What types of foods do Green Cheek Conures favor?

[Sparky04]

I don't know about Green Cheeks in general, but Westley would eat anything. He'd even try to eat things that weren't food! He loved everything. And he was always eating. He did like to hold things with his foot too. He stated on Zupreem (that's what the breeder fed him), then we got him to eat TOPS. He actually liked the TOPS better, but I did a "mix the food" transition, just so his body could get used to the new food. He got a very varied diet. He'd eat all sorts of fruits and veggies, beans, nuts, grains, etc. He got some seeds (usually Nutriberries or millet), but not too much, they were used as a treat. And his TOPS pellets helped balance his diet. He was so not picky, he never met a food he didn't like. He never hesitated to try a new food.

 

[unicornlady7]

Bobioden -LOL! Welll...not officially, yet. We think "boy" but haven't done dna sexing yet. I have the kit to collect feathers for testing, but I'm such a wimp, I guess...

 

[Kassidy]

@Kiersten: Thanks for your input, it helps a lot. What kinds of things would Westley try to eat that weren't foods?

@Christa: I'd probably feel the same way, do you have to pull out feathers or how is it done?

 

[s15]

My conure is NOT PICKY AT ALL.
She'll try to eat ANYTHING, from fruits, to my meal (once she tried to go at my eggs ), to my hair.
We switched her diet not long after we got her. It was a pretty high maintenance meal plan, fresh cooked hot porridge every morning, a mix of two different dry foods during the day, and a granola ball at night. And we would have had to drive an hour to where we got her in order to buy that specific food. We give her a seed pellet mix for the basics (Kaytee Forti-diet Pro health for conures and lovebirds), but lots of fruit. She didn't seem any different. yShe loves cherries and strawberries. Blackberries too. She also eats some banana, mango, melon, peaches, just about whatever we have around. She goes crazy for walnuts and apricots, and she loves sunflower seeds. When I have her out she climbs into her food bag and picks all of them out of the mix.
When I want her to try something, I bring her out on my shoulder and I eat it and try and keep it away from her at first. If it's mine and she can't have it, she is DETERMINED to take it from me. That's good for new toys too.
She's a very messy eater. She dips EVERYTHING in her water, except for seeds. She needs her water changed constantly because it turns into fruity, colorful mushy pellet soup. If something is too big, like a whole apricot, she can't pick it up until she eats some of it, so it needs to be right on the top of her food dish. But I think she kinda likes the challenge. She'll work on a big piece of fruit for a whole day, through the night, and sometimes the next morning. If she isn't done by then, it needs to be thrown away.
Anyways. She's not picky at all and she's tons of fun. Very affectionate and social.

 

[maimaie]

Luca won't eat large seeds/hard things. He likes safflower, and would probably crack and eat a sunflower seed, but has never had them. I tried giving him a whole almond (out of the shell) on a few occasions, but he didn't know what to do with it. He enjoys almond slices as a treat though! Luca also won't eat hard things, like raw carrots, but he will eat cooked carrots. He will eat with his feet but only things that aren't juicy/messy. If I cut things into sticks he will hold them, but he can't/won't pick up any other shape with his foot. Usually I cut his fruits into slightly larger than bite sized pieces since they are juicy. If I don't he will take one bite and allow it to drop to the floor because he won't hold it in his foot.

Luca eats in his cage, on his play stand, on the table... any where that there is food he will eat it! He is food aggressive so we have to pick him up before putting food into his cage or on his play gym. His favorite foods are all sweet fruits: pears, papaya, apples, etc. I wouldn't classify him as a picky eater, but he is skeptical of new foods. I usually have to present new things to him 2-3 times before he willingly eats it. He is also a dunker so constant water changes are a must!

His main diet consists of RoudyBush, fruits, and veggies. We use dried papaya and nutriberries as treats as well as cheerios, millet, and almond slices. He gets bird bread about 1-2 times per week (more if I feel like he isn't eating enough veggies.)

 

[SteveC]

I've only had my gcc, Rio, for about 5 weeks now. She is 15 weeks old. I feed her frozen mixed veggies in the morning, thawed in microwave of course. It has carrots, green peas, green beans, kernels of corn, and lima beans in it. Is this sufficient enough for her veggie diet? I also keep chopped walnuts, pecans, shelled sunflower seeds, (unsalted and raw), and, dehydrated black berries, in her cage. I always keep "Kaytee Cockatiel Mix" in her cage, all of the time, as well. Occasionally, I'll give her a little millet spray as a treat. With my busy schedule, is there a frozen fruit mix that I can offer her, as well, or, is fruit even necessary, since she gets all the other foods everyday?
Thanks.

 

[karen256]

GCC's are pretty adaptable birds as to diet, luckily.

Mine gets her 'birdie mush' twice a day - basically a chop type diet that I freeze into ice cube trays. She gets some walnuts as treats, and pellets are always available. I often have some parakeet seed out for the budgie and she liked to sometimes pick the canary seeds out of that. Other than that, she also gets some people food. It's hard to eat dinner around a flighted bird without sharing. Many healthy people foods are also good for birds (nothing with too much fat, salt, ect).

Sometimes I give her raw veggies, too. There are certain veggies that she won't eat cooked, but loves when raw, like carrots and peppers. During the summer, I will often pick her a hot pepper from the garden for a snack (I'm trying out ghost peppers this year just to see if she will eat them).

They use their feet as hands to hold food a lot. Mine always likes to hold dry foods in her foot, even small things like pellets. But she doesn't like to use her foot to hold any sort of food that is wet or sticky... even apple slices are too wet for her to touch with her foot. She likes to keep her feet clean.