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Help with veg

scott199

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I know this had been done to death and I’m probably wasting my time but.

got our rescue CAG a week ago, he’s eating pellets and loving them but I just can’t get him to eat any veg or I haven’t found the right combination.

so far we’ve tried quite a lot, carrots, broccoli, kale, sweet corn, cress, water cress, sugar snap peas, green, red, yellow bell peppers, green beans (monge too) sweet potato (cooked)

fruit wise - apple, banana, grapes, strawberry,
He eats most fruits happily.

From the above veg he eats a little of
Carrots
Broccoli
Sugar snap peas
And that’s all

just wondering if I should I be worried ?
He’s very hand shy/Aggressive and we’re still working on some type of step up to perch to move him so I can’t weigh him, he seems healthy, quite active, chats and talks, dances and spend quite a few hours everyday running around on top of his cage, whistling and chatting.
 

Shezbug

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I think you should keep offering those good foods in many different ways. It took my bird ages to even consider trying certain foods no matter how I offered them but he eventually tried everything I offered..... some things he loves somethings he eats somethings he likes to throw and this list changes more often than not unfortunately. Lol.
Your bird has only been with you for a very very short time- as he gets more comfy you will see changes so I guess be as flexible as you can in your expectations of him and be consistent with offering the foods you want him to eat.
Most pellets have added vitamins so if he’s eating those I would not be too overly panicked about him being a bit picky with veg at the moment. It is preferable that he eats more veg than fruit but I am sure you’ll get there with some time :)
 

Snowghost

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I can so feel your pain. When I first got Paco, a 19 year old CAG he was on Hartz Parrot food only. His previous owner told me she gave him a piece of carrot one time and some broccoli. (I hope my face didn't show a look of horror on it) It took lots of patience, trial and error. Try warm food, heated sweet potato, warm pasta veggies (make sure they are veggie and not wheat) plain oat meal, I use Quaker Oats, you can cook a cup in one minute.

Paco will still not eat chop, and he will eat something for a week and then not touch it for a month. it is quite a journey. For example I gave him raw carrots sliced. Nope not eating that, cut in sticks sure he ate them a couple of times, now he likes them cubed, frozen and heated up. LOL Its hysterical watching him munch on them. I got some frozen sliced ones, not doin it, so I cut them up small, bam, gobbles them up.

You just have to see what he likes and keep trying. Right now he likes cucumbers, canned string beans (organic), fresh corn on the cob, squash sometimes, oatmeal, jasmine rice, veggie pasta, apple slices.

I read here someone even cut the veggies into stars. Eating in front of them helps too. One day he likes strawberries the next he won't. They like variety like we do. Keep us posted.
 

jh81

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I agree with Snowhost, both my CAG and Amazon would eat whatever i stuck in my mouth, but as soon as it went into their bowl they wouldnt even touch it.

You could also try to chop it all up and mix it with his current food, that way, even if he doesnt want to eat it, he will “feel” and taste at least some of it :)
 

Snowghost

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@Lincee , good point I forgot to mention the way I got Paco to eat some new stuff is to hold it for him. Like the oatmeal, I put a warm glob of it on my finger tips and he nibbles it daintily off my finger tips. (this is the same bird that chomps my arm when I asked him to step up from the door of his cage, so I was a little nervous) That's another thing, he steps up from top of the cage fine. My point being, we have to find out what works for THEM. Its a journey. I do the same thing, I will put new stuff on top of the warm rice, (brown rice I found out has arsenic in it. So now he gets Jasmine rice. Also another trick you might want to try is to get his food bowls out first thing in the morning, let him get hungry, and then give him veggies before any seed or pellets. Also Paco eats more veggies in the morning then he does in the evening. He won't eat pellets but I leave them in his bowl over night and he will munch on a few in the morning.

He really likes his "cake" I make a big deal out of it and rattle the bag and he gets all excited. They are Avi Cakes made by Lafeber and they are made by vets, high quality seed mixed with pellets. The are in a cake form that you can break up, they are soft. He also likes Lafeber Berries and he gets Higgins Safflower Gold seed.

Make meal time fun! Get excited, I ask him, "Paco want breakfast, Paco want goodies?" I do the same in the evening for supper. He hears me do dishes and I tap his metal bowl on the side to make it tinkle, and he hears the microwave so he knows its time to eat. I just experiment and see what works for him.
 

scott199

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Hi

thank you all, Burt does love carrots and will happily eat them but they have to be large and given by hand, won’t touch them from his bowl, same with sugar snap peas.

I have tried warm but he seems to detest warm food, I hold the bowl to him and he tried something then just fights to take the bowl from my hand and chuck it, won’t touch warm carrot, won’t even look at a warm food even if I mix apples and grapes in (his favourites) he still leave them.

ive tried the veg first thing as he’s always hungry in the morning sits next to his bowl waiting for me to fill it, if it’s veg he just goes back to bed until I put his pellets in.

