I think my african greys have a bad diet?

[jimguy]

Hi,

I am not sure if i am feeding my African greys a good diet .

 

I feed my African greys sunflower seeds/almonds/dried corn & more with different kinds of fresh fruits everyday, and every week or a bit more i feed them boiled eggs ( the shell, egg white and yolk) and boiled/ semi-boiled brown rice.

The reason why i think my African greys are not in a good diet is because they don't eat ANY VEGETABLES I OFFER AT ALL except for carrots ( and only 1 from my 2 parrots like it).

 

I heard that fruits everyday might be dangerous but i am not sure, and i cant stop giving fruits because leaving them with seeds is not the best thing.

Please help me

 

EDIT: and i tried feeding them pellets for months! but they never ate any.

Edited October 14, 2011 by jimguy

[Capo]

you must be very persistent and daily offer them fruits and vegetables. My CAG eats everything i offer to him and I think I'm blessed.

When we first time introduced him to pellets he started to eat them after 42 days. In the meantime, we've been doing him mush every morning and evening.

[Talon]

Fruits are high in sugar and should be fed in moderation. Try lessening the amounts over a period of time thus maybe they will start trying other foods. If you allow them to eat with you at mealtime, they are more apt to try new foods that they see you eat.

[Mama CJ]

I make a "birdie bread" and put in pureed broccoli, carrots, bell peppers kale, zucchini or what ever I have that they won't eat. Basically it's corn bread mix with added veggies. Also egg with the shell and chopped up almonds and pellets because they toss those too! I try to make each batch taste a little different by either add peanut butter to one or extra corn to another. Maybe spice one up with hot peppers. This last batch had a good deal of squash since I have several left from the garden and cinnamon. Now that they eat the bread easily, I leave a little bigger pieces of veggies for them to try slowly. Keep the mixture wet so it's not crumbly like regular corn bread.

[geoff]

how much hard boiled egg should I feed at any one time?

[judygram]

I give mine less than half an egg at one time, that is plenty for them and maybe a couple times a week is fine but not every day.

[Greywings]

I do the same thing for my birds and the Sanctuary flock using lots of dark veggies-Kale, Turnip greens, Spinach, Sweet potato or Pumpkin or Squash, Peppers, Corn, Peas, Garbanzo beans, sprouted Grains, Dried whole grain unsweetened cereals (Red Mills 5 grain) Quinoa, Spelt, Tapioca flour, Arrowroot flour, Ground Flax seed, Shredded Coconut (unsweetened)Broccoli, Shredded Carrots, Organic Applesauce, Beets with tops, Pomegranate (in season) about a dozen eggs, Coconut juice, Papaya, Mango, Peaches, Blueberries, Ginger, some pelleted Parrot food, Cornmeal, Dried Safflowers, sometimes dried Rose Petals or Hibiscus flowers, Walnuts & Almonds & when I can afford it Pinenuts. I just soak the dried ingredients like the grains & pellets in the Coconut juice for 10 minutes or so then start adding the chopped veggies, the some Cornbread mix or Cornmeal & baking powder stir then add the chopped fruits pour onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets and bake. They all love it so you can get those veggies into them with some creativity. This takes me all afternoon as my oven is small & I am cooking for over 200 birds. It is an eat out night for us. I try to work in what ever is seasonal so the pricing is better and it is a good way to use reduced price veggies & fruits as I wash them well and they are either run through the blender or chopped pretty small as this is offered to everything from Finches to Green Wing Macaws.

Edited March 5, 2012 by Greywings
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