What To Feed A Conure?

[Blancaej]

As some of you may have read, I just adopted a BCC. The woman I adopted him from had him a month and was feeding him fruit, veggies & pasta.

For a conure mix she was feeding him a conure mix that had pellets and a mix of seed that included peanuts and sunflower seeds. Now I know smaller birds do ok on a diet that includes some seeds as long as that is not all they eat. But I've always read sunflower seeds and peanuts were not great foods for birds especially on a regular basis. Only as an occasional treat. I guess the main thing he was eating from the mix was peanuts and sunflower seeds. Am I correct to say that this is not a good idea?

Here is what I plan to feed him. If any of you that have conures can confirm I am on the right track, that would be great!

Chop Mix - Pasta, rice, beans & veggies.
Fresh Veggies
Fruit in small quantities
Cornbread Muffins- Cornbread, veggies and egg shells.
Some nuts which include almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts & pecans.
Zupreem Conure size pellet diet.

More suggestions are welcome! Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Doublete]

I feed my gcc a fruit/veg/bean (kitchen sink) chop, roudybush pellets, a couple nutriberries a day, and I have a sweet potato mash ball (with kale, quinoa, carrots and sweet potato), and a pumpkin/sweet potato bread. I don't feed "cornbread" as I make my bread using pumpkin and carrots and sweet potato and the flour is almond or rice flour.

 

[Blancaej]

Nice, thanks for sharing your conures diet.

 

[jiannotto9492]

I just got a new Jenday. I'm going with pellets mixed with a chop for the time being. The pellets I'm feeding are Zupreem Natural. As for the chop, go experiment and see what your feathered friend likes.

 

[Blancaej]

Thanks! Sounds like my I'm headed in the right direction as far as feeding goes!

 

[jiannotto9492]

Sounds like you indeed are. I would suggest adding jalapeños and bell peppers to your list of veggies if they aren't already. Also, try to avoid feeding the nuts if you can. I would save the nuts and use them as treats as they don't offer much to the birds to begin with.

 

[Blancaej]

My fids love bell peppers, so I'll be sure to give him some and see how he likes it. I will be sure to keep the nuts to a minimum. Thanks!

 

[birdstheword]

bumping this thread so as to not start a new one and be repetitive...what's your chop to pellet ratio? i know lots of people recommend the 70% pellet diet but i am in the camp of using pellets as a supplement to chop as opposed to the other way around and would like to see what that specifically looks like.

since i plan on feeding my bird more produce than pellets, what's your all's opinions on an appropriate amount of pellets to buy? for example, i'd hate to buy a 5lb bag and have it go bad. maybe a better question is, how do you keep your pellets fresh?

 

[Mimsy01]

I get the smallest bags possible. Such as the last bag was roudybush 44 Oz. I end up going though a little over half before I give the rest to the pet rats or chickens. It takes FOREVER to go through a bag for one gcc. I free feed the pellets in a small bowl, just covering the bottom pretty much, and it takes about 2 days to go through it. Most of which was powdered and gets tossed.

The majority of her diet is produce-berries, greens, sprouts, veggies, fruit cooked grains ect. Favorite foods-fruits-strawberries, raspberries, mango, cucumbers, any purple lettuces, spicy sprouts (like radish), bell peppers and cooked pasta.

I use nuts, nutriberries and popcorn as treats. I only just let her start eating nuts again recently since when we first got her all she would eat was sunflower seeds. She acted like new foods were something to be feared.

 

[BoomBoom]

You are pretty much right on track and then some! I hope you have better luck making your conure eat veggies because mine is a struggle.

 

[Doublete]

I buy the smallest bag of roudybush. And honestly I don't remember to put it in his dish every day. He has a dish that is dedicated to only pellets but I don't keep it full as he chooses that over his chop. So he gets his chop every morning and a tablespoon of pellets every afternoon (or every other).

 

[Doublete]

I am about to make a homemade nutriberries recipe that includes his pellets... Hoping it works to get the pellets in..

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

I feed both my birds Harrisons high potency fine pellets. That's all Peaches will eat, aside from millet spray for a treat.

