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How long did it take your bird to start trying new veggies?

yellowlovi

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Right now my lovebirds only eat romaine. I’m curious how long it took others to get their bird to try new vegetables.
 

Sunni Tiel

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Once I got Sunni eating multiple pellet brands, he ate anything. So, about a month or two. He was really scared of carrots for a while though.
 

macawpower58

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23 years, still a work in progress. :p.
I've offered broccoli more years than I can count....still ends on the bottom of the cage. :(
Keep at it though, I have had success with others.
 

cnyguy

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With Ralph, it took three days for him to try fresh peas and they've been his favorite ever since. It took 8 months before he'd even try broccoli, but he likes that now too. He still won't touch carrots, green beans or sweet potatoes, and neither will Scooter. Her favorite is garbanzo beans (chick peas) which she tried the first day she was here.
 

macawpower58

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It also depends on how fed. Chaos loves raw sugar snap peas, that he can scoop out.
But feed peas 'out of the pod' and he won't touch them.
Granted, not a Lovebird, but works the same way with other foods for my other two birds also.
Each likes what they like. Some are liked raw, others steamed, some whole, others diced or strips.
 
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sunnysmom

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With my first cockatiel, it took 3 months of trying every day. i was convinced he was never going to eat them but then suddenly he loved them. With my current 2 tiels- they were pretty old when i got them- after a few unsuccessful attempts at fresh, I gave them freeze dried vegetables and they immediately started eating them. So, even though I periodically try fresh vegetables with them again, I'm okay with them eating freeze dried instead.

When I had my foster love bird, I made him mini pepper cups. I took mini peppers and hollowed them out and filled them with chopped vegetables, a little fruit, some pellets and a couple seeds. He loved them and it's a way of foraging too. Maybe that's something you could try?
 

ddobs

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With my first cockatiel, it took 3 months of trying every day. i was convinced he was never going to eat them but then suddenly he loved them. With my current 2 tiels- they were pretty old when i got them- after a few unsuccessful attempts at fresh, I gave them freeze dried vegetables and they immediately started eating them. So, even though I periodically try fresh vegetables with them again, I'm okay with them eating freeze dried instead.

When I had my foster love bird, I made him mini pepper cups. I took mini peppers and hollowed them out and filled them with chopped vegetables, a little fruit, some pellets and a couple seeds. He loved them and it's a way of foraging too. Maybe that's something you could try?
Can I ask what brand of freeze dried veggies you offered your bird? I know Avian Organics sells them but they are pricey:Vegetable Variety Healthy Organic Freeze Dried Chop for Pet Birds & Parrots ~ Freeze Dried Parrot Food ~ Fruit and Vegetables for Birds

Thanks!
 

sunnysmom

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Can I ask what brand of freeze dried veggies you offered your bird? I know Avian Organics sells them but they are pricey:Vegetable Variety Healthy Organic Freeze Dried Chop for Pet Birds & Parrots ~ Freeze Dried Parrot Food ~ Fruit and Vegetables for Birds

Thanks!
I mainly get mine from Bodacious Birdie Bites-Organic Freeze Dried Bird Food.

I also like it because I can leave it out all day. My tiels are definitely grazers. So, with fresh, I never wanted to leave it out while I went to work. With the freeze dried, I can leave it out all day for them which I really like.
 

Budgie33

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It took Indie about 2 weeks to actually try vegetables, and liking them and eating them regularly is still a work in progress. BTW, I've had her for 3 months.

TIPS ON GETTING YOUR BIRD TO EAT VEGGIES

  • Try feeding very small pieces of broccoli (The part of the end that feels like moss)
  • Give fruit a try. Indie hates fruit, but I know plenty of other birds that love it.
  • Mix seeds into your chopped up veggies. At first only offer a bit of veggies with a ton of seeds, and slowly add less seeds and more veggies.
  • Make a very finely chopped up mix of veggies with some cooked grains. That is what gets Indie to eat veggies. (My "chop" is shown in the images below)
 

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DesertBird

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It took my budgies 2 weeks to start eating veggies. Broccoli is their favorite. They also like swiss chard, green cabbage, and celery. They will eat carrots, but only if they are finely grated. Sometimes they eat bell peppers too, but it's not their favorite. I tried feeding them banana as a treat. They HATED it. They don't like corn, peas, or red cabbage either.
You just have to experiment with different veggies to find out what they like. You should also experiment with how you prepare the veggies. For example, my budgies won't eat the vegetables if I put them in the food processor. I have to cut everything by hand so that the pieces aren't too small.
 
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