fed and stored and zero waste from spoilage.
Sounds like good stuff but you said in one of your posts above that it's expensive. I was just thinking frozen veggies are a cheaper option for trying out new foods
Yea, sorry, I'm not putting down any of the options presented here. I personally never liked any of the frozen foods, even the stuff I make and freeze myself, because they tend to get frost on them...I need a new fridge.
I made that cost comment earlly on in my use of it and I've since changed my mind about the cost of freeze dried. Once I stopped wasting it and figured out how to serve it I get a couple of months out of a bag and buying it a few bags at a time to save shpping it's not that expensive at all.....of course it also depends on how big of a bird you have. Nike only eats about a dry tablespoon of it a day.
