Fresh fruit and Veg

[Tandi]

A few questions on this topic...you can tell this is my first bird huh???

What fresh fruit and veg are good for her and okay for her to eat?
She doesn't seem overly keen to eat fresh fruit and veg (I've tried apple ad green beans for now), so how do I encourage her to eat it? She eats apple if I feed it to her, but she won't touch it if I leave it in a bowl in her cage.
Is it worth my while to get one of those fruit skewers to hang from her cage, is she more likely to eat the fruit and veg from that?

And advice would be appreciated! Thank you!

[Dodger]

Im having the same problem with my Orange Winged Amazon. He is a MAJOR junkfood eater, so finding fruits and veggies that he likes to add to his daily pellet diet is kind of a chore.

I find that if I cut the fruits and veggies up in VERY small peices and mix it with his food, he will eat it. I dont leave his fresh fruit/veggie/pellet mix food out all day so it goes bad... I change it every 3 hours or so, that way it doesnt get mushy and nasty.

So hopefully that bit of advice helps. Im still trying new things too... With a bird I've had since May Having a bird is an everyday learning experience.

[Michael]

Carrots and broccoli are a good start. I just buy a prepackeged vegetable medley at the supermarket and it usually contains broccoli, carrots, cauliflower (or snap peas). As for fruits, apples, bananas, and grapes all on occasion. Lately they've been loving mango.

The absolute best way to make them eat these things is to let them watch you eat it. I'll start eating it in front of them zealously and not let them have it. They get sooo jealous and desperate for it that they'll start showing off all their tricks just in case that earns them a piece. Then I cue a trick and give it. By then they are loving it cause they started off with such a positive attitude toward the new food in the first place. Simply leaving it in their bowl or giving it to them doesn't work that good because the birds are indifferent or even scared of this new food.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

Most things you would eat are safe for your bird, avocado being the big exception. Fruit pits and apple seeds are also not good for them and it is safer to remove them. There are a lot of good/bad food lists out there and they aren't all consistent, but you can't go too far wrong if you avoid Avocado, alcohol, caffeine, chocolate, fruit pits and stick to stuff you know you could eat, cooked if you wouldn't eat it raw, etc. You can feed raw many things you wouldn't normally eat raw, but this is a good rule of thumb and pretty safe. Favorites around our house are grapes, corn, sugar snap peas, berries of all sorts, cherries, peppers and apple. If you feed frozen or canned, look for brands that don't have added sugar or salt.

The skewers make good foraging fun, but I haven't had good success getting them to eat stuff they wouldn't normally that way. Eating stuff in front of them hasn't worked well for me either, though. YMMV. I have had some success with persistence and trying various sizes and shapes of cut.

[Michael]

Keep in mind about pesticides. You may wash a good bit of it off, but birds are very sensitive to these kinda things. I avoid giving any fruit skins for this reason.

Also, entranced, I heard that cherries are a no-no. Too much cyanide. Yes, most of it is in the pits, branches, and leaves, but I think some makes it into the fruit. I'm not 100% on this but will continue avoiding cherries for birds unless I hear strong evidence otherwise.

[tattoo]

Pomegranate are really good, along with blueberries. Poms are excellent actually and tattoo loves it. dont freak when the poop looks like blood its ok.
Fig are also very good.

I make a kitchen sink birdie bread and that seems to help to get some of the things i have a hard time getting them to eat...

start with a box of corn bread mix (small box is good)
i use a jar or 2 of baby food, usually carrot (which is good for them too) and a sweet one like apple/berries)
i add 2 eggs.. shells and all. (i wash the outside of the shell before i crack them)
then i add a good pellet (crushed)
i get a variety of millet seeds, canary seed, even sterilized hemp seed ,.. you can see what you can get your hands on
then i shred some carrots, throw in berries.. pomegranate..
you can throw in some soaked or cooked beans too.
you get the idea.
I mix it all up and put them in cup cake papers in muffin pans.
then i bake them at 350 for about 20 min. and freeze them.

dont use anything canned. go for fresh or frozen.
I make double and triple batches. they freeze very well.

both of mine get 1 or 2 a day and LOVE them. I know they are getting everything they need.

email me if you have any questions

[entrancedbymyGCC]

I've never seen cherries on a no-no list and they are one of Scooter's favorite foods. He's eaten plenty of them. In fact, you have to crack or chew the pits to release significant amounts of the enzymes that allow the production of hydrogen cyanide. So I am fairly confident that removing the pits is sufficient. If you are going to be that cautious, you'd need to also remove apples, plums, peaches and their relatives from the menu.

As for the skins, I buy organic as often as possible so I don't tend to worry about it. Apples and grapes are particularly bad, so if you are worried about pesticides, these are among the items to peel or go organic with. FWIW, here are the "dirty dozen" and "clean dozen" foods, being the most and least contaminated by pesiticides. The list comes from the Enivornmental Working Group.

12 Most Contaminated

* Peaches
* Apples
* Sweet Bell Peppers
* Celery
* Nectarines
* Strawberries
* Cherries
* Pears
* Grapes (Imported)
* Spinach
* Lettuce
* Potatoes


12 Least Contaminated

* Onions
* Avocado
* Sweet Corn (Frozen)
* Pineapples
* Mango
* Asparagus
* Sweet Peas (Frozen)
* Kiwi Fruit
* Bananas
* Cabbage
* Broccoli
* Papaya

[Jenny]

She doesn't seem overly keen to eat fresh fruit and veg (I've tried apple ad green beans for now), so how do I encourage her to eat it? She eats apple if I feed it to her, but she won't touch it if I leave it in a bowl in her cage.

My cockatiel is pretty picky. I've found two things that help: 1) cutting into seed size pieces, &/or 2) mashing up into something the bird loves, like birdie bread, scrambled eggs, or a bean mash. Mashing seems to work the best, because if he can pick around the fruit/veg, he will.

I also try to serve the fruit/veg in a variety of ways at different times, sometimes raw & sometimes cooked. The picky eaters are a pain in the you-know-what. I'm finding that you have to be persistent in being creative & finding different ways to get them to eat healthy. For example, this weekend, Aaron wouldn't eat his kale if I chopped it up for him, but when I attached it to his cage, he'd eat it that way.

[michellet]

I use one of those stainless steel skewer/kabob things and have had great results! I usually provide at least 2 choices...1 of their favourites (a small piece of corn on the cob or broccoli) and something new or different (cooked chunk of sweet potato or pumpkin, spinach, apple, pineapple, snow peas, bok choy). They normally go straight for the corn...but inevitabley end up trying whatever else is on there. Even if they dont try it the first few times its offered, they arent afraid of it and become familiar with the sight and smell of it. I can offer the very same things in bowls and they wont touch them!

[Tandi]

Thank you so much everyone for your advice and tips! I got her one of those stainless skewer things and it has been quite a hit! So far i have only had apple on it and she is eating it happily! I need to now start introducing new things to her now! Thanks for all the advice on what fruits and veg she can and can't eat!

I bought her some fruit bits the other day...they are little colourful fruit pellets...and she really seems to enjoy them! So i keep a little bit of everything with her for her to eat...her cooked food, her pellets and her fresh fruits and veggies! She seems to like the variety!