Fresh fruit and Veg

[captwest]

Wish i'd checked this out sooner. If you need more imput let me know. Alot of you replying to this thread i could offer some sugguestions, the most important would be to Dodger, i've read some of your other post, i realize your bird is regrowing new feathers but he appears to be a junk food junkie, hard habit to break.Get him on pellets, find some that he'll eat, slowly wean him off the seeds and on to the pellets, sometimes moisting them will help but be careful as they'll grow bateria quickly when wet, he appears to need vit.A (carrots, fresh bean sprouts, sweet potatoe) I think all 20+ of my amazons love sweet potatoes cooked whole in the microwave and cut into chunks. Bean sprouts, there's many sites on the web to learn about sprouting your own, Carrots, if he dosen't like em fresh cook em.All the fresh friutand veg suggestions seem ok except onions and poms make a real mess that's hard to clean( they stain bad) . Bananas every day,which reminds me , some birds will not hold wet food in their feet to eat, cut it up smalll and feed in a dish,
Normaly i feed friut and vegs /sprouts first thing in the morning and remove after and hour or so,change the paper then feed pellets the rest of the day. Nuts and seeds are ok just don't go over board. With this type of diet you won't need added vit,min unless your vet says so. Richard

[jjecsion]

Food pellets are a satisfactory substitute for the total cost of natural foods. We feed our birds for many years in any variation of the following diet. The daily diet should consist of seeds, nuts, sprouted or cooked vegetables, fresh fruits, vegetables and animal protein as poultry should be cooked chicken.Your offer at least three different varieties of vegetables and two fruits a day, minimum.

[tim west]

Hi, is small bits of ham or cooked bacon ok to use as a treat?

[captwest]

Hey Tim, i think i replied to this on another thread of yours, check it out , if you still have questions please ask. Richard

[Becco Lunatico]

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.

So true with Jimmy the Hood Nanday. I also found that the initial hesitation with veggies was over come by sprouting seeds (mung beans or seed mix for his taste), he went on to broccoli very quickly.

[Shani]

Barney adores his veggies. Spinach, brocolli, cauliflower and pumpkin seem to be his current favourites, with corn being a close second. He was actually scared of the corn at first, but I broke off a couple of kernels when he was out and ate a couple in front of him, then broke a couple in half with him watching intently. He ate the bits I tore in half, then I offered him one whole kernel he ate himself no worries. I then put him on my desk, and tore off a couple of kernels, then he got the idea and started having lots of fun pulling off the kernels himself.

I'm lucky - Barney's very young so isn't afraid of anything, and anything he's wary of, it only seems to take me playing with [insert scary object here] for a minute or two before he decides he wants a turn.

[tim west]

I read somewhere the otherday that you have to steam broccoli first?

[Shani]

I read somewhere the otherday that you have to steam broccoli first?

You can steam it, but I've never, ever heard anywhere that raw broccoli is unsafe for birds. Some foods need to be cooked before giving them to your parrot (potatoes and some beans in particular), but broccoli, as far as I'm aware, is fine raw or cooked. Do you have a source for where you read that? I've been searching and found absolutely nothing, but plenty saying broccoli's fine raw or cooked.

[Tandi]

Jodi really enjoy's having fruit on her skewer! I put it in her cage when I have to put her back in her cage when I go to work or something. She likes apples and pears (I think she prefers pears though), she loves kiwi fruit and blueberries, I tried raspberries but she really didn't like that at all, she enjoys sugar snap peas or mange tout, she also loves bananas and carrots! So the fresh fruit and veg seems to be going well! She doesn't like brocoli and cauliflour much...but I will keep trying. Today I am going to cook up some diced frozen veg and try that...see what she thinks. Today she also had her first go at a grape, she didn't seem to not like it, but is maybe undecided on that one, will see how it goes.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

I tend to feed more raw food than cooked food because raw food can be left out longer without risk of spoiling. Most cooked food spoils rather quickly (I presume because their structure is broken down and everything is "wetter" when it comes to veggies anyway -- meat, dairy, egg all spoil quickly period. Sprouts also spoil quickly, but in our household those go down in the evening and come back out rather quickly.