All Seed Diet.

[NeSs]

My bird is only on a all seed diet.. Since i got him which was like 3 years ago he has always been scared of things. I will place veggies in his cage and he will not eat them, same with fruits. I bring him out and let him watch me eat it and then offer but he usually runs away. I will place the fruit near him when he is outside and all he does is watch it and avoid it. I have tried alot of things to try to get him to eat veggies and fruits but he just wont do it..I'm not sure if he had a bad experience with fruits and veggies but i just know he is terrified of it. Even when i put new toys in he is terrified and i just cant bare to see him through that so i remove the toys he is not used 2.

With that said he is a very healthy bird. He has never been sick, only once in the 3 years. He looks great, he keeps himself clean...He is also scared of water, i can only ever get water on him is if i wash my hands and then pat him.

As i've said, i have tried alot of things, but ive run out. I would like to hear your opinions.

Ness.

[FeatherLover]

My opinion:

If your bird is happy and healthy on his current diet and changing is only causing stress, I would leave him be.

I would continue to give him fruits and vegetables, though. At least continue to try.

Good luck!

[svolk]

I am also trying to get my Budgie to eat veggies but no luck so far. I have not tried fruit yet, but I will. Last night we tried spinach while he was out of the cage and he took a little tiny taste with his tongue but wasn't impressed. If I leave bits of veggies in his dish he will not eat them. I also let him watch me eat them and act like it's so much fun but it hasn't worked yet. He is still young though and I will keep trying.

[Jackie C]

My cockatiels refuse fresh food too. I while back I noticed that one had nibbled on a broccoli leaf and just today a third of a green bean was eaten. Both times I had attached the food to their millet holder but I don't know if that's why it was eaten. I'm going to keep trying, even though it seems pointless to keep putting food in the cage that I don't really expect them to eat.

My parrotlets will eat any food I put in the cage. They even try to eat their toys. They go in phases, though. Sometimes they prefer apples, then after a while they will only eat the apples if there is no other fresh food in the cage. They are in a broccoli phase at the moment. They nibble other things, but they absolutely love broccoli. I've noticed that the harder it is to get, the better they like it. Sometimes I put their food in a wiffle ball with just a little sticking out, and they love struggling to pull out the food. They also like food laid across the top of the cage. They hang upside down like little bats and pick at it until they can get it to fall through. I also tie food into the center of their mophead toys, and they think it's great fun.

Anyway, I wouldn't give up unless you think it's really causing a lot of undue stress. I see my cockatiels avoiding the part of the cage with food sometimes, but it's a big cage and I don't think they are stressed out over it.

[NeSs]

Its nice to know that there are others that have the same problem. The only reason i was concerned about this is because a lot of people on here say how unhealthy it is to have a bird only on a all seed diet, like its a matter of life and death. I will continue just feeding him the seeds but also adding fruits and vegs and hopefully one day he will give in. I'm just greatful that he is healthy and havent ever had a major health issue with him.

[Dustin]

I had the same problem with my budgie. The way i got him to eat was get a quaker...now the budgie will eat anything the quaker does!

Dusty

[red192]

i took someone's advice on here one night, and sprinkled some cinnamon on some steamed veggies...guess it done the trick.

[Wags]

I was going to post a similar message about my Lutino. He hasn't been too keen on veggies. I've only had him a week tho. But I know the previous owner (my mom, and before that who knows) didn't feed him fruit and veggies.

Does anyone reccommend mixing minced fruit or veggies WITH the seed?

I suppose if someone always fed me my favorite food, and on the side had something I wasn't familiar with, or didn't like, I would just continue eating the good stuff that I knew.

Dave

[Monica]

I read once that scientists did a study on budgies, where they kept one group on an all seed diet, and the other group on a fresher diet... Generally speaking, the ones on an all seed diet lived 6 years, while the ones on a healthier diet lived 10+ years...

Now there ARE exceptions, and sometimes their health cannot easily be changed when it's due to a genetic defect (such as bad knees or ankles in humans).

[svolk]

I do want to try one of the birdie bread recipes with veggies in them that I've seen on here. Any other tips on getting birds to eat veggies? If I leave small bits in Jerry's dish he doesn't even touch it. I've tried hand feeding him when he's out, and he may check it out but not eat it. He took a bite of broccoli once when I hand fed it, but no more bites after that, he turned his beak up.