Currently all my birds are getting is cockatiel/budgie seed, cockatiel/budgie pellets, apples, carrots, brocoli and spray millet. I've tried a few other fruits and vegatables but they didn't seem to like them.

I'm stumped as to what else to feed them...what about other kinds of seeds? What kinds would be good for them (that you can by at a grocery store). I was thinking of alfelfa (I know I spelt that wrong) sprouts, would that be okay? I would just like to get more into their diet, something interesting and different. Could anybody reccomend any good sites that I should read over to help me? Thanks in advance.

Alfafa sprouts are great, as are the snow pea sprouts, mung beans etc. All that kind of section. Grow some of the seeds you feed them and feed them the young green shoots. Keep perservering with vegies, eventually they take to them. Try the baby corn, you know, that you use for stirfry.

How do you sprout seeds? I tried it before but I guess I did it wrong because it didn't work...(Laughing out loud). I've also heard of people feeding their birds canned baby food?

Can they have the whole snow pea, or just the sprouts? I gave them a whole one once and it was gone in two seconds, they really liked it.

I know this is off topic but is leather string safe for budgies? Because I saw some neat home-made toys that I wanted to try making, and one of the materials you use is leather string.

Not sure about leather. Yes they can have the whole snow pea, but my birds (and my kids) adore those snow pea sprouts you buy in the packets in the vegie aisle. I must buy about 10 packets a week! 2 ways to sprout seeds. The easiest and best way is to pop them in a pot with some soil, just like any seeds you would plant. Water daily and in about 3 weeks start harvesting. The other way is to soak some seed in water. Change the water every 2 to 4 hours. After 24 hours, drain. You can feed some of this seed to your birds at this stage, but toss out after a few hours as it will go off. With the rest of the seed, rinse with water a couple of times a day, and in a few days they will have started to sprout. Again, feed to your birds, but careful, they go off so easily.

 

Canned baby food is fine - just choose one that has no added salt or sugar. Most foods that we eat birds can eat. In the food and nutrition section will be a list of no no's, the rest, well whatever your bird likes. Just make sure they get a good variety, to ensure good nutrition

Leather is fine in toys unless you have a budgie that likes to eat it and that's highly unlikely.

 

Try cooking for your budgie! Not only is that more interesting for them but it's more interesting for you as well. Google "parrot recipes" and you'll find tons. You can give budgies anything you give the big parrots, just remember the portion size will be smaller. But with cooked food it's usually mushy so there is no worry about chunks the little birds can't handle.

 

Try birdie bread and ready-made cooked mixes like beak appetit ( http://beakappetit.com ) and crazy corn ( http://crazycorn.com ). You can even make up your own recipes, especially with birdie bread! The possibilities are endless. Just try not to include many fruits. Veggies are far more nutritious and fruits are full of sugar.

 

I have some ideas on my diet page but there are tons of sites that include original recipes for parrots that you can try. There are also many products to try, just remain skeptical and double check the ingredients to make sure they aren't loaded with sugar, millet, etc.