food help

[taxidriver5]

hi please can someone help or advise , we have a 7 month old cag and she is doing pretty good but she is very fussy eater she 100% refuses to eat fruit of any description,{ when we first had her she loved to eat a fresh apple slice } she will eat loads of sunflower seeds which we have now taken from her cage to see if we can get her to eat anything else but so far no joy except from a few pieces of dried corn asnd cereal bits etc that were in the bag of mix we got her but not really eating a lot, are we doing her any harm stopping the seeds and trying to get her to eat fruit or do we just have a fussy parrot {if that is possible} any advise of help gratefully recieved she seems fine its me thats doing all the worrying

[lovethatgrey]

I know it's frustrating and exasperating but keep trying and never give up!{Feel-good-00020114} She needs fresh Vegetables and Fruits for much needed nutrition.

 

Try to be creative and let her see you eating your fruit with TONS of enthusiasm and regularly. Have you tried a Garden kabob? My parrots love to eat off of this and have a grand old time doing it!

 

The other thing that I use is a foraging toy and stick all kinds of her favourite goodies in there. It is made out of stainless steel and washable!!

 

 

 

http://www.naturechest.com/garden-kabob.html

 

http://www.birdsupplies.com/Stainless-Steel-Baffle-Cage-Bird-Toys-p/cai45196.htm

 

 

 

Post edited by: lovethatgrey, at: 2009/05/15 14:30<br><br>Post edited by: lovethatgrey, at: 2009/05/15 14:33

[LindaMary]

I agree with lovemygrey - eat WITH your bird, and make sure she sees that the fruits and vegetables you are eating are what you are enjoying the most. There's a lot to be said for the "modelling behavior" approach. I am even doing this with pellets, trying to convert my two, with slow success. The vegetables were easiest for my TAG to convert to, but it will just probably take time.

 

Your bird is very young. Be patient - it may take weeks, but just keep giving her a variety, and she will start to explore eventually. Good luck!

[taxidriver5]

hi yes we have got the kabob and it is almost as if she is scared of anything to do with fruit if we put the kabob in her cage she will sit in another part of the cage away from it, we have just put a strawberry slice on top of her fav toy and she is totally the opporsite end of the cage away from it , she also used to like carrot etc but again we have tried all kinds of fresh fruit and veg but she wont look at it never mind try it ,

[judygram]

She needs the vegetables more than she needs the fruit, try offering them in various ways, maybe she would prefer them one way over another but the important thing is to keep offering them.

[taxidriver5]

thankyou all im determined im not going to give up on her and now know no 2 greys are ever the same my nephews grey is 6 weeks older than millie and eats anything in sight im just worried she is missing out on all the goodness but thankyou all very much

[she]

It sounds like she does not recognise fruit and veg as food.Has she ever tasted any you offer?I would be very carefull of removing her normal diet.It can take months to get them eating healthy food.You have not had her long and she is still getting aquainted with her new home.Slow down with her and just let her learn to trust you for now.One thing you could try if she gets on your lap is to eat some fruit while she is there and give her tiny bits,Dont use the kabob if she is afraid of it,just keep trying.Try offering veg in diferent ways,raw cooked,chopped up, whole,hot,cold.

[judygram]

And that trick with letting her see you eat it works a lot of the time too, they are like a child they want what you have so be sure to try that.

 

Sometimes we have to get creative and work those veggies into other things, take a look thru the bird food room for ideas.

[taxidriver5]

thankyou thankyou thankyou to all of you will let you know how we get on with her hopefully things can only get better x:)

[Azzie]

Judy you are so right when you say they are like kids and want what you are having.

Cleo initially refused a lot of foods, until she saw me eating them. That was the motivation she needed and tried to steal the food right from my plate or hands.

 

Also taxi, maybe try steaming some vegetables? I know Cleo detests raw carrot but when cooked she will wolf them down.

[Char]

Have you tried sweet potatoes? Cut them into french fry shapes. Mine love these and also grapes.