Food for Pod

[Pajarita]

My dear, Rome was not built in one day. Parrots eat what they are used to eating and it takes time for them to try new things. And you need to refrain yourself from arriving at conclusions that might be just in your head. Banging a bowl is not necessarily a temper tantrum, they do it to amuse themselves, too (and please do not tell me you know your parrot because none of us really do no matter how much experience we have). And parrots have no difficulty eating small seeds, their beaks are incredibly able to peel the smallest things (my cockatoos eat a budgie mix with no problem and their beaks are 10 times larger than a jardine's).

You also need to put things in perspective. What the parrot eats is up to you, not him. If we left it up to them they would all end up dead from fatty liver because they would eat nothing but oil seeds. Would you allow your 2 year old to decide what his diet was going to be just so he could be 'happy''? Of course not! He would be obese and suffering from malnutrition in a matter of a couple of years.

I have transitioned over 300 birds to gloop and they all like it from the macaws to the budgies (even the canaries and cardinals love it) The only problem you have is that you did not do it gradually enough or gave it enough time. But, I warn you, when it comes to parrot keeping, nothing comes easy or quick... you try, fail, tweak, try again, fail again, retweak, try again and so on and so forth.

[Wolf]

I have been working on my gloop recipe based on what I want the end product to be and on what my birds will eat for close to a year now, my Grey is very reluctant to try any thing new in her diet and I adjust it based on her. It is a long slow process.

[Pajarita]

Ha! I've been working on mine for almost 20 years and I am still tweaking it!

[Wolf]

Talk about oneupsmanship !?!

[DanaandPod]

Okay, I appreciate it. thanks.

[liz]

Ha! I have been working at it a month.
I've been serving mine cooked faro-barley-lentils, 3 kinds of fruit & veggie, dry oatmeal-cocoanut-crushed walnuts & almonds on separate plates and the first two plates the items don't touch.
I must be getting it right for now. Even the new guys start with the grain then go to the fresh food and push it all down with the dry plate. Only Lola still eats some of the seed that I put in before bed.

[Harpmaker]

I gave my bird broccoli every day for months before she would eat it. Pulling it out of her bowl and throwing it on the floor seems to have gotten her used to the taste. I tried eating it in front of her, but she didn't care. I just had to out stubborn her.

[DanaandPod]

Well, I tried to puree everything so he wouldn't notice what he doesn't like verses what he does... and well, he would not touch it! I even tried to put some honey in it...and he wasn't having it. And, the funny thing now is that he will not eat anything that isn't his fruit flavored zupreem. He is such a baby about it. He now whines and has learned that this works to get me to get him his fruit zupreem. But, I do put peas and fruit out for him since he will eat that...as well as some grains like quinoa and barley/ beans. Is this going to hurt him to be living on Zupreem now? I mean I know it has sugar and preservatives... but... He won't touch the Dr. D's and I feel apprehensive to order the Tops now because of this. It is just crazy. that little rat! BTW, is pine nuts okay? For the morning trick routine he gets now three sun flower seeds. Half of one unsalted oven roasted peanut and two pine nuts. I will also resort to a bean or two if I run out of tid bits.

[Wolf]

As far as I know pine nuts are fine, and many people give them to their birds. Pod is playing you like a fiddle, he knows that he can manipulate you any which way that he wants and it sounds like he takes great pleasure in doing so.

[DanaandPod]

True! Though, I sincerely cannot get him to eat anything much beyond peas and fruit. So, I am thinking that I would like to try using the Tops. Does Tops pellets have a taste to it? Surely, Dr. D's does not at all. Its rather disgusting. I am thinking of giving him The Tops Seeds/pellets in am then either the seeds or pellets in the evening. They also have an interesting looking treat that I could buy to replace the zupreem in his forager. And, then use my usual for trick training in the mornings(three sun flower seeds, pine nuts and a peanut or almond ). And, leave him some fresh fruit that he likes and peas and a bean or two. This really is where he is at with things anyway. Plus, this set up would be easier for me...since as of late I have gone nuts experimenting with all of this. I need something consistent that I can stick with.