Things you feed your Lovies

[Finnysmommie]

Hello again all,

I am sure that somewhere somebody has already done this but I searched and could not find anything.

I was wondering if you all could reply to this post with things that you feed your lovie and things that they particularly enjoy.

I am still having a very hard time getting Finiky Finny to eat much of anything besides his food and seed treats.

I have heard that a nice fruit and veggie diet will help your birdie to live longer and I want this little guy to live a long long time, but he just will not eat the things that are good for him!

Fruits I have tried are: banana, apple, kiwi, peach, grapes and oranges... He likes none of them (but once nibbled on a dried banana chip)

Veggies I have tried are: peas, carrots, brocoli. He ate a few bites of brocoli once and then decided to ignore it from there on out.

Things he will eat: animal crackers, popcorn, seed treat logs, yogurt soy seed treats and his actual food which is nutriphase gold mixed with daily select.

Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Cindy

[HeatherH]

Have you tried putting the fruits and veggies on a skewer instead of in a dish?
I do this with my Lorikeet. It wont touch anything in a dish but if I put it on a skewer and hang it on the side of the cage it will eat it all up!!!!

[Finnysmommie]

Finny usually tried new things from my hand. It appears I have a ver very tame lovebird according some of the posts I have read. I usually try to by hand first and then if there is not a lot of interest I will put it on my desk where he usually tries to steal my junk food..lol

I have also tried putting things in his second dish (known to him as the treat dish) and last night I put some apple in his actual food dish (that apple is now part of his birdie litter).

When he tried the fruit he always acts like it offends his palate. In fact sometimes he runs away from it like "oh no she is trying to poison me".

Cindy

[HeatherH]

I normally feed mine Higgens seed, nutriberries, millet, fruit, veggies, soak & cook, dried veggies and fruit (meant for birds). I sometimes will leave a whole cob of corn on the top of the cage in the play area that they like to nibble at... I just keep trying different things! Sometimes they like it and sometimes they dont.

I would try a skewer and see if you get any kinda result! :)

[Janie]

Cindy, I've had great success with raw broccoli, raw carrot strips, COOKED popcorn and brown rice. Even Oliver, my little seed eater will always eat the broccoli and often eat the other items. Probably because my younger bird do and he wants to try what they try. Of all the things I've tried, the cooked popcorn and raw broccoli have been their favorites. :)

I usually serve their fresh food on a med. size dinner plate and rather than mixing everything, I put each item in it's own spot so that I can see what they are eating the most. Big Boi is easy....he always has whatever he's eating under his beak! Like a little piggy! :lol

[Mummieeva]

My birds get every veggie that is safe..lol. Sometimes they like them other times not. They are not big on fruits at all. I have tried Banana, apple, Pomegranite(very messy), and berries. So far not much was eaten of any of them. Try each veggie cooked and served diffrent ways. Whisper loves broccoli and green peppers. Baggy like carrots and peppers. I serve them in cup in the cage or a plate depending on the amount I make for them. They like pasta also.



Steph

[butterfly1061]

Mine love peas, carrots (shredded with a veggie peeler), corn, baby broccoli, sweet snap peas, snow peas, yellow squash, sweet potatoe & greenbeans. It took a while for them to eat some of these, but I kept offering and fixing them in different ways. I mixed a lot of them in birdy bread and ate them in front of the birds. They love rice! I use a mixture that has white, brown, red & wild. I have also given them couscous pasta. It's LB size.

Mine do not like fruit in any way, form or fashion. They run from it and squeal like I'm trying to poison them. Silly birds.

[Angela]

Mine love sugar snap peas, snow peas, green beans, yellow string beans, broccoli, green peppers, celery, cabage and roman lettuce...they seem to love anything green.
They will eat some not-green veggies shredded carrot, red pepper, sweet potatoe and squash if I feed it by hand or on a skewer (they are big fans of skewers:p )
Fruits are less liked, purple grapes and banana are the only fresh that the seem to enjoy. But the love dried fruits, figs are a big hit ( I cut them in half and they love to eat the seeds and pulp in the center), dried apple, dates and apricots all are well recieved I buy them from the organic section of the supermarket...make sure they are unsulfured!
They also love brown rice and whole wheat pasta.
Plus seeds and nutriberries. And of course Pop Corn:p

I feed them 2-3 green things 1 not-green and seeds every day
rice, pasta, fruit 3 times a week
dried fruit and nutriberries at treat time

Holy cow they eat alot!:omg:
plus I am always testing them with new things (we have yet to try hot peppers...thats next on the list)

[BarbieH]

My birds love bananas, fresh bananas, especially if I hold it for them. Many lovies don't like them, but Gracie makes such a big deal about her 'nanners, the rest of the birds decided it must be a good thing.

