Gizmos Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 I'm getting a bit overwhelmed with what to do next, there seems to be so many things that need changed for Gizmo. I'm trying to make things better for him but don't know where to start, so I'm starting with his diet. He's on a parrot food mix but I just discovered it has artificial colours in it and monkey nuts. I pick out the monkey nuts incase of mould and I've found a better food which is all natural but it will take a week to change him over. Also my mum fed Gizmo on the parrot mix with mainly fruit and a few vegetables so I'm trying to change that around to mainly veg with less fruit. I bought a pulses and brown rice mix which I soak overnight and cook for him, he loves it. So I'm considering making him mash, how much would I feed him daily? Would the mash replace the parrot food mix or would it be in addition to it? Additionaly Gizmo also gets a little bit of whatever we're having, if its safe to do so. If you eat in front of him without sharing he is not happy and will try to tip his dishes over . My other diet worry is his water intake, My mum was told that if she gave Gizmo a water dish he would drown, so Gizmo uses a water bottle and needs to be given drinks throughout the day. I don't like this because he may not be getting his needs met especially if I have to go out. I tried him with a water dish yesterday and he just dropped lots of food in it, he didn't drink any (but he loved tipping it over, twice ). I have tiny little expresso cups and Gizmo loves to drink from these. I've discovered he loves apple juice and peppermint tea : ) Again, how much should he have? I'd say he drinks about a couple of tablespoons, maybe less. I only give him any once a day. Thanks Debbie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray P Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 Don`t try to do too much all at one time. Give him differnt things over a period of time to see what he likes. He may not try it the first time just keep it up. As far as water they will drink what they want. We keep a bird bath in each of our birds cage(see picture) and they have not drowned yet in fact they love it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butttaxi Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 Rorschach also loves to share my food he insists on it actually, I will share as long as there is nothing in it that he is not supposed to have. I agree with Ray, keep trying different foods even if they don't like it, he may not like it one day but love it the next. Also preparing differently, like Rorschach doesn't like raw carrots too much but will eat them when they are cooked. I have 2 water dishes and 3 food dishes in and out of his cage, they are too small and shallow for him to drown in. ALso some parrots love to bath in their water dishes, just keep the water shallow to ensure safety. For diets I personally like to keep a variety he has his fresh veggies and fruit along with pellets nuts and seeds. If he is being a fussy gus then he has options. My trick is to get him to eat as much veggies first by withholding the others for a bit. I don't have to do this anymore he goes right for his veggies first and cleans the bowel (a lot will end on the floor or bottom of the cage) I don't give Rorschach a lot of juice because he will get juice from his fruit but if I am having some juice he will help himself to my glass. Oh and I wouldn't fuss so much on the amount of water he drinks, Rorschach doesn't drink a lot of his water either just be sure to keep it clean and available, if your guy is a bather then you will obviously have to change it more often. Also sometimes they will dip their food in the water before eating. Rorschach has done this with crackers... but you should expect food in their water dish, some days more then other days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 (edited) I always have pellets in my parrots cages. It is just a "if I don't like the menu" thing for them. They seldom eat any. My ekkie usually dips some in his water and Ana Grey just crushes them to dust. My parrots are not much for fruit, a slice of apple is what they really like and grapes now and then. Ana Grey likes to steal a nip from my juice glass ever other day or so. Lots of fresh veggies/cooked veggies and pasta, rice and beans are in my parrots menus. They all love pistachios and pecans (no salt), not much so for peanuts, walnuts or almonds. A dab of cheddar cheese is a real treat for my fids, they love cheese! Scrambled eggs at least one a week with veggies. I also have freeze-dried veggies and fruits I put in my fids' cages which they enjoy at night or early AM. Edited March 6, 2011 by luvparrots Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butttaxi Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 Rorschach isn't big on peanuts either, he loves cracking them, nibbles a bit but throws them away. He does love almonds and prefers his pasta bland. I find he likes frozen veggies more then fresh but we try to keep the variety. Fresh peppers he will gobble up too... my the food is endless, as long as you keep away from bad stuff anything else should be fine. Apples are one of the foods that he may like one day but not another, he eats it best if I am eating it... I find if I am eating it then he is way more interested. Bananas are the exception, I have yet to get him to eat bananas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gizmos Posted March 10, 2011 Author Share Posted March 10, 2011 Thanks for all your replies, the water dish has been a disaster so far, emptied out everytime. I'll keep trying though : ) I'm slowly trying to introduce new things for him. He seems to really love the soaked pulses so I'll keep that up. Still not made mash for him but plan to do so this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvenking Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Rorschach isn't big on peanuts either, he loves cracking them, nibbles a bit but throws them away. He does love almonds and prefers his pasta bland. I find he likes frozen veggies more then fresh but we try to keep the variety. Fresh peppers he will gobble up too... my the food is endless, as long as you keep away from bad stuff anything else should be fine. Apples are one of the foods that he may like one day but not another, he eats it best if I am eating it... I find if I am eating it then he is way more interested. Bananas are the exception, I have yet to get him to eat bananas I was just about to post a thread on how Issac loves to break into nuts and drop them. He will spend 5 minutes on an in-shell almond only to break it in half and drop it. Like its a toy. I was wondering if he was just weird....he is not huge on fruit either but will take an apple from time to time. I still feed him formula in the morning and evening though so i wonder if this influences his diet. He is about 15 months now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbird519 Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 you mentioned that gizmo really enjoys eating what you eat.... Mojo is the same way. in the morning i give him pellets (Zupreem natrual diet, not the coloured bag). He always puts the pellets in the water bowl to sofen them up... I think. In the eve i give him a veggie mix. we make one batch every month and we seperate them into baggies for the freezer. I give him about 2 teaspns or so becase he drops some on the floor. ingredients include but are not limited to.... quinua, cous cous, hot peppers, carrots, broc,garbonzo beans (these are his fav), and kale. to get him to eat this i would make a batch and have it for dinner with him. this is how i got mo to eat it. now he beeps like the microwave every night at 6 pm sharp. he LOVES it. to warm the food i nuke water in a bowl for 2 minutes (hence the microwave noises lol) then i float the bag until it is luke warm even all the way through. as for the pellets he rarely eats if i am not near by. i get up a little early to ensure that he eats breakfast lol. i just drink my coffee while he munches. as for the water bowl, i change the water 2x's a day. he has tried to bathe in it but never come close to hurting himself. when he bathes in it i know it is time for a shower, so i take him upstairs and bring him in the shower with me......he flaps and loves it. then he leaves his water pool alone until next shower is needed. he may not talk.....but he does comunicate with me anyway. hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbird519 Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 i forgot to add ..... i do pull one weeks worth of food out and place it in the fridge to thaw before i warm it up to serve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butttaxi Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 I was just about to post a thread on how Issac loves to break into nuts and drop them. He will spend 5 minutes on an in-shell almond only to break it in half and drop it. Like its a toy. I was wondering if he was just weird....he is not huge on fruit either but will take an apple from time to time. I still feed him formula in the morning and evening though so i wonder if this influences his diet. He is about 15 months now. hehe I guess this is normal. Rorschach does it all the time unless it's a nut he LOVES like almonds. I have to retract my comment about him loving peppers because the past week I have been finding them on the floor. Just shows how picky they can be, loves something one day and then the next it ends up on the floor. So far the only veggie he has not tossed away is corn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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