Fresh fruit and Veg

[snakesentwined]

I tend to feed more raw food than cooked food because raw food can be left out longer without risk of spoiling.

Raw food generally also has a much higher vitamin and mineral content - especially vit.A and D. - the ones that we want our birds to have plently of... it's probably also more 'natural', since I'm not sure many parrots have access to a steamer in the jungle... )

[entrancedbymyGCC]

Raw food generally also has a much higher vitamin and mineral content - especially vit.A and D. - the ones that we want our birds to have plently of... it's probably also more 'natural', since I'm not sure many parrots have access to a steamer in the jungle... )

Although my understanding (not that I'm a nutritionist) is that Vit A, in particular, can be more available from cooked food.

[sioux]

I have also read some were that chwerries are a no no so i have been steering clear of them since then,
I know apple pips contain syanide si i,m carful they only get the apple fruit

[entrancedbymyGCC]

Cherry pits -- all stone fruit pits (Apricots, plums, etc.) -- are a no-no, but cherries themselves are OK to feed. Some people don't feed them, but basically the pit has to be cracked and consumed in conjunction with the fruit to create dangerous cyanide compounds. Isn't good for people, either. But the fruit itself without eating the pit does not contain poisonous cyanide -- it does contain compound that react with compounds in the pit to create the poisonous chemical. The precursor compounds in the fruit are no more dangerous for parrots than people as far as I have been able to determine. Since Scooter LOVES cherries (and has survived eating plenty of them) I don't sweat it. YMMV.

[idlepirate]

Lorenzo is a picky eater but he at least eats something healthy. His favorite is grapes (as in if he doesnt have 2-3 grapes first thing every morning hell throw out everything in his bowl looking for them). you can buy this little peg things that stick into the cage, great to hold pieces of fruit or veg, i started sticking pieces of carrot in those and he loved them, hed go through all the carrot there and make the biggest mess imaginable. Somehow now hes not interested in carrot anymore just a bite here and there. He particularly likes parsnip (i dont feed much of it but its crunchy and shreddable so he likes it), depending on the day hell have apple, in summer i fed him cherries (without the pip) which he went crazy for, he doesnt like brocoli which is such a pain because its so healthy and he really just rips it apart or ignores it. spinach ill buy a whole bunch and give him a leaf but he takes one or 2 bites and ignores the rest, One day he started eating brocoli and i was over the moon but the next day he didnt want any anymore. I still offer it and maybe 3-4 other kinds of veggies everymorning chopped up in his bowl or hanging on his swing.

I find that he eats better the higher i put the bowl or food. He likes to take a grape and climb all the way to the top of his bunji and eat it there. So what i did was take a piece of coconut shaped like a bowl and drilled a hole into it and strapped it onto his bunji. So in the morning now i put his favorites into his maindish, like grape, apple, peas in a pod and corn and then in the coconut bowl i put the things hes never sure of like carrot (used to be able to stick it up like i said but now he doesnt want it anymore), parsnip,brocoli anything new etc. The biggest chance for him to eat it is if i can put them way up high for him. He always takes whatever is in there even just to play with it or taste it.also he gets to nibble on the coconut itself. i had to take it down now as it was chewed on so much and the moment hed touch it all the veggies inside would tumble out and id spend most of the day running after all the food hes throwing around the room. He might not eat it but he tries to at least, hell take a nibble and then might drop it to see what else there is but i keep putting it back.

Some birds just want company when they eat so if your eating some fruit in the afternoon put some seperate next to you and let your bird watch you eat and hell trust it more and join you. when you prepare veggies for dinner let him come join you sometimes, some birds eat the most while your chopping them up as they get to interact. Things lorenzo would never eat like cucumber or peppers hell eat no problem when he sees me chopping it up for myself, as long as he can eat it right there while i chop. he wont bother if i put some in his bowl.

Other things I find he likes are brusselsprouts (as i need some kind of green veggie as he doesnt like anything else)- you can open the leaves of the brusselsprouts and the bird can rip eat off and eat it. what lorenzo and my neighbor's budgie particularly like is babycorn. Some birds go nuts for it so worth a shot. the great thing is most shops sell them combined with some snapperpeas so its the perfect combo.

And lastly (sorry for my super long post just on a roll), I bought some sugarcane from the petshop the otherday. Its a great hit too, its maybe not the most healthy but birds love it and if they refuse anything else it at least gets some minerals into them. they can take ages chewing and shredding it.
Lorenzos eating habits just change, he doesnt like anything new and really from what he eats thats it, he doesnt even like mango or bananas which i thought was the usual love of a birds food diet.
He went through a nectarine faze as well but now refuses to eat them.Depends whats in season and his mood. i still try with his past favorites and some days hell just eat it randomly.
Flip i only realized now how long this message is, sorry everyone!ill stop writing now...