Hi folks. I've been absent lately, but wanted to welcome these new to ekkie folks. Diet is so very tricky. Monaco has challenged me in every way possible. She still prefers frozen texture and that's okay with me, it makes stocking up and storing a breeze.
My advice is to keep trying all the time. This applies to every change you have planned for your birds. I've taken to making a blend of fruits and veggies, walnuts and almonds, and a wide variety of beans and lentils in a bin in the freezer. I add things to it as it gets low, sometimes new things I find in the frozen section, sometimes favorite things, sometimes fresh seasonal stuff that will freeze well. Eventually we hit a day where she eats everything in her dish, but most days she still picks what she wants and leaves the rest for the goats and chickens. Lately she's been eating lettuce that I hang for the canary... A little bit of jealously is going to be good this time. Bird bread is always a hit, and I put as much vegetable matter as it can hold...moisture is the thing that will ruin a good bake, so leafy greens and tough things like carrots and sweet potato shreds work most of the time. I do give her egg sometimes, maybe once or twice a month. Primarily protein has been moved to the legumes. Luckily she really likes them, especially lima beans and regular navy or pintos. Cooked squash, sweet potato, regular potato, pasta that's made with vegetables or legumes and has a decent percentage of that to grains are also a hit. Remember that the ladies are fed primarily by males for the better part of the year in the wild, and that means mushy, predigested foraged materials in their native habitats. I have yet to find pro/prebiotics I trust to be alive, and occasionally give her a dab of greek yogurt or kefir... She loves it, but I have no idea if it is helpful in any way other than the enrichment/bonding that is apparent.
Seeds and pellets : I've settled on the celestial blend from Higgins and tops pellets. It goes into her jar of tops, and distributed to a main dish by her water and into foraging spots. Any other pellet runs a risk of those pesky "fortifications" they seem to have trouble digesting and assimilating. The issue then is vitamin d3, and there are ways around that I am comfortable providing. Flax, and a decent assortment of shelled, raw tree nuts in tiny pieces go into the mix and or the frozen bin. She gets hunks of fish once or twice a month. We go outside as often as we can for some sunshine and lollipops....just the song, no actual lollipops.
This same approach applies new toys, perches, activities, etc. Again and again and again. Her toy destruction seems to be cyclic. She does love activities of any kind, and joins in vocally. Enough exercise is hard sometimes. Putting the dry foods all over the place is the only way she's urged to move around regularly and check all of the hiding spots and foragers.
Good luck! Love these birds as hard and as long as you can! Until we humans sprout green feathers and orange beaks we will never be able care for them in captivity like they would be in their lofty caves.
