by Pajarita » Wed Jan 30, 2019 11:42 am
No spinach, please, and I'll tell you why. Spinach is great for people because of its high iron content (humans need A LOT of iron in their diet) but real bad for birds also because of the high iron content. Birds cannot consume more than 2% iron and anything over that goes right into their livers for storage (the body cannot get rid of it) which causes a disease called hemochromatosis. Humans get this disease too but humans can get blood transfusions to take care of it while birds cannot and end up dead from it (I took in a sun conure that had it from her previous owner feeding her Cheerios -human cereal is VERY bad for birds because of its high iron content). The other problem with spinach is that it's also quite high in oxalic acid which inhibits calcium absorption -always a problem with indoor birds because they cannot produce their own vit D3.
Now, as to how to make her eat a healthy diet... Parrots are born highly altricial and part of their 'growing up' is learning what to eat and what not to eat because they are NOT instinctual feeders (like chickens, for example) so the trick is to establish a 'protocol' that tells her that something new is good to eat. I accomplishe this by my eating it (this goes back to the 'natural' way they learn in the wild, namely, by seeing their parents and other flock members eating) and repeating a mantra (this can be anything you want it to be) which helps them make the connection between 'new' food and 'good' food. With a new bird, I simply put the food there and eat my own piece while repeating the name of the food and it's good - like: "Apple, apple is good, it's good". I don't even offer them a piece of what I am eating, I basically ignore them and just eat whatever in front of them. Then, as the bird begins to trust me more, I offer a piece of my own fruit (but always from the side that I did not bite into because you don't want your mouth bacteria going into the bird - they have no defenses for it). Of course, the fact that I have other birds all eating the same thing helps a lot because 'parrot sees, parrot does'. The other trick is to time it just right and that means very early the am because that's when they are the hungriest (and this time of the year is perfect because the nights are still very long). Parrots are all crepuscular feeders so they are already hard-wired to eat at dawn and dusk and we use that to our benefit by feeding them the healthiest food in the morning. All parrots like seeds so we also use that by feeding them gloop (high moisture, low to no fat, low protein, high fiber). Some people swear by chop but, in my personal experience and for what I have learned in my research, gloop is better because A) it has grains in it (which birds love so it's easier to teach them to eat it) and B) is made with frozen veggies instead of fresh which is more nutritious. Try making a simple gloop out of just whole grains. I use kamut, oat groats, hulled barley, spelt, red and/or black rice and, sometimes, wheat kernels. I used to use lentils and white beans in it but no longer do. Cook them in a lot of water for about 30 minutes (bring it to a boil and reduce heat so it simmers for 20 - 25 - 30 minutes (start by 20 minutes only so the grains will be harder and resemble seeds more). Feed her dinner (whatever protein food you use) at dusk and just enough to fill her crop, taking the leftover out when she falls asleep so there is no food in her cage when she wakes up. Then, wait about an hour after dawn breaks and put the cooked whole grains in her food dish mixing the tiniest bit of seeds into them (serve them warm, it reminds them of their parents feeding them). She might not eat the grains the firs or even the second day but soon you will see something that looks like empty white skins in there and, when you do, wait three days or so to make sure she is consistenly eating the grains and then start adding veggies to it. Start with corn and, when she is eating it, add small peas - wait until she eats them - add diced carrots, and so on and so forth until she is eating a complete gloop. Give her one piece of fruit, one piece of veggie and one leafy green with her gloop. I know that people like to give them choices of different fruits or veggies but, in my personal experience, this doesn't work because the bird ends up eating the same fruit and veggie every day and leaving the rest. Try giving her fresh corn on the cob very lightly steamed (all birds adore corn on the cob). The most difficult thing you will have to convice her to eat are the greens BUT they all love raw broccoli and anything else that is 'crunchy' like celery, the very heart of the romaine lettuce, the stalks of Swiss chard and bok choy so start with those.
You are going to do very well because I can tell, by what you have written, that you are very skeptical of the pet industry, that you do your own research and that you are willing to put work and time into your animals dietary needs. And that's what is needed to feed a parrot a good diet!