Picky Little Conure

[Dbittner54]

Any of you have a picky conure? My little Jax will not eat fruits or vegetables. I have tried eating in front of him in hopes of modeling, but to no avail. However, he will drink just about anything I have in a cup. Any advice in how to get him to stop being so picky and enjoy the wonderful world of fruits and vegetables?

 

[wildheart]

That is always a hard one for all parrots. Does Jax eat with you at dinner time? If he does, why dont you try and dish up only fruit and vegetable for yourself and let him share as always.

Do you have foraging toys? I have found that my parrot will eat ANYTHING that she has worked for.

 

[Spiritbird]

When a bird is given a new food item we need to show them it is safe to eat just as the mom bird would do. Sometimes they do not recognize the new food as food until they watch you eat it too. I suggest you sit down for a meal with a plate of what you want the bird to eat and a plate for you also. Then eat and see if the bird will join you.

 

[Von1983]

Welcome to the forum!

I can only agree with Linky and SB! Cal will eat ANYTHING if she is out of the cage and mum is eating it. This is why I have been put on an unconcious diet. Cal is WAY quicker than me if I am eating a cheeky bag of crisps so I don't lol.

It may sound silly, but if she enjoys sharing from your cup, get a smaller cup and put some fruit in it for your bird to pick out?

What fruit and veg have you tried?

I find Cal my sun conure loves peas and sweetcorn most in veg as she eats the inside and drops the "shell". She eats broccolli and cauliflower by pulling the tops off and also peels the stalks like a cheese string! Additionally, I buy frozen spinich which is frozen in little blocks. When this is microwaved it all breaks up and covers all of the other veg giving her much needed vit K whether she wants it or not!!!! Additionally she will eat carrot, kale and green cabbage.

With fruit I have been very adventurous. I have trawled the supermarkets to find her exotic fruits. What is her favourite? Apple and grape lol. Peeled and broken down into small chunks. She also likes melon, pineapple, cranberries and occasionally fresh coconut. To name a few!

She also enjoys oatmeal, the occasional meal worm (eew I know), boiled eggs....

I would suggest trying everything you possibly can and failing that, some fruit juice in her water will get her to have a taste for things. Most sunnies dislike oranges etc but it sounds like yours has aquired tastes already!

Good luck!

 

[Crazy4Birds]

Nicky is VERY fussy with what he eats. I am having the same problem. I will eat some veggies like green beans or something and then give him a piece but he moves away when I offer it to him. You think he would at least try it! It's worked for some other foods but not veggies! He is just like a kid haha. Gracie on the other hand is very good about eating her veggies.

 

[Dbittner54]

That is the same problem Jax is doing. I can munch on it all I want and then offer to him, he just backs away. Seems like the food pellets is all he wants!

 

[island_girl]

Hmm, my conure will eat almost anything (unless we're hiding medicine in it, of course!). Bout if your's not getting enough veggies, you can get abba green. It's a powdery mix that our finches eat straight and I mix with water for my conure. The vet recommends it to make sure he gets enough veg.

 

[wildheart]

That is the same problem Jax is doing. I can munch on it all I want and then offer to him, he just backs away. Seems like the food pellets is all he wants!

I dont eat veggies so I cant offer it to my girl. She also does not eat veggies raw or even cooked and cut into blocks. BUT, she cant have enough of cooked veggies that are mashed up finely with some added water. She LOVES that!

 

[Crazy4Birds]

Seems like the food pellets is all he wants!

At least you can get him to eat pellets. I can't even get Nicky to do that.

 

[deni416]

The absolute favorite food for both of my birds has been persimmons. Makes for quite a messy, but I believe they are one of the healthier types of fruits. Too bad they are only avail in the fall & early winter.

 

[Chris Winkler]

Try adding small bits of the fruits and vegis in with the pellets.. That way Jax just might eat some of them as he eats. Also try taking all food out at bed time and give only the fruits and vegis at the time you feed him his breakfast then he will be hungry and more apt to try them. If you warm them up a bit too they will be more tempting. Give them for about an hour at first and make it a part of the morning routine see if this helps.

 

[bogo1]

Since Jax likes a cup, try unsweetened juices (natural) with pulp where applicable. Also, try low sodium V8 or other veggie juice from health food type store. Good luck! The good news is that you have Jax on pellets rather than seeds and the pellets are designed to give some of that nutrition.

 

[birdiemomma]

I noticed that Bella likes anything she can bite into that is big [like a apple wedge] if it isn't a challenge it seems like Bella isn't into it!