Picky Eater...

[music2music]

So, I've been trying since I've had my little Twiggy to eat fruits and veggies. However, she is very stubborn and sticks to the food she normally eats. I desperately want her to eat them so I don't have to worry for her health. We have spent a decent amount on organic food for her just to either peck at it only a little or completely ignore it. What do you guys recommend?

 

[Lady Jane]

Two budgies eat much better than one. I call it competitive eating. Budgies do not eat much fruit, if any.

 

[budgielyfe]

I agree with Lady Jane, my lone budgie started eating much better when I got a second one. He also became more social with me.

Off-topic, sorry, but the first budgie was a pet store bird. When I bought his friend, it was from a breeder and hand-raised. Her total trust of humans rubbed off on the first bird in a few months, and now he might as well be hand-raised too. It was an incredible change and he's just much happier all-around. Happiest bird I've ever seen.

 

[Budgiebonkers]

Tried dried herbs mixed with seeds so she taste it when eating

 

[Fergus Mom]

@music2music - When you feed her veggies, do you chop them up really fine? One day while looking at a photo of other budgies eating their veggies, I suddenly realized I was not cutting mine up fine like those budgies veggies that were attacking their food! So now, mine get the following (in addition to pellets, which I have no clue if they are eating... ugh!) Frozen (but thawed) Mixed veggies containing green beans, carrots, peas and corn, and fresh spinach leaves. I just kept putting it in there, (with millet sprinkled on top, of course) until they ate it. In fact, they usually devour it. About every 2 weeks, they get a piece of a hard boiled egg white. I chop all of this - veggies, eggs, etc. with my kitchen sharp scissors - SO easy!

 

[SquawksNibbles]

It can take a little while for birds on a seed-only diet to finally accept fresh foods.

How have you tried offering it? Have you tried hanging veggies on a skewer, or chopping it up finely? Birds can be picky with how your present their food to them. My birds would not eat anything unless it was chopped up in tiny pieces. The first food they accepted was broccoli. I had chopped off some broccoli tops, so the little pieces looked like little seeds.

What foods have you tried? I would focus more on vegetables and grains than fruit. A lot of Budgies just do not like fruit, although there may, of course, be exceptions. My birds love their veggies and cooked grains (especially quinoa).

The best advice I can offer you is to be persistent and try a bunch of different things. Change up the way you offer the food and even change the food you offer. In the meantime, you could always try sprouted seeds.

 

[Lady Jane]

Try making some birdie bread. My two adore it.

Amazon.com : Momma's Birdie Bread Mix Treat for Parrots and Exotic Birds (Original) : Bird Food : Pet Supplies

 

[EnglishBudgMom]

I have the same issues! Our bird will pick at a broccoli head, but won't actually eat it. Our vet said they can eat "almost" everything we do, so I tried offering some cooked chicken the other day. She just licks it an runs away. She does show more interest in super finely chopped up stuff, but again with the lick it and run away thing. I made some birdy bread, licked it and ran away.... The vet offered her a chunk of Avi-cake and she loves that stuff! 50% pellets, so it's better than nothing at this point. Maybe I should start doing what my bird does with new foods...

 

[EnglishBudgMom]

Try making some birdie bread. My two adore it.

Amazon.com : Momma's Birdie Bread Mix Treat for Parrots and Exotic Birds (Original) : Bird Food : Pet Supplies

Oh, wow, I didn't know this was a mix! I used a recipe I found online that uses jiffy cornbread as a base.

 

[SquawksNibbles]

Oh, wow, I didn't know this was a mix! I used a recipe I found online that uses jiffy cornbread as a base.

It would probably be healthier to make a bread with a bunch of different veggies and ground up pellets. You can also use flours such as millet flour, quinoa flour, etc. Those Jiffy Cornbread mixes aren’t the best for bird bread. They can be higher in sugar, carbohydrates, and calories. The mix Lady Jane shared would be great, too. There are many options out there for healthy breads for birds. They are filled wth vegetables, some fruit, grains, pellets, etc.

 

[EnglishBudgMom]

It would probably be healthier to make a bread with a bunch of different veggies and ground up pellets. You can also use flours such as millet flour, quinoa flour, etc. Those Jiffy Cornbread mixes aren’t the best for bird bread. They can be higher in sugar, carbohydrates, and calories. The mix Lady Jane shared would be great, too. There are many options out there for healthy breads for birds. They are filled wth vegetables, some fruit, grains, pellets, etc.

I added fresh pureed veg, some sweet potato baby food, grated apple, carrot, zupreem pellets (that I probably should have ground up), and a pinch of spirulina (human grade, we use it in stuff), and an egg. I wondered about using jiffy as a base, but thought I'd try it as our bird is so picky. Maybe I'll try the mix LadyJane used.

 

[Lady Jane]

You can add just about any veggie to the mix. I find the mix so much easier and more economical in the long run. It always turns out for me. Today I am service a small square of birdie bread mixed with sprouts. I know they will eat it.