i see threads on the larger birds about food etc.

those of you that have keets. does your baby or babies like something i n particular... if so what.

my two are pretty picky. so thought it would be nice to have a thread on this so that we can try other food etc....

Laker prefers seeds but really enjoys bread [flat breads & whole grain breads], fresh carrot tops = but only after about 5 days of offering them to him every day & running away from them the first few days in a blind panic - so frightened of greens!

Rio is game for just about everything so i really should try harder.
Once one of them tries something the other one has to check it out. So in a way having 2 Budgies can be a good strategy. Rio was very 'game' to try the noodles, once he saw Laker's excitement. Laker learned to eat noodles by being curious as i ate my lunch - not always with him in my meal but with him in his cage on the dining room table & offering samples thru the bars.

In the spring you really should try & find some nice green seed heads for them - find a steady supply at a park or grow your own if you can - your neighbours will probably think you're mad, growing grasses & millet. In the category of greens - i recommend sprouts - all kinds - my guys are very fond of broccoli & pea sprouts. I think you are all aware of my threads on that experience.

I don't cook like Sarah etc - i have tried but am not consistent - so my style is to offer what's going that is Budgie friendly or fresh greens. When i make apple pie or something they get fruit strips or pie to try [pastry is a big hit & I make mine with Whole Spelt, Refined Spelt & a dash of Pastry flour & lard]. They get this rarely. If i make pasta & veggies they get some - usually around lunch or dinner. So far they haven't gotten into Rice - can't say why.

I have to confess that some days they get mostly seed with a fruit pellet mix on top. I put no more than 2 tbsp [probably less] in each of their dishes & they get a 1" to 2" millet sprig each at night or if we're training [my husband will sneak more to them if he's around]

right now mine are interested if i eat something and say how yummy i t is. but still no takers... one took a bite out of banana today.. but it was on the fly as he was running across the top of cage.... he seemed to like it so will pick up more tomorrow.... they need. something else.... to chomp on just for variety.. thank you for answering this thread . i will go through your threads on food and see what i can find... just needed a start.... thanks again....

That they are already starting to try things you are offering - great!
I think it took Laker months before he tried anything. Rio tries everything so i have to be careful what is available for him to get into - not everything is always Budgie friendly. So it is a good thing to keep checking. I had to get rid of most of my plants for that reason.

Mine haven't tried Banana yet - i have heard they will like it - but so far no takers here.

Originally Posted by homebird

Mine haven't tried Banana yet - i have heard they will like it - but so far no takers here.

Pogo likes bananas ... but he likes the inside of the peel more than the main banana for some reason. Ziggy tried banana a couple of times, so he's just starting to get a taste of things.

Pogo and Ziggy both hogged out on scrambled eggs yesterday. Pogo also likes: mashed potatoes, pasta noodles, corn, popcorn, cheese, ice cream, breads, lettuce, wheat grass, broccoli and even chicken (‘cannibal budgie’). Of course, he gets very small portions of these things as acts like he's gorge himself to explosion if I didn't watch how much he gets.

I do like Homebird. My guys get what I fix for dinner or breakfast. I just save a little for them each day. They never dive in and eat put I know Spice likes fresh parsley and they both like red peppers.

My budgies eat a cooked mix, the same that the bigger birds eat. It is a fine grind so it is small enough. The current favorite fruit is oranges. The suns like apple best, but it seems the budgie prefer oranges. They only try things first if it get hung up. Carrot tops and branches to shred is popular.

My budgies love leafy greens! They love all of them so much they would perch and even lay on them while eating them as if they wanted to eat the whole thing by themselves. And they go for fruits (they love red papaya) and the gloop also. It's the veggies that I have more trouble with... they only eat some of them (cucumbers, carrots, corn, peas, squashes and sweet potatoes -no zucchini, no grean beans, no tomatoes, etc). Like 2horse said, everthing needs to be clipped up high or 'stabbed' through a branch.

If we're eating something healthy for dinner I do set some aside for the birds - but really, unless they know what it is, they probably won't touch it. I do cook veggie mixes and birdie breads and such, and thus far I've been pretty lucky in getting them to eat a fair variety of veggies and things.

The key is to get one of them interested and the others will then follow suit. Lulu was my first taker and both Jerry and Winston have learned to eat "human" foods because of her. And now all 3 of them eat veggies every day.

Two things that I have learned about getting them to eat their veggies:

1) Presentation - none of my guys like large chunks of anything (except Jerry, who will eat broccoli off of a small stalk), so chopping things up small got them more interested to take small bites of things. And I offer a mix of things, for example there's usually at least 3 different veggies in a mix. Different colors also appeal to them. So I'll take (for example), corn, broccoli, black eyed peas, and green beans and chop them all up or run them through a food processor or mash them with a fork. I also have a set of small dinner plates that we use for their fresh snacks and when they see these plates they know it's time for warm food. This last sentence leads me to the next thing:

2) Timing - My guys are on a general routine mainly because they have to be due to our work schedules during the week. But this has really worked to our advantage I believe - they know what to expect and when. I pull all seed dishes when they're out flying. I let them work up an appetite for a couple hours and the budgies especially play hard. Then I bring out the veggies, they see me getting their plates out and they know. And they eagerly fly to me and eat. They calm down after veggies and maybe 30 or 60 minutes later it's time to get them to bed, and they know when that time is too (they also look forward to their bedtime seed snack).

And I do other things like eat veggies with them sometimes and sometimes share my own healthy snacks with them (they're not usually out when we're eating, but when we are snacking on something when they're out, they're usually interested).

After reading Sarah's advice about 'Timing', I thought it would be a good idea to take their food away for a bit just before lunch. It really helps that I am in control of the feeding. I also didn't let them have more Millet this morning - my husband really doesn't help with this part at all.

Then when I made my lunch I set them out a plate as well & kept them company, eating on the bed.



Laker was the first over but he was shooed away by the busy younger one & had to be encouraged back. They really love the noodle part - here's hoping some of the veggies get eaten as well.