Brand new to Birds

[HeatherT]

Great recommend on the Nutriberries, they are almost always a hit! My whole flock loves them. They get the senior ones as well. Really good for those older birds. I even use them for sneaking in their medicine.

That all sounds like great advice He drops the Nutriberries, and currently he is dumping everything out of his food bowl. He does like sweet potato but I am hearing the chunks hit the floor as we speak. Will do a little hand feed of the stuff he prefers. Big on banana too. Tonight I had a little warm scrambled egg (I think that is really weird but a vet told me it is good protein) mini orange pepper slices, steamed cauliiflour pieces and some thin mango slices (very little as he gets enough sugar with the banana. The sprouted seeds seem to be a no go, and I will try the Zupreme as nothing Harrisons has to offer is going over well, with the exception of the Amazon as he is a little piglet.

Got a bag on Supreme fruity pebbles looking stuff. Amazon went wild for it, Gray was seriously offended and macaw explored the bowl and took a little taste. We shall see if this goes over. Not concerned with then Gray too much as he seems to sample more stuff. Clyde currently only eats peanuts almonds walnuts banana and squash.

 

[Shezbug]

That all sounds like great advice He drops the Nutriberries, and currently he is dumping everything out of his food bowl. He does like sweet potato but I am hearing the chunks hit the floor as we speak. Will do a little hand feed of the stuff he prefers. Big on banana too. Tonight I had a little warm scrambled egg (I think that is really weird but a vet told me it is good protein) mini orange pepper slices, steamed cauliiflour pieces and some thin mango slices (very little as he gets enough sugar with the banana. The sprouted seeds seem to be a no go, and I will try the Zupreme as nothing Harrisons has to offer is going over well, with the exception of the Amazon as he is a little piglet.

Try pushing the sweet potato into the bowl so it sticks (im assuming it is baked or cooked in some way) then pressing other foods into it, peas, corn, little bits of broccoli, chopped capsicum, cooked chickpeas, small amount of pasta etc. My macaw loves his (baked in the skin) sweet potato but if I don’t squash it onto the bowl bottom and then press other food into it then most of it gets dropped while he eats.
Nutriberries are something my guy likes to shred but he eats hardly any of them. He does however often love his pellets to be soaked which is kinda gross but he loves them. I’ve also been known to sprinkle pellet powder over his wet foods which he also likes. Often he will go through a stage of preferring dry foods over wet so I find having a supply of freeze dried makes it so simple to keep veggies up to him when he goes off wet stuff.
Id happily feed much more mango than banana so if he likes the mango maybe consider swapping it for the banana.
I personally don’t feed egg but I do feed chickpeas. Tofu can be used also as a safer option for protein- we don’t buy it cos it’s gross and Burt thinks so too lol.

 

[zoo mom]

Thank you for taking in these lovely birds.

 

[HelenVanessaDavies]

Thank you for taking in this flock it sounds like you're on the right track and have already received lots of great advice so I don't have much to add other than keep going. It can be a slow but rewarding process.

 

[Sparkles99]

What kind of Amazon is this one?

 

[KiMa27]

pardon my technical ineptitude, haha. Will try again to post little Moses aka piglet (no feeding issue there except scraping food off his face) have tried all those, the Brussel sprouts just yesterday, those might have gone over as I did not see them in the bowl or on cage floor. carrots raw or lightly steamed are ignored, sugar snaps are also, but I got another bag today to give it another go. Photo is Moses before he came to live with us. Gross perch has been replacaed with nice driftwood perch (that was a fun and lengthy project but paid off immensely. We have moved him lower in his cage and he now has out time, but he is very flappy. He will eventually settle on my shoulder and give me a new hairdo. He is a funny little bird. Togo is formally Goliath, the Gray and Clyde (who is making me work for his affection ) is the Macaw.

Moses is a handsome fella! In fact, to me (meaning I'm no expert) they all look pretty good in their photos - eyes look bright, feathers seem intact, etc. Looks like you're going to have a great flock! Do you have a good avian vet in your area? Sometimes that can be tough to find one. I used to drive 90 minutes (I've read many here driving farther than that) but last year I lucked out and there's now a wonderful avian clinic in my area.

