[Food] Introducing New Foods

[Bananabird]

How do you introduce new foods? Kiwi refuses to look at anything that isn't seed. If you put it in his case, he makes a great show of looking away.

The vet today reiterated the proper nutrition is vital to good health. Therefore, I really want him to eat fresh veggies and fruits, but I can't make him interested at all!!

Should I put the fresh stuff in for his morning feeding and when he's hungry he'll eat? Or should I try to reduce his seed and put the fresh stuff in as a supplement?

Sues

[Tviokh]

NO SUPPLEMENTS!

Heh, that said...when you offer new foods, take his seed out, put the new food in the same bowl, and leave it there all day(unless it's fresh food, then replace it every few hours), give him his seed back at night and for 20 minutes in the morning, then the foods you want him to eat all day.

Eventually he'll get bored enough to at least peck at it.

Keeping the seed in there when you offer better foods is sort of like giving a toddler the choice between chocolate cake and a carrot stick and letting them be the one to make that choice.

[Dan]

Yup. I know somebody who almost starved their birds, but not because there wasn't enough food, but because the birds totally refused to eat it. :/

Good luck! Tell us how things turn out!

[Nella772]

The only way I got my tiels to eat fruit and veggies is if i took a bite frist and made it sound as if it were The best thing I have ever ate LOL , Just keep offering it , take bites and say the words YUM eat something! when they do peck at it! PRASIE them like theres no tommrow! Worked with my birds anyways! Good Luck! ( of course my birds wont hush up till I tell them how pretty they are! ) but yea prasie helps alot when they do try new food! they r very much like children

[tweetfreakgeek]

Yes, eating the new foods yourself (or if there is another bird eating said new food) is the best way to get a cockatiel to try something new. Lots of lip smacking and "MMMMMM good!" will go a long way too.

Also, and I can't emphasize this enough. Cockatiels are seed eaters. I realize that the seeds we feed are much dryer (ie, less nutritious) than they would be getting in the wild, which is why adding fresh foods is important. However, removing seeds entirely from their diet is unfair. Put out some canary grass and watch how they work their beaks, it's a riot and you will understand how important seeds are to these wonderful beings!

[Limpyduckling]

you might try putting unsweetened fruit juice on the pellets . Don't leave it in over 3 hrs though. Thats how I got my african grey to eat her food. I put unsweetened grape juice. Or you can make birdie bread and put the pellets in

[sammit]

teils and budgies need some seed in their diet because that is their natural diet in the wild. an all pellet or all seed diet is very unhealthy, you need to have a bit of both in the cage and at all time offer fresh food and water.

eat some veges yourself and then offer it to your bird, take it away, eat a bit more, offer it again... they will soon see that if you (as flock leader) can eat it, its safe for them to eat it too and must be good if you wont share!!!