Picky Ziggy

[Jolene Rice]

I can’t get Ziggy to try any fresh vegetables or fruits, and I’ve tried coating it in seeds, and removing his seed for a while and giving him vegetables instead, he won’t try anything What do your budgies like, and what would you recommend giving him? Also I have heard of sprouting seeds, what seeds should I sprout and would he like that better?
Thanks

Ziggy

 

[expressmailtome]

Here is a link to a thread that explains sprouting for parrots: Sprouting Easy or Complicated? | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum .

 

[cosmolove]

One thing that's worked for me is partially burying whatever they want in what I want them to eat. So I do this a lot when I'm switching to pellets. I'll put a thin layer of pellets on top of the seed. That way they have to physically move the pellets or push them out of the way to get to the seed. This way they at least TOUCH it!

I've done the same with fresh foods. The only down side is you have to throw out the seed if any fruit juices or anything gets on the seed. You wouldn't want it molding or attracting pests.

I use it as another foraging technique.

 

[Familyof12]

I feed my birds (other than my chickens (hens) -they have a more complicated diet since they lay every day) eat like my kids ate when they were little. New foods are usually looked at strangely or sometimes they just love it. Most few times they see it, they may take a taste and stay away the rest of the day. I introduced a lot in the beginning to figure out what everyone's favorites are. I just kept serving the new item into their bowels, plate, tray and cage until they tried it. Try cutting the fresh foods different ways. I had to chop, dice, figure, mash, puree until I figured out that they like things separate. Mine don't like chop (not yet anyway, I've tried 4 x, and it ended up all getting thrown out) but the veggies about half the size of their bodies and recognizable, they act like locusts! They don't like broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, etc., chopped fine. We make a pretend garden with the food, using the broccoli as bushes/trees, cherries, oranges, and other fruit into small shapes so they look like pretend flowers (in our minds, they actually look like pebbles) mixed young greens as the grass, then put toys on it. I also provide them all roundybrush crumble (not pellets since our birds are small and picky), Lafeber's avicakes, nutriberries, and a little seed but this counts for about 40-50 percent of their diet. Mine are definite millet junkies (I use it to train) but they also eat broccoli with gusto after having served and thrown out probably 8 heads of broccoli, same with cauliflower, strawberries, etc.

Keep trying! It's good for them and they need the dark leafy greens, oranges, purples (I head not rhubarb though) and cut, chop, whatever you can and try it on your little one. Let us know how it goes!

 

[Parakeet88]

Sprouted beans were one of the first fresh foods my keets tried and they still love them. Mine also really love brown rice, broccoli, and leafy greens. A lot of people seem to choose fruits as first fresh foods thinking birds will like them better but my keets definitely prefer veggies.

What I did was every morning as soon as I uncovered their cage, I would take their seed/ pellets out and replace it with fresh foods. Doing it in the morning helps because the birds will be hungry. I think one of the most important things is to offer the fresh foods in the same spot/ same bowl as their seed. Even offering it at the same time every day probably helps. I think it helps them make the connection that anything in that bowl is food. Now my keets will try pretty much anything that I put in that bowl because they know it's food.

Offer different colors and textures. Try cutting them up different ways to see what they prefer. I had tried shredding carrots for my birds and realized they weren't eating them. Turns out my birds only like carrots in tiny cube shapes lol even try different temperatures, some birds seem to prefer warm foods. Try offering raw and cooked versions of the foods. Don't give up on a food after only offering it a couple of times, you need to consistently offer the same food/s over and over until they try it. They will have preferences and there may be foods they genuinely don't like but you at least want them to try it.

For my birds after I got them to like one thing (the sprouted beans) getting them to try other things was a lot easier. Its a lot less overwhelming if you focus on just getting them to like one thing first.

Some birds can also learn by watching you enjoying the food you want them to try. My bourkes actually learned from watching my keets enjoy their fresh breakfast every morning and now all four LOVE breakfast time. My conure almost always has to watch me eat some before he will try most new foods.

I would definitely try the sprouts. They are super healthy and birds seem to love them. I think all the little vine tails popping out got my birds interested, it probably reminded them of their favorite crinkly paper lol

Let us know how it goes, good luck!

 

[Jolene Rice]

Thanks for the help I will try some stuff tomorrow morning Also he has quinoa in his seed mix, but will it have the same nutritional value if it’s sprouted? The things I have to sprout are quinoa, brown rice, pine nuts, and millit are these easy or are they hard? Sorry for all questions I have just heard that sprouting is hard and it can become toxic so it has kinda scared me off

 

[Parakeet88]

I don't know much about sprouting since I buy mine from the store but I just wanted to say Familyof12 had a really good point that I also use about making the "pretend garden". When I first got my birds onto fresh foods I gave them the whole food, not chop. I used a spinach mix as a base, stuck some broccoli florets in there and then they'd get whatever else I had on hand. I would arrange the foods in a way that I thought might be visually stimulating to them to get them interested. For example instead of just throwing carrots in the bowl, try standing them up so they stick out. Now my birds are on chop but I still add fresh foods on top and I try to arrange them in a fun way. Lately I've been getting either rosemary or thyme and I break pieces off and stick them in the chop so the herbs are standing up like little trees or grass. I think it helps keep my birds interested and gives them a little bit of mental stimulation.

 

[Jolene Rice]

I just got him try carrot! I boiled carrots for few minutes, and then did a rough mash with a fork, then I mixed a tiny bit of millet in He doesn’t love it but he got it in his mouth which is progress