At this point he gets pellets am, 9:30am runs out of them around 4pm, 4:30/5pm I do him fresh veg and leave that till around 6/6:30 and then I fill his other bowl with nutriberries and Abi cakes which he loves, his veg stays in till the morning but is always untouched, he will happily sit and much a whole carrot if I give him one, boiled eggs are also a big no no, tried 3/4 times now.

we can’t touch him at the moment, (he’s very good at taking food/treats from hands) so I can’t weigh him hence my concerns.

My other question:
On the Harrison pellet pack it says to feed 15-30g daily, he has 30g and eats them by 4/4:30pm.

oh his routine is 9:30am wake up, 9:30pm to bed, that’s why he gets 9:30am breakfast (we’re not mean and make him wait )

should I just keep them topped up regardless of amount he eats ?

edit: is sweet potato ok skinned and raw ?
 
Last edited:

macawpower58

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Try using them as an edible toy.
Stick a kabob skewer though a few, and hang near a perch for him to play/shred.
Mine love this just for the fun it offers them.
Apples, carrots, peppers, many items are firm enough for hours of nibbling fun.
 

Monica

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If you need some more ideas, here's some :)




As far as weighing.... you say he goes on top of his cage? Can you put the scale on top of the cage and teach him to walk on to the scale that way?
 

Birdie Mama

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If all else fail, I have weighed the cage and then with the bird in and subtracted the difference. I know it’s not accurate but will give an idea to start with....

good thing it was for a parrotlet at the time!
PS looked real classy too! :laughing7:
 

Hankmacaw

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Just wanted to tell you that sweet potatoes should always be cooked.
 

Snowghost

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eeew I never dreamed of giving a bird raw sweet potato. Anywho, sorry he doesn't like warm food, I found out Paco liked it by accident. I can only recommend, trial and error. I can't weigh Paco either but I know he has gained weight since I've had him. He was in bad shape when I got him. His feathers are coming back in (he plucked) his bum is nice and round and chest bone is not sticking out. Love this guy!
 

Snowghost

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Happy dance, haven't been able to get Mr Picky to eat broccoli and today I got some frozen, chopped up the heads real small, hid it in some oatmeal and hand fed him. He cobbled it up and looks hysterical with it all over his beak.
 

scott199

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So a few weeks down the line and still not a lot in the way of veg, he enjoys broccoli and carrots, so I thought I’d try and idea from above and put a bell pepper on his treat hanger thingy.


Not a single piece of pepper was swallowed in the making of this video
 

Monica

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BertAllen

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So a few weeks down the line and still not a lot in the way of veg, he enjoys broccoli and carrots, so I thought I’d try and idea from above and put a bell pepper on his treat hanger thingy.


Not a single piece of pepper was swallowed in the making of this video
Tinker used to do that. He now eats them right up.
He also likes Jalapeno peppers. He must have eaten 30 or more from the garden last summer.
None left for me and my egg omelettes now.
 

scott199

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Tinker used to do that. He now eats them right up.
He also likes Jalapeno peppers. He must have eaten 30 or more from the garden last summer.
None left for me and my egg omelettes now.
I’ll keep trying, I keep buying them and I can’t stand them so he’s got no choice
 

Snowghost

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Love it treat hanger thingy! LOL I've read cut little holes in the whole pepper and goodies into it and they forage for it. Paco would be terrified of a hanging pepper, just put a hanger thingy in his cage to get used to it. There is a clear ball on top, he gave it the stink eye this morning.
 

macawpower58

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So a few weeks down the line and still not a lot in the way of veg, he enjoys broccoli and carrots, so I thought I’d try and idea from above and put a bell pepper on his treat hanger thingy.


Not a single piece of pepper was swallowed in the making of this video
Don't despair! Now he's got the taste, and it's not horrible. Try other things now, get him tasting more veggies/fruits.
You may not see much being eaten, but more than you know will go to the belly in time.
 

scott199

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Love it treat hanger thingy! LOL I've read cut little holes in the whole pepper and goodies into it and they forage for it. Paco would be terrified of a hanging pepper, just put a hanger thingy in his cage to get used to it. There is a clear ball on top, he gave it the stink eye this morning.
Yes it’s a Kabab bar or something I think, bottom unscrews and you slide anything on it, has a big washer at the bottom to hold fruit and such.

Ours freaked the first few times and just stared at it and hid the other side of the cage, I put grapes on it (his favourite) and after a few minutes he couldn’t resist any more and then we put a carrot on it which he loves, we’ve also put squares of cardboard on it for him to rip apart.
This morning he had a slice of melon (didn’t eat that either )

but once we got him used to it, it’s really handy.
 
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