Picky Sun Conures

[STACEYV]

hello,i have been honoured now for 3 weeks to have my two sun conures. i have read and searched everything i can to help with feeding and training. I want my birds to eat fruits and veges. I bought a mouse hay cage which is brilliant for putting in fruit and veges. problem is, my feathered kids spend th next hour tearing everything apart. they bite into a carrot, break a piece off and throw it on the floor. they do this with every leaf, every vege, every fruit until they get it all out and there is nothing left.

I have tried to blitz the vege and give it a bowl, but they just kind of beak it out over the edge till there is nothing left. I tried to add a tiny bit of almond meal through it so that might entice them.

i have different forms of pallet foods, again, pick them up and toss them.

they only seem to eat sunflower seeds and sprouted seeds that i make.

i read somewhere that you can peanut butter to the blitz vege, however have also read that peanut butter is toxic for my conures.

they were purchased from a pet shop, so they have only ever had a seed diet. took about a week for them to start on the sprouted seeds, and they pick and choose what they want, corn and chickpeas mainly

any help please

 

[wrench13]

What kind of fruit are you offering?

 

[STACEYV]

hi, this is what i am currently offering, both blitzed and whole. cabbage, bok choy, carrot, brussel sprouts, snow peas, broccoli, cauliflower, beetroot, kale, spinach, cucumber, zuccini.

fruit is apple, grapes, watermelon, oranges, strawberries, blueberries, dried sultanas on their stalks.

nuts as training only, pecan, almonds, macamdia, walnuts and a couple of others i cant remember the name of, of course of they LOVE all of these. i dont feed peanuts as i have read this is toxic, is this true, because i wanted to try peanut butter in the veg

 

[wrench13]

Its not the actual peanut that can be toxic, its shells that may have mold. Use high quaity human grade peanuts.

 

[prettykiwi]

I don't have much advice, but I know they do have foraging toys that hang from the top of the cage that basically are a kabob stick to put slices of apples, cucumbers, grapes, etc on. Maybe they would like that. Also, keep in mind that switching from a seed diet to something else is always hard, but they are tasting the food when they pick it up to throw it. So that's a step in the right direction at least.

 

[janquito]

Mine sometimes do that, too, but they will at least eat some of it if I hold it or if I only give them a small bit. I know, it gets frustrating & it feels so wasteful. Luckily my dog loves it when the birds drop food.

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[Notdumasilook]

Suggest you use almond butter... its better for them. Make sure there is no salt in ingredients. Its also easy to add lil supplements/meds to if needed. And as has been said.. set it up for them to forage a lil. I mix some goodies and just spread a lil bit on a small table and let them go thru picking and trying dif stuff. Oh. and they will probably start bumming food from you during mealtimes...start offering/sharing with them food off your plate that is healthy for them (again...avoid salt) It wont take long to broaden their horizons... Just watch your fingers.. they are VERY defensive over food..

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

This is really more of a process of elimination.

Skitty's vet wants me to feed him mango, papaya, star fruit, broccoli, carrots, spinach and sweet potatoes. But the only ones he'll eat is broccoli and sweet potatoes.

Skittles also likes grapes, strawberries and apples. He won't eat any other fruit that I've tried to feed him.

You have to find out what they like and build on that. Each bird is different. Sometimes it helps if they see you eating it- then they want to try it but that can lead to problems with them wanting to try everything you eat including the no-no stuff.


Skittles is fed Harrisons organic pellets and I'd highly recommend you convert yours over to a pelleted diet (if not Harrisons then another type of pellet, such as Zupreem). An all seed diet is a one way ticket to health problems. It's okay to give them some seed, but it should never make up more than 20% of their diet.

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

I am not a conure person,but as for having them try different foods,,I think this can apply to ALL birdies...

BB my new 'tiel,was not interested in ANY kind of good goodies at all. He was content with his special cockatiel seed mix,Zupreem fruity pellets,and millet <millet as a treat.>

Then,one day,I was having my lunch,while playing on the computer,and BB was on my shoulder. I had a small chicken breast with broccoli and a little smashed patato with gravy.

The little grey guy climbed down my arm,hopped onto my computer desk,walked over to the plate,and started to nosh away at my lunch .

He sampled the chicken,nibbled on the broc,and went to town on the smashed. Then he promptly walked across the smashed and gravey,and hopped back on my arm!

My point here being...EAT with them! Make a plate of goodies that you'd like them to try/eat. Let them see you eating. I'll betcha in no time,they will be sampling everything and anything you give them.

It seems that BB now,will only eat the good stuff when he is sampling from MY plate lol.

Good Luck!!!


Jim

 

[Bastian]

I think they take time to warm up to certain foods. They may need to see / taste it a bunch of times before they'll start to want to eat it. Also perhaps heating it up a little to make it more lukewarm, if you've been serving it cold.

I found that frozen peas are a big winner for my young conure as I'm trying to increase his veggie intake. He loves, loves, loves them. I just heat them up for a bit to defrost and he seems to really enjoy it. He'll probably eat a good table spoon of them before he gets bored and wants something new.

Otherwise he does the same sorts of things with Carrots, but it looks like he enjoys the tearing it apart process so I let him go wild. Sometimes cutting them into small bites encourages him to eat it and not just tear and throw.