My 6month CAG is not eating his vegetables what should I DO?!?!

[8oh8faka]

So I have been really stressed lately with my babies diet. He has been eating his watermelon, corn, mango, banana, pasta and loves plain yogurt. Although just today i tried feeding him peas, snow peas, pellets and other veggies but he just ignores them. What should I do? Daily, he has a mix of seeds and supreme natural and fruit pellets. And through out the day I provide him his fruits, yogurt and left over dinner that is appropriate for him to eat.

[Jayd]

Hi, first off, you have to relax. This can take longer than most people realize. Your first step is to remove all fruit except two pieces the size of a small grape. That's all the fruit to give him daily for now. Fruit fills him up, has very little nutritional value, causes wet poop (drop the watermelon) and no more than a 1/2 tsp of yogurt twice a week right now. I suggest trying ZuPreem Nut Blend Pellets. Keep 1/2 cup of them and a 1/2 cup of a good seed mix (no peanuts in the shell-not the kind with banana chips and papaya), something like Volkman or Royal Large Hookbill or Avian Sun, etc. Eliminate the fruit pellets because Greys eat very little fruit and the dinner you share with him, keep to a snack only...one or two little bites. Keep seeds and pellets in the cage 24/7. Try to give him one almond or two pistachios or 1/2 a walnut (All no salt) a day. In the afternoons keep a selection of green leafy vegetables (kale, dandelion or mustard greens, carrot tops, Swiss chard, a little spinach, bok choy.), a couple of small pieces of carrot sticks, broccoli stem and flower, a chunk of zucchini or squash, sugar snap peas (Fresh), string beans (fresh), 1/2 a hard-boiled egg washed in apple cider vinegar (over cooked) in the shell twice a week. You can try frozen mixed vegetables rinsed and served raw. You can boil up a 15 bean soup mix (no seasoning), beans boiled well and done along with boiled organic brown or wild rice. To stimulate his appetite in the morning and at dinner, you can serve it to him at the same time you eat so he thinks he is getting food from your plate is a smash that we feed our fids which has boiled sweet potato, (1/4 cup) organic peanut butter (low sodium 1/2 tsp), a bit of baby organic applesauce or baby organic carrots (whatever he likes). You really need to stop the fruits, yogurt and food from your plate. Greys eat very little fruit as opposed to an Amazon or a Cockatoo. It is going to take time. Some things he will like, others he won't. He needs protein (rice, beans and veggies), carbs (rice beans and veggies), fat (nuts, seeds, beans and veggies) and vitamins and minerals from all of the above. Especially D3 and calcium from green leafy veggies, eggs and EFA's (Essential Fatty Acids) from seeds and nuts and assorted vitamins and minerals from pellets. There is no one food that will supply complete nutrition that a CAG needs. Be patient and enjoy.

[Dave007]

Listen to Jay. He gave you a diet that you can vary but STOP THE FRUIT. It's acidic and does nothing for a grey and many other species of parrots. Stop the amount of yogurt you're giving. 1x a week is enough. Even 1x every 2 weeks is better

 

*****Although just today i tried feeding him peas, snow peas, pellets and other veggies but he just ignores them.*****

 

Well, why should he if you're giving all those sweet pieces of fruit?

Plus it'll take much more time for your bird to get used to new foods. Judging what he does in one day won't work.

[8oh8faka]

Okay, Thank you! You guys! I am just really stressed because I got my bird from this owner known as bruce the bird guy in hawaii, and before I bought him I found out that bruce was not giving him the sufficient time needed of attention therefore my baby is missing a few feathers from her chest where I can kind of see her spine. It is not completely bald but not as fluffed with feathers as it should be that is why I am so stressed on providing my CAG with enough nutrients so the feathers grow back healthy.

[Luvparrots]

You know your parrot, unless it is ill, will not starve itself. So feed your baby its leafy/good veggies in the AM when he is most hungry.

[judygram]

Transitioning him to a new healthier diet will take time so don't panic if he is not eating the veggies right now but keep offering them for usually they will take a notion to try them and enjoy some so don't despair, besides like Jay and Dave said if you are offering too much fruit no wonder he doesn't want the veggies, they are just like small children right not, they want the sweet and not the good for you stuff. Try all kinds of veggies, be sure to check the list in the bird food room of forbidden foods but try them different ways, cooked, fresh raw, chopped, mashed and whatever way you can think of for some prefer them a certain way or will more readily eat them one way more so than the other, but the main thing is to keep trying.