Pudgy budgie

[NBGwen]

Sooo...I am 99% sure that my Lemondrop is overweight. Lemon and Pi come from the local Petsmart in my area - in other words, they were fed a seed diet. I've been trying (without much success) to switch them to fresh food and pellets (I got the Zupreme mix and feed them nutriberries too). Lemon has developed a fatty area in her lower abdomen. I consulted with a vet, and we both think it's a lipoma.

Question - how the heck do you guys get your budgies to eat healthy! I've tried withholding seeds and treats, but then they don't eat. Pi looks great, so far, Lemon is older than Pi, and bigger. Their ages are hard to tell. Both are under a year old still.

I had just cleaned the area, it was still a wee bit damp and she was NOT happy with me...at all.


I got Lemon in May - so she is probably about 10 months (her ceres is white...I'm hoping I sexed them correctly :/). I got Pi in September after losing my Spook. Pi is probably 8 or 9 months. It's hard to say - Petsmart has no DOBs for them

 

[DQTimnehs]

I'm not sure if it will work with budgies but I got Darwin on pellets by soaking them in warm water and spoon feeding for about 10 days, then he wanted to eat them dry. You can put veggies on a skewer so they will hopefully pick at them and get used to the taste of different veggies.

 

[NBGwen]

I'll try that - minus the spoon...they aren't tame and Lemon is pretty upset with me for handling her so much yesterday. Poor little bug. I love how they play with each other and just want to give them an amazing life.

Skewers! Great idea! They look picking at things and have a ton of toys, I'll add some veggies to them! Thank you!

 

[Milestone]

Just keep offering different healthy foods and they'll probably try them eventually. Budgies can be really stubborn with it. But the good thing is in my opinion, two birds are more likely to try new food. One picks at something the other bites it and so on.

 

[lotus15]

It took me months to convert mine, but I did a whole arsenal of different tactics. I was trying to get them onto Harrison's pellets at the time. I bought the Harrison's mash which is basically their pellets ground up into powder. I only offered their seeds mixed with the mash so that each seed was coated with the mash, getting them used to the taste. Sometimes I'd offer it wet too so that it was even harder to separate the mash from the seeds. I also fed them a birdie bread using the Harrison's mix. I made it into mini cupcakes. About 1/3 of the cupcakes had seeds mixed right into the batter and sprinkled on top so that they would see the seeds and it would get them to eat the bread. The next third had seeds in the mix but also pellets, and both pellets and seeds on top. The last third had less seeds, only mixed into the batter along with pellets, and none sprinkled on top. I phased them over time to eating the less and less seeded version of the bread while they got used to the taste of the pellets. I also only fed seed at set times, but left pellets in the cage all day.

For fresh foods, I would do similar things. I'd offer a healthy veggie chop, and mix some seeds in. Everything was chopped super finely so that a lot of it stuck to the seeds. You can also try offering their seeds soaked or sprouted, which will also get them more used to eating fresh. I'd also switch from fresh to lightly steamed-- I found one of my budgies much preferred veggies when they were lightly steamed to be just a little softer and warmer. Play with presentation too. My budgies also couldn't resist wet leafy greens hung in their cage-- they looooved carrot tops in particular.

 

[PoukieBear]

The easiest thing right now to get them to eat healthy, is to sprout their seed. It's really easy to do, and since they are already used to the seed mix, it won't be a big deal for them to eat it sprouted. They might actually prefer it that way!

Send me a PM with your e-mail address and I'll send you a document that I give to all my new budgie owners. It walks you through step by step on how to sprout.

I'll put together something to post on here as a thread soon!

 

[Bagpipes]

I buy frozen veges/fruits...soak them in hot water until thawed, then drain..then put them in my mini chopper & puree. Some days they get veges, some days fruits. The only vege I don't puree is corn...they like it regular. But I also will do hard cooked egg in the chopper. I make cornbread, cut it into squares, then freeze. Sometimes, I crumble cornbread with fruit puree. And I STILL have to sprinkle seed on everything! But it took a few weeks to get them motivated. Less seed, more fruits/veges...they will learn....if you feed it, they will come (around).....