They also love fresh green beans (especially if one or two of them help me snap them), fresh dill, and baked sweet potato. They like raw brocolli, just the tops, which are like little seeds. They like fresh strawberries and spinach. But the ultimate, absolute favorite is corn, on the cob or off. It's like crack for lovebirds, and might be a gateway food to some of the green stuff.

Like others said, if a lovie sees you eat something (or pretend to eat something), he or she is a lot more likely to try it himself. They are the royalty and you are the official food tester; they see you eat it and they know it's not poison. :rolleyes:

[bubble]

mine love green seedless grapes with skin peeled, snow peas, kale and sweet peas. birdie bread is ok (maybe because of my cooking), popcorn, avicakes, millets are always welcome.
i give them kaytee Conure/Lovebird Forti-Diet without the sunflower seeds and zupreem fruity pellets.

[mjm8321]

Mine won't touch fruit, so I'm better off throwing it in the trash than offer a lovie fruit! :lol Veggies however are very welcome. Daily, they eat broccoli, kale and raw sweet potato. We tried carrots but they all get left in the dish or are thrown on the cage bottom. Peas and corn are a big hit. Lima beans (or any veggie that's bigger that "lovie size" is always a hit)...it's like they've conquered it by eating it. Dried chili peppers, peanuts, popcorn are offered a few times a month and are well thought of. Millet is generally once a week, unless a breeding pair has chicks, then they get extra. From time to time we try to vary the leafy greens by offering chard, bok choi, spinach, collard greens, Brussel sprouts, etc... however, they seem to prefer kale...so that's what they get daily.
Included in their seed mix are sunflowers and a bunch of dried fruits and veggies. The fruits all get tossed onto the cage floor...LOL

[Janie]

MJ, how do you serve the kale? Mine like it, including Oliver but the only way I can figure out how to offer it is to clip it to their cage. Just wondering how you do it. :)

[mjm8321]

Janie, we chop it up so it sort of looks like cabbage for traditional coleslaw...you know, the long strips...then we chop those up to be about 1-2inches long. Mine love to have it clipped to the cage, but that's more for play...tearing up the whole leave is just too much fun for them :lol After it's chopped, it gets mixed in with the broccoli and the yams/sweet potato.

[Janie]

Thanks, MJ. I'll try it that way. You're right....when it's clipped on, it's one very big green play toy! :D

[Buy A Paper Doll]

OK I compiled a quick list of stuff my lovies eat.

Sugar snap peas (raw, whole)
Broccoli (little florets - they rip the tips off)
Carrots (raw,minced)
Sweet potato (raw, minced)
Sweet peas (raw,whole)
Black beans and rice from the Latin food take-out place, stolen off my plate
Squash: zucchini, summer, butternut (raw, minced)
Little bits of bread from my sandwich
Popcorn! (plain, popped in the microwave)
Corn (cooked kernels - mine are afraid of the cob)

For mine, it's alllllllllll about the presentation. If you put it in the treat cup, it's a treat. Also there is much excitement when I bring the treats out in the cup: "Who wants CARROTS??? Oh boy! Carrots! Mmmmm! Do you want carrots, Milo? How about you, Melly?" I often make myself sick with the baby talk but you do what you have to do to get them to eat. :roll:

[Z28Taxman]

Ditto's normal food bowl has avicakes, 3 different kinds of nutriberries (el-paso, sunny orchard and tropical fruit). I also put dried de-arbol chili peppers in there for him (he loves chili peppers).

When I get home from work at night (or around 5pm on weekends) he gets his veggies. Sugar snap peas are a must, I ran out one time and he threw a major fit and looked so dissapointed it almost made me want to cry! He also gets shredded carrot and brocoli every day. I'll also add a bit of either baby spinach, watercress or arugala for a leafy veggy. Sometimes I'll cut up a fresh chili pepper too, he goes nuts over chilis.

In his treat cup is usually either sunflower or pumpkin seeds. He goes absolutely crazy for pumpkin seeds.

He gets millet every other day at least and as a treat bananna/strawberry yogurt dips (makes for great smelling breath :lol ) or popcorn nutriberries (great snack while we watch tv).

Breakfast on weekends is warm birdie bread, he'll actually pick out the veggies and eat them first and snack on the bread throughout the rest of the day. Yes I bake the bread myself and it's darn tasty, I sneak some when he's not looking. :whistle:

He's not much of a fresh fruit eater but will nibble on apple or pear from time to time. Fresh banannas are evil and he will scream at them like you're pulling out his toenails with a pliers.

