Diet question concerning my linnie,Picasso.

[Gary M.]

Hello to all! Haven’t been here for a while. Taking in beautiful Summer weather here in Quebec City,Canada since our Summers are sooo short.
my little guy is now a year old and a few moths more.
He’s got quite a personality and is very attached to me but always hates my hand…especially in his cage since he is very terrirorial, but he’s learning slowly that the human hand has more good sides than bad….the hand that rewards when certain behaviours are positive etc etc..
he’s getting used to a daily routine, he even whistles to me( my whistle that he caught on to) when he wants to poo outside his cage,because HE DOES do this…a certain place in the morning,and another after supper time in the evening…and sometimes just for fun or to be on my shoulder! He even beginning to whistle to me when I walk in the door,back from an errand….
Enough about my little guy…my question now…..I have Ben adding fresh oats( whole seed ) to his diet and in his fruit pellets and he loves this seed. I buy the seed at a natural bio product grocery store, full oats…some washed and other wild and natural . He’s very picky food wise and I’m introducing slowly new things…fruits for now and veggies soon. It takes him a long time to adapt to new food so I am following his rhythm .
He is used to eating small parrot food(Versa Lega),fruits granules mixed now with oats and dried coconut pulp.
i would like to have some insight concerning whole oats in his diet….are they good in a reasonable quantity per week..he loves cracking them open! Forgot to mention that as a reward for good behaviour an training,I give him a few hemp seeds…giving them to him between my thumb and forefinger ,thus showing him that " fingers" are not dangerous and there is no need to attack or bite them….because he was a real devil up to the age of a year old….seemed as if his teenage period was being prolonged…really wasn’t easy!
Thank you for answering and reading about my little guy.
Picture of Picasso picking his hemp seed from between my lips( dry lips!!)

 

[FeatheredM]

Maybe @Mizzely could help?

 

[Zara]

small parrot food(Versa Lega)

Is this the Nutribird pellets from Versele Laga? Or the seed mix?

I don´t know about Linnie diet, but I will tag some people who do know so they see your thread when they log in next
@Matto @Leih @Dona @Lady Jane

 

[Mizzely]

I would think the oats are fine I would probably not do more than 10% of the diet though as you don't want to cause an imbalance!

 

[Gary M.]

My little guy is on little Versa Laga parrot seed and zupreen fruit pellets, Zara.…..and thank you Mizzley for your insight. I do give him about 15 % of oats.
I very much appreciate your comments, thank you.

 

[Lady Jane]

Years back I did have two adorable Linnies and they ate better than any other species of bird I every had. Not picky at all. I am not acquainted with the food you feed, must just be sold in Canada. Linnies do have a reputation for being hand shy. Mine were. Photo is adorable.

 

[Leih]

Linnies are excellent at mimicking, so I'm not surprised how quickly yours had picked up on your sounds. You're creating your own special language with each other Congratulations on making it through the teenage stage, I have two male linnies and they were terrible! They both still have a quick temper, but they are a lot more calm since that awful period. Most linnies are hand shy, mine definitely are. That's not to say that yours won't get used to your hands, but if he doesn't, it's pretty common. My two eat nearly anything I give them, it's pretty funny what pigs they are! But of course, every bird can be different. I'm not sure about the oats, but I give some hemp seeds by hand just as you do, and also in shell sunflower seeds from time to time. Have you tried broccoli or any of the sweet bell peppers? Orange bell pepper is a favorite of all my birds. With my conure, he will try anything as long as he sees me eating it, so maybe give that a try. Have a few bites and then offer it to your bird. I'm not familiar with the pellets you mentioned, some of our Canadian members can certainly help with that. My two eat Roudybush which is a standard high quality brand here in the US.

 

[Gary M.]

Years back I did have two adorable Linnies and they ate better than any other species of bird I every had. Not picky at all. I am not acquainted with the food you feed, must just be sold in Canada. Linnies do have a reputation for being hand shy. Mine were. Photo is adorable.

Thank you Dianne for your message….I think that the African parrot food versa Lega is available in the US. I chose this brand because of the seeds in it, not just budgie food…he does sort out a few seeds but hardly wastes them. Those Cartham seeds,you know the ones used to feed Cardinal,well he doesn’t touch them!!