 

[Lady Jane]

We all do this differently. So whatever works for you please let us know. I chop a few (not too many) fresh veggies and put them in a flat dish which fits over the seed bowl. A flat dish allows them to forage through the veggies to pick out what looks interesting. I then sprinkle individual millet seed on top of that chop. Of course the birds will go for the millet first. I did this for about 2 weeks and they eventually began to eat the veggies along with the millet. I include pellets in the seed blend. I also make them birdie bread from a mix I purchase on Amazon and this will given them veggies and other healthy ingredients. My budgies absolutely adore birdie bread. I buy the mix and then include foods like sweet potato, pumpkin puree, assorted greens, coconut oil, finely chopped nuts (almonds), carrots, squash and a few jars of baby veggies with low iron. Also use organic apple juice for moisture. Here is the one I used last time Amazon.com : Bird Bread All-Natural Harvest Treats for Parrots by Better Beaks : Gourmet Food : Pet Supplies

I cut it into small squares and freeze them . It last about 2 months before they have finished the batch. I also use a skewer to put larger pieces of veggies and green on and they will nibble from that. Since you already have 2 budgies this process should be effective as there is a bit of monkey see, monkey do among budgies when it comes to eating.

 

[NBGwen]

Wow everyone! Thanks so much for all the advice! You are all so awesome! I was worried I would be berated for my chubby Lemon, I so appreciate the understanding <3

This morning I soaked the Zupreme pellets and mixed in some millet, oat seeds, and a bit of bok choy. We'll see if they eat any. I think soaking the pellets and mixing in a bit of seed will work best with these two...they love their seeds. I'll definitely try sprouting the seeds too! I keep forgetting about that. Hopefully they will take to it. I have a food processor and could easily whip up a veggie mashed up mix with a bit of seed to entice them.

I love them to bits...such stubborn babies lol

 

[Davi]

It takes a village! Well, in our case, it takes an online forum community! Best of luck and yes, patience is key!

 

[NBGwen]

A wee update - I started soaking the zupreme pellets with a bit of millet and oat - they LOVE it. Colour me shocked LOL - When I got home yesterday, Lemon's beak had zupreme mush on it LOL - next step - sprouted seeds and fresh food cabobs and mash.

 

[expressmailtome]

A wee update - I started soaking the zupreme pellets with a bit of millet and oat - they LOVE it. Colour me shocked LOL - When I got home yesterday, Lemon's beak had zupreme mush on it LOL - next step - sprouted seeds and fresh food cabobs and mash.

That is a great step forward!

 

[Jas]

So glad they like their pellets!!

Now they need a budgie bib

 

[AkasyaEllric]

Mash is definitely a good idea, that's not super uncommon for the PetSmart suppliers to use (I worked for PetSmart for a long time). The other thing they are SUPPOSE to be giving them every day, unless Canadian policy is different, is the Zilla dehydrated fruit and veggie mix soaked in water. I'm not sure if that will help or not, but figure I would add to it. I'm glad the soaked pellets are working!

 

[Monica]

I agree with the suggestions given! That said, budgies still require some seeds in their diets. Too many pellets can be just as bad as too many seeds for these guys.


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[Fergus Mom]

I've not had much luck with getting mine to eat fresh veggies either... I read something one day about sticking a carrot in like a perch! So I have used celery like that, but it turns into a lame wilty limp thing pretty quickly! I am still trying though, and such great advice here. I'm off to halve a carrot and try THAT for a stiff perch now!

 

[SchwuggieLove]

I remember when I was a kid, my family's birds would pick through their mix and eat out the seeds, and throw away the pellets. So as an attempt to avoid waste, I actually used the third cup in my cage and put a tiny amount of Zupreem pellets (fruit flavored). They were interested by it, and although they still preferred the seed, they would also eat the pellets. Little by little, I started to put have less seed and more pellets. But still in separate cups. Eventually (after about 3 weeks), I took the seed out completely. No problems. No wetting of the pellets. I think it helped presenting the pellets themselves as an extra "treat" rather than a corruption of their seed. Also, using the fruity ones instead of the natural ones since they are more appetizing. (Now I feed mainly the natural ones, with some fruit ones mixed in.)

For veggies, I would prepare the plate of chop in the kitchen, but then let them actually watch me sprinkle the millet over the top. They recognized the sound of the bag and the sound of me scooping the seed out, so they knew what it was and wanted some.

Now, the only way my lil guy gets millet is sprinkled on his veggies, or on a millet spray that requires acrobatics to get to.

 

[NBGwen]

OMG guys - so yesterday I decided to bled together veggies and the pellets, but it was too watery, so that was a no go - they didn't touch it. Then this morning I blended up just the veggies (with a bit of water). Then I added some to the food dish and mixed it with the pellets and some millet and oats. OMG THEY LOVE IT! Very fuzzy video - but you can see Lemon's beak is coated in it LOL

Shared album - Gwen Walker - Google Photos

 

[Lwalker]