Quick Update + Help with Lovebird Diet?

[Dynasys]

Hey, hope everyone reading this is having a great day, I'm really enjoying this forum so far and I've already learnt so much. If anyone was wondering, my lovebird stopped biting/chasing my finger around the cage when I'm changing her food + water but I didn't want to push my luck and try putting my hand in the cage since she might go back to biting it. Once the millet gets here, I'm going to let her out of her cage to train her better. Anyways, I was wondering if anyone could help me with my birds diet. Right now I'm feeding her Hari Tropican Parrot Food. I'm also putting my finger near the cage for a couple seconds and immediately giving her a sunflower seed if she doesn't bite (I try this everyday 6 times since I heard that they should only eat about 6-9 sunflower seeds a day and I'm getting 6/6 results so far). I'm trying to get her to eat some fruits. Today I tried to give her some banana and strawberries that were cutup and served to her with some sunflower seeds but she didn't go for it, so after 20 minutes I put back the pellets. I read somewhere that they should also be eating some seeds? Could anyone give me the brand of seeds they use for their lovebirds (I live in Canada). One of my concerns is that I think her previous owner just fed her seeds. Another concern is that when I see her go for water, its usually just a half a second quick peck at the water. Is that normal? Or is that even more of a reason to be giving her some fruits and veges. Thanks for all the help guys.

 

[Zara]

Hi
Nice to hear the biting is stopping
I also use Tropican pellets.
For seeds I make my own mix: What to feed a bird
My birds arený huge fans of fruit. They will eat odd bits, but they seem to prefer veggies, I usually offer a mix of finely chopped foods: 6-7 veggies and 1 or 2 fruit. I mix in quinoa, and sprinkle with sesame seeds, poppy seeds and sometimes a pinch of millet. This is a fantastic article: My Chop "Recipe"
Offer the fresh foods first thing in the morning will have the best chance of success. And be patient, do this daily, and at first, limit the foods to a tbsp as to not overly waste stuff

 

[Dynasys]

Hi
Nice to hear the biting is stopping
I also use Tropican pellets.
For seeds I make my own mix: What to feed a bird
My birds arený huge fans of fruit. They will eat odd bits, but they seem to prefer veggies, I usually offer a mix of finely chopped foods: 6-7 veggies and 1 or 2 fruit. I mix in quinoa, and sprinkle with sesame seeds, poppy seeds and sometimes a pinch of millet. This is a fantastic article: My Chop "Recipe"
Offer the fresh foods first thing in the morning will have the best chance of success. And be patient, do this daily, and at first, limit the foods to a tbsp as to not overly waste stuff

Thanks, both the links are great! Also, do you fill the feeding cup with the Tropican pellets to the top or do you measure how much your birds should eat in a day. I have one lovebird but I'm not sure if I should just fill the cup up and have her eat as much as she wants. I want to avoid overfeeding of course.

 

[Zara]

I put a few spoonfuls in the cup. I don't fill the dish completely so that they are fresher. Add just one tbsp at a time. Tip out leftover crumbs, wash and refill. I always have pellets available.

 

[Leih]

@DoubleTake has a great info on seeds, and yes lots of us give some seeds in addition to pellets. My birds get a blend. I get Higgins Fruit and Veggies mix, it's mainly seeds, and I add a good amount of canary grass seed. You can also just buy seeds and make your own mix. Since you are in Canada, be sure to check out the AA vendors, there are some great vendors in Canada, both toys and food.

 

[Leih]

I give my lovebird about one tablespoon of pellets, and about a teaspoon of seeds, just for reference. She stays a good 50g.