He also likes rice and pasta so of course I have to make that for him sometimes.

A kale leaf clipped to the cage is not just a snak but good fun too. And if it's wet when you put it in there it also doubles for a good bath. :rofl:

In the summer he enjoys dandelion greens too.

If you can't get him to eat veggies you could try what I did at first. split the green beans or pea pods along the seam so he can see the beans in there, soon they figure out that they can open them on their own and have fun doing it. Ditto now even eats the pods.

Of course anything I have in the palm of my hand is fair game. He'd eat anything that didn't eat him first if it's in the palm of my hand. :lol

Wow that was a book. I think it's my longest post on this board to date. :eek:

[Finnysmommie]

Ok, so everyones birds eat veggie or fruit everyday? omg, I am a very bad mommy! I have been under the impression that they are a maybe 3 times a week thing and that they were somewhat of a treat, but very good for them.

I have to be honest, I could probably not even identify some of the veggies listed. Are they all served raw? I have frozen greenbeans in the freezer, could I thaw them out and give them to Finny? I have been buying fresh broccoli (the one thing he shows some interest in) just for him since I prefer mostly frozen veggies.

I love couscous and now that I know it is ok to feed him that we can enjoy some together.

What do you think my jail sentence will be for being a neglectful birdie mommy? I hope not to long since I know Finny will miss me while I am gone.

Ok, Silly questions now....
What about a PB&J sandwich, can I share it with him? How about dairy products? Cheese or even a bite of my cereal?

ooooh and one more thing.. just wanted to share this with all cause it was so cute and touching......
Last night Finny and I were playing games on the computer and he was on my shoulder. He reached over and rubbed his face against my face in the most loving gesture. I admit it made me tear up.

It never fails to amaze me how much love, fun and downright hilarity come bundled in a tiny package called a lovebird!

Thanks soooo very much for all the suggestions on food for Finny. I appreciate it and I am sure he will even more :rofl:

Cindy

[LauraO]

The best way to get a lovie to eat veggies is to get him/her a friend who likes them. Then it's noooooo problem:rofl: :rofl: .

It may be a good idea to ask Evie's breeder what she feeds in terms of fresh fruit/veggies/grains/etc. SO when her and Finnie are introduced she can entice him with her veggie lovin'.

My birdy favorites are CORN, brocoli, cauliflower, kale, apple, grapes, brown rice, quinoa, egg, some beans depending on their mood, wheat grass, red peppers and birdy bread. I totally change up how I serve all these things cause if I don't my birds get bored and won't eat them. I used to make my birdy bread mostly the same way all the time, but took Elle's fiesta bread suggestion and used it and it was a big hit. I also change up the flours I use in the birdy bread as well. It adds a little different flavor as well as different taste and texture.

The most important thing in getting your lovie to eat new things is to keep trying and then change up how you prepare the food. Some birds like brocoli tops and some love the stems. Some love carrots but only cooked. It's all about testing out what works and what doesn't, but give whatever you try time.:cool:

[Angelwing]

Birds are lactose intolerant. A small nibble of plain yogurt here and there is all right, but I don't feed mine any dairy products.

A bit of peanut butter is good. Whole wheat bread is preferable. And you'd have to check the label of the Jam, as I'd imagine there would be quite a few preservatives hidden in there.

As for my birdies, they will very rarely touch fruit. I've had slight success with very small bits of apple (no peel, NO SEEDS), but nobody seems to really like fruit. :(

Vegetables (everything is raw, but your birds may like cooked veggies)

Broccoli: usually finely chopped, but ocassionally I stick in a hunk for them to gnaw/play on
Carrots: Shredded
Kale: Usually clipped in, sometimes sliced in small strips
Corn: generally on the cob, although sometimes frozen, and popped corn as a snack
Snow Peas: whole, clipped into cage
Romaine lettuce: not often, but when I do serve it, it's clipped in
Red Hot Chili Peppor: Cut in slices. They like the seeds inside best
Green Beans: Finely chopped
Dandelions: in the summer, make sure there are NO pesticides sprayed on them
And sprouts I just clip in, or stick ontop of their other veggies
I still try them with new veggies, but these are the 'regulars'. They receive veggies everyday.

I also add tons of veggies to their birdie bread, as well as a bit of pellets and seed.

