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3+ month old grey refuses to switch from zupreem?

Greydee

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De
Hey so I have a 3 month old Congo grey who refuses to really eat pellets like tops, roudy, and even the oven baked food. She will eat zupreem natural and Higgins intune. She won't eat veggies and only apples.
I've tried:
Melons
Grapes
Cherries
Squash
Broccoli (she nibbles but won't finish)
Cauliflower
Carrots
Cucumber
Tomatoes (various types)
Spinach
Lettuce
Pistachios (won't touch)
Walnuts (won't touch)
Strawberries
And probably a few things I can't think of now.

She weighed 380~grams and is now at 353 as I slightly pulled the two foods away to encourage her to eat the others (5-10 grams zupreem or intune). Any suggestions or feedback. Will she starve herself to death. She'll tear apart the oven baked pellets and it looks like she eats maybe 10%...maybe. It's hard to tell. All comments and advice or criticism is welcome.
 

Shezbug

ASK ME FOR PICTURES OF MY MACAW!
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Is this possibly your first bird?

She will starve herself if none of the foods you are offering are something she recognises or accepts as food. I suggest you return the foods that she is happy to eat and work on a much slower conversion to what you want her to eat without restricting anything she is happy to eat to the degree of weight loss.

Why do you want to switch her food? Is there a particular reason? My guys get Zupreem as one of the pellets I serve regularly- it is a suitable food. My macaw wont touch tops so I have not even bothered trying it for my other birds who are fussier than my mac, I am not a fan of it personally.

How long are you allowing for your bird to get used to these new fresh foods? I served capsicum regularly (like more days each week than not) to a rescue bird I have for nearly a year before he decided they were safe and ok to eat some of.

Birds are wasteful and mine hardly ever finish all of the food I serve- I serve more than they need as they drop a fair whack of what they pick up.

You can try to eat the foods you want her to eat in front of her making them seem more safe and inviting - they often want to taste or share what we have.
 
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Shannan

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I have a 39 year old African Gray and he has been on Zupreem for many many years and he is healthy so don't feel bad about feeding him Zupreem. My gray is also slow slow slow to adopt new food but will slowly accept new foods but he always goes back to his tried and true, especially when stressed.
 

Mizzely

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It took me 3 years to get my Jardine's to eat a pellet other than Zupreem regularly ;) It takes time. Birds are naturally neophobic (afraid of new things).

(It also took him 3 years to actually eat any veggies with regularity).
 

Toy

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At 3 months old your CAG is barely weaned. She may need a few more weeks of mostly soft foods. They always lose weight during weaning, as they learn what foods to eat. You also need to show her what food is safe to eat, so eat some yourself in front of her, then offer her a bite. Or fake eat it while making yummy sounds. Limit fruits & offer more veggies. Offer moist pellets for a bit. Soak some in hot water a few minutes, then drain the water off.

Veggies....I'd try frozen mixed veggies. You can put some in hot water to thaw or nuke them a few minutes in the microwave, drain & cool. Sweet potatoes nuked & cooled. Remove the skin. Offer chunked or mashed. Any potatoes should be cooked first. Parrots generally will not eat the skin on anything, including peas. So you will see those parts left behind. Once she gets eating them you can add different veggies & see what she will eat. They all have their preferences. I usually feed wet foods in the morning & dry foods in the evening. You can also feed scrambled egg. Cook without butter or oil. Feed no more than a tablespoon. Moderation is key.

You should have pellets available at all times. One dish dedicated to dry pellets. My CAG eats Prettybird Species Specific African pellets. African Grey My U2 & Macaw eat Zupreem.

Fruits should be limited to occasionally, not daily. Mine loves bananas & apples.

Nuts....try shelled for now. Mine loves pistachios, walnuts, almonds. Again you need to show the bird it's safe to eat. Again moderation.

Parrots waste a lot of food & will either toss or not eat every morsel. It's in their nature to do this, as they are geared to reseed the forest floor.
 

Snowghost

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Paco is 23, severely neglected and was underweight when he came to me. Hartz parrot food, (cringe) His previous owner was so proud of herself when she told me she gave him broccoli and a carrot one time. I can't even imagine the look on my face.

I tried every thing from suggestions from this group, so many helpful, one lady cuts her birds veggies in a star, not sure which one, lol (veggie) or poster.

I tried cold, slice, diced, carrot sticks, nope.

Then I tried warmed frozen veggies. (He also has to be hand fed his veggies) Bingo, broccoli, sweet potato, cauliflower, peas, took six months to get him to eat the peas, he threw them at me. You want to know what's funny? Won't eat a carrot stick but if its cubed, warm bingo he gobbles them up. He knows what nanners are. Not a lot, a slice of apple, gives him the poos, slice cucumber. He loves pasta too, difficult to find pure veggie ones these days. Once in while white from hard boiled egg. Will NOT EAT dried red peppers (crazy every bird I've had eats them) No nuts, not even almonds.

Last vet visit he's a little plump but was told not to worry about it.


@Shezbug She is right, try eating in front of him. Make yum yum noises. Make eating a fun time. Paco is fed veggies morning and evening, routine, I say you want supper? Clean cage, clang his little metal bowl, he eats the broccoli first, peas, sweet potato when mouth is full of the tater, I can get his water bowl without a chomp. Now he does not want some things for a few days, he can't really tell me what he like, I feel bad when he's in the mood for peas and I didn't have enough.

Now if I could just teach him to tell me he's full, instead of staring at me.

Keep us posted on his progress.
 

Tina&Mill

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Hey!
Ive found that if your parrot wants to have what your having, then you can try to eat some of the veggies they wont. This is how I got my Millie to accept grapes, strawberries, and blueberries! I sat on my bed with a bowl of them, and i slowly nibbled on them. Eventually she was curious and wanted to see what I was enjoying so much, so she took a bite right out of my hand!

Millie has been on Zu preem pellets, and she is just fine with them. I just dont get the ones that are very high in sugar, like the fruits.

 
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