I've got a young budgie that will not eat anything other than seed. I have tried putting fruit and vegies in his cage but he won't go near them. I have grated fruit and vegies and mixed it into his seed and he just pushes it to one side or throws it out the bowl and continues eating the seed.

 

I have been told it will take a while to get him used to other food and I was wondering what I could do in the meantime to make sure he has a healthy diet and any other ways to try to present the new foods to him. Thanks

I've got a young budgie that will not eat anything other than seed. I have tried putting fruit and vegies in his cage but he won't go near them. I have grated fruit and vegies and mixed it into his seed and he just pushes it to one side or throws it out the bowl and continues eating the seed.

 

I have been told it will take a while to get him used to other food and I was wondering what I could do in the meantime to make sure he has a healthy diet and any other ways to try to present the new foods to him. Thanks

 

This is a very common problem. Basically you just have to be patient. Keep offering fruit/vegies daily, try cutting them into different sizes and shapes, have different coloured items so green(brocolli), red(apple with skin but NO SEEDS), yellow(corn) etc... Try ofering them differently, in a bowl (sprinkled with seed), pegged to the side of the cage etc... My budgies LOVE corn on the cob. I have a fruit skewer which I put down the middle, the peck at it and it's gone in no time. Depending on how much Boss watches you, you could eat or pretent to eat them in front of him and he may eat his??? You could also offer him grass. I pick mine out of the garden as I know it hasn't been sprayed. They also like Eucalyptus, bottle brush, grevilla etc... branches. They pull of the bark and eat the leaves. um... that's all I could think of at the moment... I'll keep adding if I can remember any more. Most birds also LOVE millet. It's not really healthy, but they can have it about weekly. Keep us updated... maesie xxx

Thanks heaps

 

I will definately try your suggestions. I will try the corn on the cob and get one of those fruit skewers tomorrow. Can you make your own or do you get them from the pet shop?

 

Thanks again and I will keep you updated. He should be able to master this, i caught him opening the door to his own cage this morning!! I should rename him Houdini!!

The fruit skewer I have I got from the pet shop, it has a long rod which screws into the top piece(shaped like an apple) and then hooks onto the roof of cage. I often put lots of different fruit on it also. Stops them pooping on in on the floor. You could always make something to thread the fruit/vegies on it, just make sure there are no sharp bits inside the cages and it's stainless steel/bird safe. Good Luck and do as your mother asks Boss!!! They are sneaky little buggers. I had a door pegged shut on a cage once and they pecked them off, openerd the door, and I came home to find them flying around the house!!! grr

You can buy a powder vitiman and mineral supplement that you put in their water , this will be suger based and the birds do like a bit of a sweet taste, Put this in the water and do some soft food and fruit ,veg and sprinkle a little on top of the soft food and the fruit and veg , he will be then fimilliar with the taste and hopefully start eating them .

Millet was always a good starter for me. I would feed chop up everything and sprinkle millet on the top. You may find it can take up to a 1 year to get them to start trying things so don't give up. Also feed birds their veggies when they feed the most which is first thing in the morning therefore by afternoon you can throw away uneaten portions. As fresh veggies/fruits grow bacteria quickly.

hi clare, i try to alternate between parsley, broccoli and native plants (all washed well) ie, a different one most days (they get sooo excited !!). I use natural cotton twine to suspend the parsley and they love the stems and leaves (and very nutritious); broccoli (must be very fresh) i just break off a floret and wedge the stem through the cage wire over a perch and they nibble delicately on it all day (: at the mo, they go mad over the leaves of a type of paperbark (melaleuca spp?) tree which i pick up on the way home -- they eat ALL the leaves and shred the bark (this I hang by twine, or by peg) -- it has a wonderful eucalyptus smell when you squash the leaves ... but try a few varieties (very clean/new leaves, washed well, no fungus or nasty stuff on them). Good luck !!oops, forgot to mention, they don't like the small, "prickly" leafed parsley -- they go for the larger leafed continental parsley (:ooops, forgot to mention that the little guys only like the wide-leafed ("continental") parsley not the prickly, smaller, tight-leafed parsley (:ooops, i forgot to mention that the little guys only like the large-leafed "continental" parsley, not the smaller, tight-leafed, parsley