Dehydrated fruits & veggies vs. Fresh

[EFGriffith]

Hi everybody! We have Tango on a seed-based diet supplemented by dehydrated fruits & veggies, fresh fruits & veggies, and the occasional oatmeal mixed with baby food. (We've tried pellets, but he starves himself rather than eating them...) Fresh fruits & veggies seems to be more of a weekend thing though, with the dehydrated ones prevailing most weekdays. I'm sure fresh is best, but are these dehydrated foods any good at all? Or am I just fooling myself into thinking I found an occasional time-saver solution that's nearly as healthy as the real thing?

[BaxtersMom]

I don't know about the dehydrated fruits and veggies. Maybe some of the other members might know more.

 

I wouldn't totally give up on the pellets though. I know you've probably heard this before but keep offering them and keep trying. I had to hide pellets in eggs, oatmeal, pancakes, etc in order to get them to eat pellets. My eclectus was the toughest one to get to eating pellets but he finally has. I also tried offering him a differnt type of pellets than the other birds ate. He has to be differnt and the only kind I can get him to eat is the fruity blend pellets which isn't the kind Baxter and Bonkers eat:( . It also helped in the beginning if I soaked them apple juice but all birds are differnt and there aren't any magic answers unfortunately. Just keep trying.

 

When I first got my birds I used to shop at the grocery store for fresh veggies for them and I wasted a lot of money and threw away alot of it:angry:

 

I do still give them fresh veggies from time to time that I buy just for them but what has really worked for me is when ever I cook veggies for our dinner I will set some aside just for my flock. Sometimes they eat them and sometimes they don't but atleast they get a wide variety offered and it gives me a good idea of what they like and don't like. Seems like each one has different tastes too but atleast I am offering them their veggies almost daily and they usually do eat some of them so it works out for all of us. They have come to know the pattern too and they know when I have finished my plate they are getting some too:) I think they like that and are curious as to what is going to go into the bowl each night. They have come to expect this now too so each night I do give them some of our human food as long as it's healthy for them. I find it easy and hassle free too since I was making it anyway. Sometimes I add a dash of cinnamon or nutmeg to it, too and they seem to like the seasonings. No salt though.

 

I'm sorry that I could answer your questions on the dehydrated foods but hope you can use some of the other ideas I suggested. I know first hand what having a picky eater is all about. You just have to keep trying and be persistant. If you still can't get Tango to eat those pellets increase in the veggies, the green ones especially. They have the most nutrients. Good luck:)

[BaxtersMom]

Oh yea, I almost forgot, perhaps try reducing the seeds and increasing other healthy foods. The seeds don't have as much nutrients as pellets or veggies but they must taste great because all birds seem to love them. Unless they are rationed they will eat the seeds first and wont touch the other healthy foods. I do give seeds to my flock but mostly pellets and veggies. When I had lots of seeds in their bowl they would fill up on the seeds and wouldn't eat the more nutrious foods:(

[BMustee]

I'm going with Erika on this one...keep trying with the pellets and cut back on the dried stuff. Im not a fan of it al all and Elmo only gets fresh or frozen produce. The died stuff is more like candy than anything else.

[LisaM]

Not sure what you mean when you say dried fruits/veggies are like candy. If you get them without added sugar, salt, preservatives, etc., why would they not be a healthy addition to a dry mixture to keep in their cages during the day (these, some nuts, seeds, pellets, etc). I supplement, of course, with fresh/cooked foods for breakfast, removed before leaving the house, and in the evenings).

 

Just curious as to the reference to candy because I don't see them that way at all.

 

Lisa