platinum
Rollerblading along the road
A couple months ago, Rain would touch nothing that wasn't either a pellet/seed in her dish, or a piece of fruit being held for her. Merlin would eat seeds. Nope, nothing else. She wouldn't even eat a whole seed mix, just picked out the millet. My goal is to have them eating 75% fresh. Obviously I don't have to handfeed Rain enough fruit to make up 75% of her diet. 
With Rain, I started by putting her favourite fruit in a millet holder. That was also her very first foraging toy, to get her started there. It only took one day of not getting fruit from me to take it from the millet holder. There. Some progress.
Next I tried birdy bread. In fact, I tried 6 different recipes. None of them went over with either bird. Finally, I tried making "pancakes" instead of bread. Put in the precious millet holder, that worked for Rain.
Vegetables. How to get these stubborn girls to eat their vegetables? I decided to start with greens. The birds I've had in the past loved their greens. I tried just hanging greens in Merlin's cage. No interest.
She loves to chew on toys. For one day I took her toys out of her cage, and in the place of every toy, put a different leafy green (I started with cilantro, argula, dandelion and beet greens and a tiny bit of spinach). I tied it in knots, cut in into fun shapes... By the end of the day, she'd nibbled at most of them. I put all but one of her toys back in a couple hours before bedtime. The next day, I hung greens where I hadn't put the toy back. She nibbled on them, and has every day since.
I tried everything I could think of to get Rain to eat leafy greens, and she resisted fresh vegetables too. I tried putting veggies in the food processor, and giving it to her as a mash. Nope. Whole vegetables were to be thrown at me while I wasn't looking.
I was rushing her. So I slowed down. I put the fruit from her millet holder into a dish. She ate it. After a couple days, I finely chopped it. That was okay too, it was just her fruit anyways. Then the parront got tricksy. I slowly added small amounts of different vegetables to the mix. She's now eating a mix that's about 70% vegetables, but don't tell her that.
For Merlin, I went for a more classic technique. I chopped the same vegetables I give Rain (a lot less fruit though), mixed them with recognizable pieces of the greens she eats, sprinkled them with seed, and in the cage they went. Three days later, the veggies are being eaten.
I've also been giving them a sprouted seed mix, which Rain has taken to nicely. Merlin not so much, but I've found some consolation in sprouting spray millet for her (it looks like a big fuzzy caterpillar), which she eats.
I'm pretty proud of myself, and my fids. But what's my next step? I'm thinking cooked grains, how should I try intoducing them? And congrats for reading all that, lol.
With Rain, I started by putting her favourite fruit in a millet holder. That was also her very first foraging toy, to get her started there. It only took one day of not getting fruit from me to take it from the millet holder. There. Some progress.
Next I tried birdy bread. In fact, I tried 6 different recipes. None of them went over with either bird. Finally, I tried making "pancakes" instead of bread. Put in the precious millet holder, that worked for Rain.
Vegetables. How to get these stubborn girls to eat their vegetables? I decided to start with greens. The birds I've had in the past loved their greens. I tried just hanging greens in Merlin's cage. No interest.
She loves to chew on toys. For one day I took her toys out of her cage, and in the place of every toy, put a different leafy green (I started with cilantro, argula, dandelion and beet greens and a tiny bit of spinach). I tied it in knots, cut in into fun shapes... By the end of the day, she'd nibbled at most of them. I put all but one of her toys back in a couple hours before bedtime. The next day, I hung greens where I hadn't put the toy back. She nibbled on them, and has every day since.
I tried everything I could think of to get Rain to eat leafy greens, and she resisted fresh vegetables too. I tried putting veggies in the food processor, and giving it to her as a mash. Nope. Whole vegetables were to be thrown at me while I wasn't looking.
I was rushing her. So I slowed down. I put the fruit from her millet holder into a dish. She ate it. After a couple days, I finely chopped it. That was okay too, it was just her fruit anyways. Then the parront got tricksy. I slowly added small amounts of different vegetables to the mix. She's now eating a mix that's about 70% vegetables, but don't tell her that.
For Merlin, I went for a more classic technique. I chopped the same vegetables I give Rain (a lot less fruit though), mixed them with recognizable pieces of the greens she eats, sprinkled them with seed, and in the cage they went. Three days later, the veggies are being eaten.
I've also been giving them a sprouted seed mix, which Rain has taken to nicely. Merlin not so much, but I've found some consolation in sprouting spray millet for her (it looks like a big fuzzy caterpillar), which she eats.
I'm pretty proud of myself, and my fids. But what's my next step? I'm thinking cooked grains, how should I try intoducing them? And congrats for reading all that, lol.