 

[jzarc17]

Welcome! I agree, there is a lot of valuable advice in this thread. Many that I use myself. The Lafebers tropical pellets, nurtiberries, nuts, fresh veg. On thing that I haven't seen mentioned yet that is helpful in terms of keeping things clean is putting clear plastic shower liners on the walls near the cage or places they eat. When my grey eats he veggies and he gets food on his beak, he shakes his head and flings it. It's a mess! I buy shower liners from the dollar store, cut the top strip off that is where the hooks normally attach. All that's left is the clear plastic sheet. I attach that to the wall near the locations mentioned above using clear command tape. Saves my walls from constant scrubbing. If you have any heavy chewers, look for thick (like 1.5 to 2 inch) wood pieces or choose toys made with hard wood. My grey needs macaw toys, he's a like wood chipper!

 

[HeatherT]

You sure did jump in with both feet! I rescued a B&G Macaw years ago that had been abused. Owners couldn't even handle her. She turned into an amazing companion. Sadly I lost her to kidney disease in 2020. I currently have a B&G Macaw, African Grey & a Umbrella Cockatoo.

I'd try frozen mixed veggies. Sweet potatoes cut in chunks (must be cooked) usually go over well. Once you get them eating mixed veggies you can add different ones & see what they like & will eat. The best pellet is the one they'll eat. Zuprem has a veggie flavor & also fruit flavor pellet. It may take time to get them to eat pellets if they never did before. A couple walnuts or almonds per day for the macaw. One for the Amazon & Grey.

My birds love Nutriberries. This site has them for "senior" birds, as well as pellets, etc. Lafeber Senior Bird Nutri-Berries | Revival Animal Health

I'd suggest wet foods in the morning & dry foods at night. Remove wet foods/veggies/fruit after 2-3 hours as bacteria starts to grown then. Also you may need to eat or fake eat foods to show them they are safe to eat. You eat some & then offer them a bite. Make mmmm good sounds.

Parrots like silly, so sing dance, play upbeat music, etc. Explain everything to them. They like to know the what, why, where, etc., of everything. Example: you ask them to step up, so let them know why, lets go for a walk. Bird steps up, say good bird. You can use a small treat if needed.

The B&G lunging is because he is scared. It will take time for him to settle in, as everything in his world has changed. It may takes weeks or months. Just keep talking to him. Watch, listen & learn their movements & sounds. B&G macaws tend to be forgiving once you win their trust.

Macaws love to swing so if he does have a swing I'd suggest you get him one.

Supreme update. They are all eating it!! It is scary looking, like fruity pebbles, but they have begun to actively eat it. Thanks so much. Now it is fresh veg and sprouted grains in am and pellets in the evening. I am pretty relieved. So glad I posted here. Cheers!! next on to trying to interpret Clydes behavior so we can bond. (in his time)

 

[KiMa27]

Supreme update. They are all eating it!! It is scary looking, like fruity pebbles, but they have begun to actively eat it. Thanks so much. Now it is fresh veg and sprouted grains in am and pellets in the evening. I am pretty relieved. So glad I posted here. Cheers!! next on to trying to interpret Clydes behavior so we can bond. (in his time)

I'm glad it's working!!! It's not a great pellet in the long term but getting everyone eating is the priority right now! For me, I was able to slowly switch over from the Zupreem to some healthier pellets after awhile.

Hope you'll keep us posted on how things are going.

 

[suriyah.]

pardon my technical ineptitude, haha. Will try again to post little Moses aka piglet (no feeding issue there except scraping food off his face) have tried all those, the Brussel sprouts just yesterday, those might have gone over as I did not see them in the bowl or on cage floor. carrots raw or lightly steamed are ignored, sugar snaps are also, but I got another bag today to give it another go. Photo is Moses before he came to live with us. Gross perch has been replacaed with nice driftwood perch (that was a fun and lengthy project but paid off immensely. We have moved him lower in his cage and he now has out time, but he is very flappy. He will eventually settle on my shoulder and give me a new hairdo. He is a funny little bird. Togo is formally Goliath, the Gray and Clyde (who is making me work for his affection ) is the Macaw.

so cute good job!

 

[conurehrdr]

Your new flock looks like a cute collection of feather heads! I, too, am new to grey slavemanship. I've had Yvons for a total of 9 months, and he's finally starting to explore outside his cage.

Macaws, I've been told, can get away with more high-fat seeds because they're natural in their wild diet. Exactly how much is good for them, I don't know. And as for Amazons - they're known as Perch potatoes for a reason! You might have to encourage yours to be more active .

Overall, congrats on the new additions! .

 

[witchbaby]

I'm so excited for you! Thank you for taking them in. Parrots are so rewarding, and I've learned the more, the merrier. They're meant to live in a flock. You are in for a treat. Good luck with your new babies!