Getting Birds to Eat New Food - for nutriton and training purposes

[chip&dale]

The trick to a lot of training is treats it appears. Both my previous birds developed attachments to their cages quite quickly to the extent that if i wanted them back on the cage, all i had to do was take the cage somewhere and they would fly to it.

With Chip & Dale they have no attachment to their cage whatsoever. I read the post on flight recall and its based on treats. Also to teach step up, it was suggested to use treats so they like your hands.

However, Chip & Dale have no attraction to treats whatsoever. I've tried the nutriberry popcorn something and millet.... the nutriberry wasn't touched, and the millet will be eaten only if i put it down. They don't like my hands because to date, to get them back in the cage, I"ve had to use my hands (catch them and place them back in the cage). I've even gotten my fingers to their torsoe and applied pressure, but they fly away. and I feel too bad keeping them locked up not to give them some outside time everyday.

So if treats are the key to training, how do I get them to eat treats? Or any new food for that matter. My other birds had such a curiosity for food - these two couldn't care less. I even put the food item in their food tray and they didnt eat all day because of it, only when it was removed did they run down to eat and appeared quite hungry.

I realize i've only had them a a couple of weeks but, like I said, with my other birds, I never had these problems. I dont care if they dont step up, but I hate having to chase and catch when its time to go back in the cage!

[linda040899]

This is something you are going to have to patiently work on.

If they like and will go for millet, use that as the enticement to return to their cage. Put it in their cage only when they are out and you want them to return. If they love it well, enough, they will do almost anything to get it.

Keep in mind that flight recall training takes time and practice. Returning to the cage when you want them to go there is going to be the same thing. They are still settling in so it's going to take some patience and understanding. :)

As for new food, they probably don't know that what you are offering is edible so you just have to keep offering everyday until they get curious enough to sample some.

[marc]

The key is the patience and the love that you will be able to give them.
In my opinion, you have gotten them only few weeks ago, so you should have the patience to wait them but in the meantime you should continue to take care of them;
The treats is a good method to stimulate their curiosity and to earn their trust .
You don't have rush! you should not go out them from cage if they have fear of you or of your hands.
You continue to call them and to offer them awards when they stay in their cage until they have completely earned your trust.
When they have trust of you and when they recognize you just as member of flock then you can donate them the freedom(in your room, of course) .
Anyway I advise you to go out from cage always only a bird per time and to keep the other inside the cage.
good lucky

[Amanda0814]

I've had my new lovie for a few moths now and she's scared of hands still. We've been working with her on coming out of her cage on her own by using our cellphones to play youtube videos of lovebirds singing. She comes right out when she sees us grab our phones. She'll even climb up our bodies to perch on the phone and sing along! It's taken awhile to get her somewhat trusting of us in general. I figure that teaching her to trust hands will be the hardest thing. But she's getting there. She doesn't gripe at me or flutter away anymore when I put my hands in her cage to add food or treats, so I guess we're getting somewhere.

I've also been trying to get her to try fresh fruit and veggies. She'll put her beak on it and kind of lick it, but won't eat them yet. I just now tried a new trick. I took a small sweet pepper and cut a hole in the side of it, like a bowl, and put a nutriberry treat inside. We'll see if she ends up nibbling on the pepper...:whistle:

[linda040899]

Now that's a clever idea! Let us know if it works. :)

You are probably going to have more luck with vegetables than you are with fruit, although some lovebirds will eat fruit. I've got one male who will eat anything that doesn't run away, bite back or try to eat him!! I call Echo my little green eating machine..... :omg:

[Amanda0814]

I've also heard that lovies will often be more willing to try pureed fruit and veggies. Anyone have any experience with this? I'm really trying to give Phoebe more variety in her diet. She really only wants to eat seeds and I know this isn't good for her in the long run.

[linda040899]

If you go to our Birdie Cooking & Recipe Forum, my recipe for homemade cornbread should be stuck to the top. All my birds, from my largest to my smallest, LOVE it! An added benefit is that you can put anything in it that you want and they will gobble it down!

[kimberly1985]

My little guys love bell peppers....I use my little chopper to chop them real fine. I also save the seeds from the peppers and sprinkle them on top. They love the seeds!

A little trick I use when I am trying out a new fruit or vegetable, I sprinkle their normal seed on top of it. They will probably try to eat their seed and they are bound to get a taste of the veggie and if they like it, they keep eating it.

Zazu likes sweet potatoes, Yoshi doesn't. They also both can't stand apples.

Their favorite is the bell pepper but they also love these frozen mixed veggies which has corn, peas, carrots, and green beans in it. I put a little in a cup of water, microwave for about 30 seconds, drain the water, put them in the chopper and serve.

I would rather feed them fresh veggies all the time but the frozen seem to be the easiest.

[Amanda0814]

Well, it worked! Phoebe nibbled at the sweet pepper that I used to make her treat dish. She didn't gobble it down, but it's a start. After she cleaned the treats out of it I filled it with a chopped egg and diced sweet pepper mix, which she is tasting now. What an exciting food day for her! :happy:

[kimberly1985]

Happy Dance!! Glad for you and her! She didn't know what she was missing!

[shadnamber]

When you are using treats for training you first learn what your birds loves. You can do a treat test where you lay out 5 different treats and see what he goes for first. Or, just watch what he eats from his bowl first. My Lovies go for millet and sunflower seeds, so I use those for treats.

After you know what he loves and eats first, you remove that from the feed bowl and use it for training only. This is called a training diet. You never want to starve or remove all their food, Lovebirds have fast metabolisms and need to eat every 30 minutes or so.

I have had my Lovies out for too long and they start to get cranky if I don't have snacks for them. Just sharing what I am learning, hope this helps.