Skittles on the other hand will eat it if I eat it. The Harrisons pellets are organic. I'm sure there are plenty of other farents on this forum that feed their fids other pellets instead. To me, as long as your bird is getting all the necessary nutrients, with little exposure to artificial-processed foods, you're in good shape.

I think you are definitely on the right track. For my sunny, Skittles, he always has some Harrison's pellets in his food dish at all times.

When I wake him up, I give him a Harrisons 'power treat', as well as throughout the day. But I also feed him other things. He LOVES pasta. He also loves fruit and veggies. He is partial to grapes, strawberries, apples, broccoli, spicy sweet potatoes.

I find he likes things that are 'tart' or 'tangy'.

I actually, wash, peel and rewash his grapes/apples (even when they are organic). He is so spoiled.

I can't seem to get him to eat mangoes, so I let him have juice. I buy the Tropicana Farmstand juices and he LOVES them. The vet actually said it was okay to give him a 'thimble' of juice each day.

The best fruits and veggies to feed your bird are the 'meaty' ones that are high in Vitamin A (a VERY necessary nutrient for parrots). Things like the dark green/orange fruits and veggies. I find everything in moderation is best. We like variety, and they do as well.

One thing I do recommend, and this is more a personal preference, is not eating in front of your conure IF you cannot share what you are eating or give them their own treat as well. Birds usually flock together so I just think it's more polite. LOL.

BTW, avoid avacodo (and anything containing it) at ALL costs. It can be fatal.

PS, one thing I do that I find works great - is whenever I am cooking something that I know he can have - I will set some aside just for him before adding anything he cant have. For example, when I make spaghetti, I set some cooked noodles aside before I add meat/sauce to mine.

 

[Notdumasilook]

My recently adopted sun conure has learned the joy of variety. The people I got him from fed him only on of the common walmart seedy parrot mixes. Since I got him his taste have expanded. Apples, grapes, cranberrys, strawberries, bell pepper, sweet potato, carrots, brocoli, cauliflower, scrambled eggs, jalapenos, chicken, porkchops, hamburger, mac&cheese, spagetti (with meat sauce), corn on the cob, cantelope, honeydew, cucumber..rice (with a lil hot sauce) potato salad, blackeyed peas, cornbread.. heck just about anything I eat. (barring avacodo of course). When he his out of his cage,..which is most of the time I am awake and home he has his own cup with a real thick rim he can perch on. I keep a variety of fruit juices in that for him. He drinks a lot more than any other birds I have experience with and really seems to enjoy having his own special cup. My birds eat as well or better than I do. I sprinkle bone meal and a lil vitamin D3 on his fresh foods a few times a week for good measure. He also gets pecans, walnuts, and almonds for treats. I cant get him to naw on a cuttle bone yet.. but I found out he likes the purple fruit flavored "TUMS" and give him one to chew on now and then.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

That is quite the variety. Though, I personally, would stay away from pork chops, hamburger and anything dairy (cheese). If it's canned/jarred sauce - I'd stay away from that too. Too much salt and sugar is bad for your bird.

I'd encourage you to discontinue the Tums. That could be dangerous.

I've caught Skittles 'stealing' sips of my coffee before, so I now have a cover on mine so he can't.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Just so you know, it may seem fine in the beginning - but prolonged exposure to bad or unsafe foods can cause significant harm.

Peaches used to get respiratory infections regularly. I was feeding her pet store birdseed, commercial pellets as well as bologna and Doritos.

Once I stopped all that and got her on a 'healthier' diet, she stopped getting infections. Most of the fruits/veggies you've mentioned are great, but the processed stuff is not. Just a thought.

 

[Notdumasilook]

