Why doesnt my Cape like veggies?

[Michael]

Ok, Truman knows how to eat them and what they are. If I give him a meal of nothing but veggies when he's hungry, he'll eat them for a little while but eventually toss them all out and scream and beg for pellets. If I weigh him it's clear he hasn't had enough and then he pigs out on pellets.

Now contrast this to my Senegal Parrot, she can eat an entire meal of just veggies. She'd probably be more thrilled to have pellets too but she won't starve on just veggies. Are the Cape's nutritional requirements different such that veggies aren't enough or is he just a spoiled little brat?

[GlassOnion]

Well, aren't Capes meant to eat more nuts than many other species?

[Michael]

Yeah well that's why I wonder. But I'm trying to find out from other Cape Parrot owners or nutrition experts if Capes normally want/need less veggies (especially compared to a Senegal Parrot) or if Truman is just being too picky and I need to work on it.

[GlassOnion]

craigharris.org has a lot of cape owners, and you could also email your breeder- she knows quite a bit on African parrots I assume!

[entrancedbymyGCC]

I don't know, but Scotty is the same way. The only fresh food he eats with any regularity is grapes. He eats his pellets, loves nuts, and will go for the occasional people food -- scrambled egg, pasta with tomato sauce -- but fruits and veggies are not high on his list. I offer them every day anyway. I let him eat a fair number of almonds, although he has to forage for them except the occasional handfed treat.

There is so little solid research on various species nutritional needs and Capes less than most... I reckon looking for a balance between what they WANT to eat and what we think we know about parrots in general is probably not the worst approach.

Scooter is completely the opposite. I don't know if it is a rainforest/Africa dichotomy or if it's just individual personality. He won't do the pellet thing, but he looooves his fresh food. So much so his normal poop is pretty polyuric, but the vet says it is within normal range for a bird eating a lot of fresh food and it cultures out normal.

[Michael]

Well I'm trying to contrast to Kili and equal living circumstances with me and I'm surprised how much worse he is with veggies than she is. When it comes to fruits though, Truman is game. He loves apple, kiwi, grapes, mango, peach, and pineapple.

Getting him to try veggies was a training/modelling kind of thing and that worked out just fine. However, getting him to eat any sizable amount of it seems impossible.