What to substitute for sunflower seeds

[TinyTimneh]

hey all,

 

i really want to switch to a healthier treat than sunflower seeds for Jacko, or more likely at least have a couple of varieties of treats for him. I use them in his foraging toys to keep him busy and for training but I hate the fact he eats soo many. Obviously I couldn't put fresh food in his toys because it would spoil over the time i'm away during the day, plus it would just get all goopy and gross in the toys.

I adore watching him root around to find his seeds and I know that in moderation they are a good supplement, but it's beginning to get to the point where he will overlook his pellets to eat the sunflower seeds exclusively.

here's the catch. I cannot use nuts. There's allergies in the household and although she grew up in a house with nuts etc i just don't want to take the risk (trust me, i'm missing peanut butter very, very much), i suppose I could always ask her but what could I use besides nuts for a small, easy-to-feed food for training sessions and stuffing foraging toys?

[judygram]

This may not be of much help but sometimes I hide a mini box of raisins in an empty toilet paper roll and crimp the ends and she tears it up to get to the raisins.

[nims]

Hi,

 

I use pumpkin seed instead of sunflower seeds.

 

Nims

[TinyTimneh]

hmmm... i don't remember Jacko liking pumpkin seeds at all, lol in fact the first time i went to visit him i notived he had carefully picked all the pumpkin seeds out of his seed mix and thrown them on the floor.

But I wonder if he'd eat raisins... he luvs grapes... maybe dried fruit is the way to go

[lovemyGreys]

You can try roasting the pumpkin seeds,gives them a nutty flavour ..

 

http://www.wikihow.com/Roast-Pumpkin-Seeds

[TinyTimneh]

hm, maybe i'll go pick some up tomrrow or something to that effect. oh, btw, this is.. hmm.. day two or three of his hunger strike. i've cut back on his amount of seeds but still won't touch the tropican pellets whatseover, i even tried soaking them in fruit juice that he loves, no luck (although he might of eaten about half yesterday morning after the previous day and a half or so of no food). he's munching a little on the cheerios and shreddies i put in but mostly holds out for the seeds. which is worrisome because he's given no more than five or six in a day. I'm going to go pick up some more of that beak appetit that he likes to see if i can get him to eat the pellets again just to finish off the bag before i go get the new brand. up until that point where i have the beak appetit, should i give in? i've got a bag of premium budgie mix with no sunflower and added vitamins, at least it might be healthier than just sunflower.

 

also, when he was actively eating pellets all he ate was 2 tablespoons worth, this seems like too little, way too little especially when i read what other people's birds eat. however, he was capable of devouring the 1/4 quarter cup amounr if not more when he came to mne on a seed diet. so i guess i'm now realizing that he never really was converted rather he ate pellets that he found distasteful to keep from starving and revolted as soon as seeds/something tastier came along in sufficient qualities... darn, ifeel bad now... hopefully the second time around i can get him onto pellets for good without having to pull the whole 'sunflower seeds anonymous' scenario where he'll eat healthy provided he never tastes seeds again.<br><br>Post edited by: TinyTimneh, at: 2008/08/08 02:41