Why?

[Lacey]

Why can I not get my cockatoo to eat fresh fruits and vegetables? I offer it all the time and he just ignores it in his dish, and if I try to hand it to him, he just puts the side is beak and makes silly noise and and looks at me as if I'm crazy!

 

[oled]

It can take time if not used but don't give up

 

[newtobirds]

One thing that helped me is making parrot bread. I took a variety of veggies and chopped them in a chopper and baked them into the bread. Mine loves corn bread, so this worked well. I also make a pasta/rice/bean mix that is 50% veggies. I offer it daily.

Warm, cooked veggies are easier to sell too.

I also offer dried veggies in the pellet bowl too. Lots of colors and variety can help sell them!

 

[MikeyTN]

Like its being mentioned already, cook them will help! Overtime they may not be as picky!

 

[Lacey]

Thank you everyone! I will definitely use your suggestions! Newtobirds, do you just add the vegetables to a bread recipe?

 

[Ricas1215]

well for my gcc Cyro it took a while to get him to eat his fruits and veggies. i finally got him to eat a grape and now he loves them. i don't know if it was coincidence but he only ate them after he saw me eating a bowl of grapes. he got curious and reached for it while i was about to eat one.

 

[newtobirds]

When I make bird bread, I use Jiffy corn bread as a base. Then, I add some fruit juice as part of the liquid and I add chopped up veggies to the mix without otherwise modifying the recipe. I make 1/2 of a box at a time. I put it in a well-greased bread pan and I cook it until it's just starting to turn brown. Then I flip it onto a cutting board and let it cool. Then I cut it into small squares and freeze them, taking one out and thawing it for use each day. 1/2 a batch lasts a couple of weeks at my house. My bird really, really loves it and I have to limit how much I let her eat!

 

[TonyCagg]

I also use Jiffy. Nic Nic loves it. I usually do a full box or maybe 2. I bought a pan for mini-muffins and they are the perfect size. I use all sorts of veg and fruit in them as well as some seeds.

He loves them, it is usually his P.M. meal, I feed him right when we sit down to dinner so he doesn't complain that we are eating without him.

 

[Lacey]

Thank you!!

 

[Spiritbird]

Best way I know of is to sit down at the dining table with your bird and a plate of whatever you want him to eat. Instead of focusing on the bird you eat the plate with as much joy and fun as you can show. He will eventually want to know what it is all about.
You may have to do this several times.

 

[Zazusmommy]

My bird is sooo picky with fresh raw veggies and fruits, he likes his veggies cooked so I've tried many things to have him eat them *raw*, I emphasize this because veggies and fruits in the raw state are much more digestible as well as having all the vitamins and nutrients in the natural state, just as a bird would eat them in the wild.
dehydrating them (at less than 109degrees) might work if your bird likes dry foods, mine eats sweet potato, squash, apples, bell peppers and many more dehydrated but if offered otherwise he'll run away as if they're poisonous.
as said above offering veggies very often is key. I cut small pieces and put them on top of the food and that forces him to see the veggies and try them.
I have also found that if I put a small enough piece of ANYTHING in my hand my boy will take it--- whether he likes it and actually eats it always a surprise!

 

[Mare Miller]

I found with my Amigo that his appetite changes with the seasons, don't ask me why, but when our grapes came to fruition he could not get enough of them. He doesn't like grapes from the market unless they are organic, it's amazing that even though they are washed he can tell the difference. If I offered him a grape right now, he wouldn't eat it. He's now into apples, if store bought they must be peeled. Bananas must be on the green side, offer him a ripe one and he looks at you like 'you're kidding me, right?' Amigo loves fresh corn but could never get him to eat greens. Because I free flight him, I've noticed that he will land on the ground now to enjoy the new sprouts of fresh grass popping up. Good luck with your friend, I believe fresh is best!

 

[Lacey]

Thank you everyone for the wonderful advice! I appreciate it! I am going to try your suggestions and see if Reno will start to eat better! Thanks again!

 

[Remy]

MareMiller - It sounds like your bird may follow Ayurveda!! I was reading a book I just got on it, and there are guidelines for food. Green bananas have different properties than cooked bananas, and the skin of apples has a different property than the rest of the apple. LOL!


I think Puck was a pig in his past like because he eats almost anything, as long as it hasn't started to spoil (which he can detect before I can). When he's hesitant to eat something, he'll generally try it after he sees me eating it.

 

[triordan]

sweet potatoes/yams, fresh pumpkin, or butternut squash mashed and then add other veggies, always works for my picky eater! Oh also oatmeal or eggs work well for sneaking in those veggies!

 

[Lacey]

I will have to try that! Thanks!!

 

[Mare Miller]

Remy, you may be right, Amigo sounds like a follower of Ayurveda, for sure!

 

[Tikazoo]

I have also had great luck using a skewer. It's like a tasty toy right in front of them.

 

[prtmom]

I too will try these ideas. My too take the "good stuff" I want her to have out of her bowl just as fast as she can and throws it on the floor of the cage. I haven't found ANY kink of fruit she'll eat, and I've had her a couple of months. I may as well just go to Winn Dixie and get a buggy full of fruit and stop by the trash can on the way out and toss it for all the good it's doing her.
I use the Jiffy Mix trick. I buy a bag of the frozen mixed veggies and blenderize a few to stir in, along with small chunks of things. It make this nice, greenish cornbread.........