Oh agreed on the doritos.. WAY too much salt. I lost a sweet cockatiel I had for 20 years.. when I had cookout one day...while tending to the grill a neighbor gave her some fritos in her food bowl which she downed eagerly.. Im like What the heck?? I was too late. 30 minutes later she died in my hands from what appeared to be a heart attack or stroke. And yeah bolgna too is on my no no list. As far as cheese or dairy products..I have heard that birdies are lactose intolerant, but some 30 years ago when I adopted my first child I had not heard this.. and my Amazon (Cookie) has never seemed to have a problem with it. Booger.. my sun conure seems to enjoy a lil pepper jack now and then and they both relish the mac&cheese I make (home made..not the box stuff). Cookie is as healthy as any Amazon I have ever seen. Im not sure they would be better served with a pellet diet. The variety they get makes them excited at meal times. I will look further at the the Tums.. Id think polysorbate would be good for their bones and feathers. Cookie wont indulge in any calcium block or cuttle bone..(or tums either).. but go figure.. he wants to eat clay off my workboots (wild birds do eat clay ive heard).. so I am liberal on the bone meal in his food. As for the meats in their diet.(well cooked of course) ... parrots in the wild are omnivores.(unless Im misinformed) They are not vegetarians, thou it makes up most of their diet. I understand they will actually go on "nest raids" and eat other birds babies and eggs out of their nest in the wild. Another mind blower that I got from a guy from South America.. he had trouble with wild macaws stripping his avacodos out of his garden. Now we both know that avacodo are toxic to birds. Reckon the wild ones know what parts to eat or have a way to neutralize the poison? I have always wondered about that. No worries tho.. my children will not be near an avacodo.. and any neigbors that try feeding my youngins anything will be dealt with severely!

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

You named your sunny Booger? LOL. That is too funny. Sometimes I call Skittles that. I'l say to him "You little Skit" Or "You are such a booger, yes you are!". Sometimes I also call him "Bug Eyes" and "The flying rat".

I just love what BoomBoom calls his sunny. "My technicolor chicken". That is just the cutest thing.

It seems to me, you know your facts. I just tend to be much more cautious because I feed them an organic diet. So the majority of the fruits & veggies I get are usually organic. I don't usually get organic berries, grapes or apples - because the part i feed him is on the inside. I also give him pasta and breads. He loves both. He also likes hard boiled eggs. He likes the white part, not the shell and not the yolk.

I have given Skittles chicken before. I buy the Perdue which is 'minimally processed', with no anti-biotics, additives and so on. The "all-natural" kind.

 

[Notdumasilook]

Yeah when I adopted this lil conure his prior owners fed him nothing but the standard birdie mix you get.. a decent mix of seed, monkey biscuit, the pellets that look like cat food, with some dried fruits mixed in. That didnt last long. He gets real excited when meal time comes around. He likes his eggs scrambled. I am pretty careful with what I feed them..but Im not sold on the "organic" thing. Well cooked beef and pork they both get but only when its on my menu as well. Cookie is a happy camper with a pork chop or steak bone to naw on.. great for his beak and gets a lil calcium in him as well. Booger enjoys the little chicken wingbones. Bottom line..variety within reason (AN NO SALTY STUFF) makes them happy as well as healthy. On a cautionary note..I did have an issue with some cherries I bought. A lil while in the fridge blackberries, cherries, raspberrys, etc can "turn hard" with a lil fermentation..(alcohol)..and I once accidently got my Amazon drunk.. which is not good. Once some fruits get a lil soft..even if it looks fine.. and taste fine for you..it may be just enuff alcohol to have a serious reaction on birds. Eat it yourself or toss it or you risk you birds health.
It amazes me how much behavior is hard wired in birds.
For instance.. the Amazon will take a left over chicken thigh or drumstick bone..split it and eat the marrow out of the inside,, thats hard wired. He also "feeds" Booger offering him birdy puke. Booger's reaction is to grab Cookies beak and shake it violently..begging for more. Bottom line..they adopted each other! Neither of them like insects or spiders around. If a fly or a beetle get indoors they both go in to "alert" mode.. and Cookie actually makes a very specific warning sound letting me know a creepy crawly is somewhere around..and I have to follow his line of sight..find it and dispose of the offending critter to settle him down. Booger will "attack" my wifes pricey pocketbook. It has a somewhat serpentine pattern and he wants to kill it. Similarly..I brought a new cockatilel in the home many years ago. That night I went to cover her cage and she screamed in fear. Im like... woah..thats strange. Tried covering again..same screams. Then it dawned on me. The cloth had a somewhat reptilian pattern. I promplty got a plain sheet to cover the bird... no reaction at all..she was just fine and dandy. I guess the point Im making here is that anyone that decides to have a feathered family member..pay attention and learn to recognize "hard wired" instinctive behaviors and working with them makes for a happier family all the way around.