Feeding my 4 mo old GCC

[bethie636]

I read all kinds of stuff on what to feed my baby bird, but not how much and how often. He eats pellets and a little seed mix. He loves raisins. I do have trouble getting him to eat his veggies, he plain wont. He loves his pineapple crumbles and that is what I use for training. He is a pellet dunker so I change his water 3 times a day. I need some advise on how much he needs to eat so I don't over feed him.
Thanks

[bethie636]

I have posed before.. and I find it interesting that people read the post but dont respond.. soo... this web site is no help.... just wana sell me some books.. not give me advise... i give up mike on your site... so bird people are conseded... I am am wanting to find a good resours that my baby bird and all I get but all i get is. buy my book.... iI am getting dishearted and leaning towards "Birdtricks".. I just want advise and all I get is.. buy my book...

[janetafloat]

He's a baby so I think you should give him as much as he wants to eat of pellets, fruit & veg. Keep persisting with the fresh fruit and veg, now is the time to introduce a variety of foods while he's young. There's lots of threads on here discussing what fruit & veg is good, just do a search.

But I have to say bethie636, what an attitude! There's a huge amount of advice on here and only a couple of places where Michael is plugging his book. You sound like a kid having a tantrum. Personally I've learnt a lot from this forum but more & more it seems to me it's being overrun by people wanting instant advice who aren't prepared to spend the time to read what's already on here (and probably find the answers they're looking for) or contribute anything very much.

[pennyandrocky]

now i'm embarrassed. after a couple years on here I didn't even know micheal had a book out . some tricks I learned with my picky eater mya is hiding fresh fruit and veggies in her hot food like oatmeal or chop. the best way is to eat the food you want your bird to try. he might not like everything but he will try it if he sees you eat it. you might also try making hanging toys with them.

[Eric&Rebecca]

If you search the forums in heath and diet there's LOADS of information from previous posters already up there which is probably why you don't get a reply because forum users know its already there for you to find out. Its such a common issue that its difficult NOT to find information.

Also there's no such thing as 'just won't eat veggies'. It about the owner and how you are managing the food and presenting it to him. You may have to try COMPLETELY removing seeds and only offering a small portion in the evening for 2 days. On the third give a good feed up and then restart. Also withdraw ALL food (keep water in) from bedtime onwards. Birds should go to bed with a full crop so this is why you feed the seeds at night.

Also you need to experiment with a wide variety of different presentations: on the floor, hanging, on platforms or kabobs. Also different textures so mashed, grated, sliced, whole, or warm or cold or maybe mixed all together in a gloop.

Its all about perseverance... it took nearly a year to get Edmund, my cockatiel to eat pellets, let alone touch veggies.

As for amounts, why not look up food management or read some papers on your specific birds eating habits and design your own diet and feeding times.

[bethie636]

I must first give my sincere appologies, that was very childish on my part and I am sorry. I just get impatient when I search all over for answers and can't seem to pin it down.. Please don't hold it against me, I just want to raise him right. This is a great place for info. and I need to be more patient and diligent in my searches.
Thank You For Pointing out that I was the problem... I feel foolish...

[marie83]

Sometimes you need to be a little patient for replies, this is not the most active of forums over a 24 hour period also people who do read the post may not have time to answer immediately or do not feel they can answer the question adequately but don't want to clog the thread up by posting they don't know the answer.

At 4 months old I wouldn't restrict feeds too much until s/he is older and even then it needs to be done carefully. I would focus on making the foods fun, letting your bird see you eat the foods and presenting the food differently. Green cheeks are usually pretty inquisitive and experimental regarding foods but of course they will always go for what they know and love first, they also tend to prefer fruits over veg but they will eat veg with perseverance- keep trying

[Pajarita]

My GCCs don't eat a whole lot of veggies either but they eat HUGE amounts of fruit. They are fruit eaters in the wild so this makes sense. Try blackberries, apples, oranges, grapes, mangos, papaya, watermelon, cantaloupe, blueberries, pomegranate seeds, banana, etc. I just gave mine some fresh black figs, which two of them had never seen before because they are strictly seasonal, and they just went for it like if they had always eaten them.

GCCs don't do well on pellets because, like I said before, they are mainly fruit eaters so the pellets taste too bland and are way too dry for them - try gloop, mine love it and it's full of veggies (broccoli, corn, peas, carrots, green beans, sweet potatoes, mote and, this batch, also has cauliflower and beets) which they eat without a problem this way.

And, don't worry about it, it is hard to go over a million postings to find what one is in a hurry to find...

[bethie636]

Thank you for all the good advice, I was worried because he would only eat grapes and raisins (his fav so for). He is not soo keen on the watermelon but he did eat fresh pineapple, makes sense he loves his pineapple crumbles. I was worried that I was over feeding him, like 6 raisins a day and two grapes along with his kibble. He is a dunker though, he dunks his kibble and cherrios.
I have learned a valuable lesson and I want to thank each and every one of you for the critisism and advise. Being new to this all and maybe way too much research I was getting worried. He is a doll and quite the snuggler. I will respect the forum and NEVER have another temper tantrum ( like my 2 yr old grandaughter).. lol. Thank you to all. I feel better now.

[janetafloat]

Glad you got the advice you were hoping for - as a relatively new parront myself I can certainly relate to your worrying about your new little fid!