Hey! My budgies won't eat fruit and veggies no matter how many I put in their bowl. I've tried carrot, apple, cucumber and lettuce but nothing seems to interest them. Does anyone know of a way that I can introduce them to fruit and veggies as well as seeds?

:feedbirds:

Also, Does anyone know if budgies can eat bottle-brush flowers and leaves? What other Aussie natives can they eat?

 

kt

How to get a budgie to eat healthier

 

I know that bottlebrush is used to make really cool playgyms but I'm not sure about whether or not the leaves and flowers are okay. Maybe you could call and ask your avian vet to be sure?

I can tell you that I give grevillea and bottlebrush flowers to my lorikeet, I assume they would be safe for budgies too, Eterri? You can give your budgies eucalypt branches, leaves and flowers. In fact, the only native i have heard not to give my lorikeet is wattle. it is suspected, no proof, of causing some sort of disease, (can't remember what, sorry) leading to death. Like I said, no proof, but the suspicion alone is enough to make me avoid them like the plague.

 

You'll find with the eucalypt that they may not eat it, but they will roll in and really enjoy it! And don't worry about the odd ant you might bring to their cage, in the wild they would eat the odd insect. Just ensure that they have not been sprayed with any chemicals

lots of budgies wont eat fresh foods from a bowl. they prefer it to be clipped up high to the cage bars.

Edited October 25, 200519 yr by pixie25

The favourites can be broccolli,dandelion leaves,celery tops,peapods.(all washed).Oh and salad cress too. Try those but clip them to the cage like pixie suggests.

skittle wont eat fruit or veg although he will eat apple and carrot that im eating. i cant get skittle to eat anything inside his cage so i give him trill toppers which are seeds with either herbs, egg, nut and something else (Laughing out loud) in the centre.

ATD

Edited October 25, 200519 yr by Sky

try eating the veggies or pretending to eat them in front of him then offer him some. once he starts nibbling them clip them to the bars and once he's had a nibble he will try new things a lot easier.

 

arent trill toppers made from honey? kind of defeats the object of healthy foods mixed in.

Yes they do indeed, more of a treat than anything else, our Star just destroys them, prefers his lettuce and what's on our plate instead.

try eating the veggies or pretending to eat them in front of him then offer him some. once he starts nibbling them clip them to the bars and once he's had a nibble he will try new things a lot easier.

 

arent trill toppers made from honey? kind of defeats the object of healthy foods mixed in.

emm well they can be fed daily and they dont contain that much more fat than normal trill seeds, skittle didnt put any weight when i changed to trill toppers from trill bird seed.

ATD

still no substitute for fresh foods. best to keep trying and trying and trying

It has taken me three months to get Charlie and Joey to eat anything else other than lettuce. They have now tried eating baby spinach leaves. I thought like you I would never get them to try anything. I put fruit and veg in their cage every day and as I said it has taken three months to get them to try anything so just keep trying.

Congrats, JJ2571!!!

 

Perserverance is the key. I agree, if you just keep offering fresh foods in different ways eventually they will try them.

Hey! My budgies won't eat fruit and veggies no matter how many I put in their bowl. I've tried carrot, apple, cucumber and lettuce but nothing seems to interest them. Does anyone know of a way that I can introduce them to fruit and veggies as well as seeds?

:feedbirds:

Also, Does anyone know if budgies can eat bottle-brush flowers and leaves? What other Aussie natives can they eat?

 

kt

Yes they can and do eat bottle brush, they usually just strip the flowers, eat the leaves them shred to branch, like making a real mess of it. Mine are not keen on the Grevillia flower or leaves but adore the branches.

Another Australian favourite ( I have seen the babies actually fight their dad for it), is the Maleleuca also known as the black tea tree. My Mums will leave the eggs when they smell it at the cage door. For some reason two of my males will run up and down inside the breeding cage, until they get some.

 

In fact I have trained mine with the Maleleuca leaves as they prefer that to millet and will do anything to get at it.

Cindy

I've never seen that over here in the west. I might have to see if I can get a plant at a nursery. Do you know it's full scientific name? Or can you post a link to it, I'd hate to get the wrong plant, and we seem to have different common names to the rest of Australia

I think that you find the melaleuca out in the wheatbelt...

 

Also, is there anything wrong with the rice pudding baby foods or are the fruit ones better???????????

kt

I don't know if you could class eucalyptus as a fresh food, but I came home with a branch of eucalyptus leaves, put the whole branch in their cage and they went nuts, they absolutely loved it! I think they liked having the branch in there too, because they got to jump around and climb all over it. When I took the branch out the next day ALL of the leaves were completely (well not gone, but) nibbled at, they all looked shredded. Exercise, and a yummy feed, what else do you need? hehe.

 

Oh and it made the cage smell nice and fresh with eucalyptus

When you wet the gum leaves the budgies go crazy...

kt

:ausb: Have had budgies for over 10 years and not one of them has liked fruit but they sure enjoy their greens, supplement them with vitamins. :bluebudgie: