Lovebird diet advice?

[Sniv]

Hey! Looking for some advice on making sure my lovebird gets all the nutrients he should be getting. Right now, he's eating small parrot pellet with a small amount of Puur lovebird seed mixed in- Mostly for enrichment reasons, so he has something other than plain beige nuggets in his regular diet. Hes never had issues with weaning off seeds or anything, i just don't want him bored of his dinner lol
Anyways, i digress- Any advice for what kind of fruits and vegetables lovebirds might like? The internet is just turning up generic stuff the average parrot would eat. He's not super food motivated and a little picky- the only produce he actually seems interested in are clementines and broccoli (both the caps and the leaves), but unfortunately its... not feasible to get a lot of vegetables in this house (I'm the only person here who even eats veggies, and i cant eat raw broccoli myself, so thats a lot of convincing for what basically amounts to bird food).
Anyone know of things lovebirds generally tend to like? The less trial and error to get some fresh produce into his diet the better. ive tried everything we usually have in the house and so far it really seems to just be clementines and broccoli.

 

[Zara]

Mine like peas, peppers, strawberries the most

i cant eat raw broccoli myself, so thats a lot of convincing for what basically amounts to bird food

Buy bags of frozen veg. For one small bird it will help you a lot! You can pull out one baby carrot, a few peas, a few pieces of diced peppers, one brocoli floret, etc. Just be careful if you buy "mixed veg" as sometimes they put onion(or leeks) or garlic in. Frozen berries are another good thing to buy. You can defrost on the side, or under the tap then pat dry on kitchen paper or a towel.
You could also stick it all in a steamer and steam it. See what your bird likes. I like to put some seed on the veg, millet, or sesame, anything to give a variety.
You can also save offcuts when you're cooking, collect iit all in a container in the fridge and feed it the following day; carrot tops, strawberry tops, pepper tops, small pieces of tomato or whatever else we're eating. Mix it up with the frozen to make a small meal for them.

 

[Sniv]

Mine like peas, peppers, strawberries the most

Oh, we DO get peppers sometimes- i think because i dont eat 'em i never thought "hey maybe the bird would", but next time we've got peppers in the house ill definitely give it a shot. Ive tried strawberries, but generally i dont think he likes the texture of most fruits... most of the sucess with clementines has been because he can pick the little pulp nodes to shreds while hes eating.
Definitely going to keep peas in mind, though. I love the stuff. Actually think i have some right now- do they have to be Actually cooked for birds, or can i just thaw one out to test?

 

[Zara]

do they have to be Actually cooked for birds, or can i just thaw one out to test?

Raw is fine. I give thawed peas. Raw peppers. Raw broccoli. Steamed carrots.
The one to be sure to steam is sweet potato, avoid giving it raw.
The rest is up to what your bird likes - some prefer cooked, maybe mashed, others prefer raw. Some like chopped into tiny bits, others like whole - it's our job to figure out which! lol

 

[Sniv]

Update: he seems to like peas! Its a little difficult to actually feed him them- if they tumble out of his sight, he loses interest, but theyre so small i cant really hand feed them- he really likes to bite hands, and ive got high enough flight response/pain aversion that im worried id flinch bad enough to hurt him if he bit down (im talking "ive ran into the road on reflex because a wasp zoomed by my head" flight response)- once i find a way to SAFELY hold them still for him (maybe wipe down my phone nice and clean to use as a platform?) ill give it another go.
Ill try peppers next time we have them in the house, though, thats for sure!
Interestingly, there seems to be a trend to the produce he likes... seems to be big on vegetables and less so on fruit, big on anything "papery" (he likes broccoli leaves and the outer skin of the pea, and i actually have to peel the membrane of the clementine slices i feed him because otherwise he'll only eat the outer membrane and not the pulp), but he hasnt cared for strawberries (kind of just a solid slab of fruit) and seems actively a little unnerved by watermelon...

 

[Sniv]

Will also ask in case anyone else is reading this, and since i mentioned it in the initial post- is there any issue with continuing to feed a (very) small amount of (high quality, not random cheap stuff) seed w/ their pellets longterm? I only ever see it mentioned in the context of transitioning a bird from seed to full pellet. Mango is by no means picky with his regular food, but i cant help but feel bad at the thought of him only having the same bland beige kibble every day outside of the fruit n veg he gets as treats (and due to energy concerns, chop isn't exactly feasible)... again, puur brand seed mix, the lovebird kind, seems pretty high quality... got safflower and dates and stuff). I'd say its about a 1:6 ratio on the high side, maybe closer to 1:7/1:8? not good with ratios but it's very much mostly pellet

 

[Zara]

I have a small ramekin type olive dish I give them veggies in. It's porcelain and heavy enough not to move. You could use a D cup or other SS cup that you can use for veggies in addition to dry food bowls.
My birds, and most others, prefer veg over fruit. Watermelon is good for enrichment and variety but isn't very nutritious as it's all water, so if he doesn't like it, it's not the worst. Same for cucumbers.
Mine enjoy romaine lettuce, or baby gem lettuce - crunchy like paper

Nothing wrong with a little seed in the diet - be sure it isn't sunflower heavy, a few is ok, but some mixes have tonnes in.

 

[Sniv]

Nothing wrong with a little seed in the diet - be sure it isn't sunflower heavy, a few is ok, but some mixes have tonnes in.

There's no sunflower at all, actually! The ingredient list (on the bag and online stores) says "wholegrain rice / dates / safflower seeds / buckwheat / egg", very fancy looking mix- apparently theres crushed oyster shell powder in there for calcium? I don't entirely understand what about it is made for lovebirds in particular, but whatever species its "made for", its bound to be at least a little healthier than just cheap ol' birdseed mix, yknow? It seems to make him happy either way, and its easy to just get the bag and add a few handfuls when im transfering new pellets to his food container.

 

[Vittror]

The vegetables I've had the best luck with my lovebirds:
Whiskey: romaine lettuce, cucumber, carrot, zucchini, chicory (white-yellowish leafy vegetable, don't know how well-known this vegetable is in other countries)
Piep: zucchini, sugarsnaps (crunchy!), sweet potato, cucumber - Piep was all about the crunch

I've been feeding my lovebirds a seedmix as well as pellets and fresh vegetables/fruits as well.
Like @Zara 's birds they like(d) vegetables better than fruits.
Also dried herbs, other kinds of seeds, a little sprinkle of nuts here and there and dried flowers.

 

[Sparkles99]

I’m posting just to follow this.

 

[Zara]

I’m posting just to follow this.

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