They also receive some pellets and seeds everyday. Spray millet three times a week, homemade nutriberries and avicakes on the days they don't get millet. They also look forward to their popped corn every weekend. They share an egg or two once per week. Some of them also like juice, which they'll get, but make sure it's 100% juice, no sugar added. They also like the natural hulled millet I buy from the health food store. I soak it, then boil it.

I haven't made any rice and bean mixes yet, but I should try it out on them, as I'm sure they'd enjoy it. Finny may like everything cut up into little pieces, or whole, or perhaps on a skewer. Ya just gotta play around a little. If you can buy organic, always choose to do so.

[Z28Taxman]

Ok, so everyones birds eat veggie or fruit everyday? omg, I am a very bad mommy! I have been under the impression that they are a maybe 3 times a week thing and that they were somewhat of a treat, but very good for them.


Cindy

Ditto demands his veggies every day. When I get home from work I change my clothes and when I come downstairs he'll hop onto the hoop where his veggie bowl goes and yap at me and dance around until I get him out so we can make his dinner. He has to come out and "help" me get them ready.

At some point, usually when I'm eating my dinner, he'll go down to his regular bowl, grab a nutriberry or avi-cake and take it up to the veggies and break it up so he's got some birdy croutons in his salad. Tonight he actually took one of the dried chilis and mixed it in. He's my little yellow chef. :cool:

[Phoebe]

;) Add chickweed to your list if it is available in your garden. It is GREAT for us in bathwater, tea, etc. but very good for birds as high in calcium and just great nutrients.:2cents: :) And I have never had anybody reject it.:happy:

[BarbieH]

Ok, so everyones birds eat veggie or fruit everyday?

Mine do, but sometimes it's just the stuff I put into the birdy bread. That's the beauty of the bread. You've got it ready to go, in a food they generally like.

Feeding the birds some veg is a great incentive for eating properly ourselves. :) When I'm cooking for us humans, I make sure there is enough set aside for the birds. We all eat better.

[HeatherH]

I use a lot of GoldenFeast products. They have some excellent quality dried fruits and veggies that my birds love :)

[butterfly1061]

I use a lot of GoldenFeast products. They have some excellent quality dried fruits and veggies that my birds love :)

I use Goldenfeast too. I buy the Petite Hookbill mix and my birds love it. It smells really good too. I give them a heeping tablespoon with their regular mix just about everyday. :D

[Asue]

;) I'm a fan of the freeze-dried fruit peices in cereal. Mikey... not so much.
He will nibble on it. Without milk of course!

[HeatherH]

I use Goldenfeast too. I buy the Petite Hookbill mix and my birds love it. It smells really good too. I give them a heeping tablespoon with their regular mix just about everyday. :D

Ive been known to steal a bite or 2 of it before! :whistle:

[butterfly1061]

Heather,

Remind me to get some tomorrow at the birdfair. I can get it for about $6 cheaper there than at the pet store. I've been out for a while so my babies will be glad to get some again along with the Just Veggies I buy. Whew, I have a lot to stock up on. I can just se the $ $ $ $ $ $ !!!!:omg:

[Jezz]

Things he will eat: animal crackers, popcorn, seed treat logs, yogurt soy seed treats and his actual food which is nutriphase gold mixed with daily select.

Cindy

Please do not feed your Lovebird, or any bird for that matter, yoghurt soy seed treats.
Soy is fatal to birds and i would never risk feeding my birds any soy product, even toast!

I do however, give all my Lovebirds a seed mix of 3 parts Budgie seed : 1 part sunflower seed. All my birds are very healthy after i started feeding them this mixture. And there is less waste, most commercial mixes have all sorts of stuff like wheat, dry corn etc and the birds don't even touch the stuff anyway.
I also give my birds fresh fruit and vegetables twice a day.
My Lovebirds eat anything i put in their dish, apple, pear, kiwi fruit, rockmelon (canteloupe), peach, nectarine, plum, spinach, silverbeet, celery, corn, carrot, mung beans. There is a lot more but that is all i can think of at the moment

[butterfly1061]

Cindy,

I think I have more food in the house for my birds than for me. I've resorted to eating cereal every night and they get the good stuff. Here's what I have on a regular basis. My birds have their own kitchen cabinet :p

*Volkman seed mix
*Higgins Seed Mix - Safflower Gold or something else
*Goldenfeast Petite Hookbill
*Harrison's Pellets
*Higgins Snack Attack & Proteen 25
*Mixture of individual seeds - I add to their seed mixes and mix in birdie bread
Hemp, Thistle, buckwheat, Cantelope or Cucumber, Sunflower
*Just Veggies - Corn & Peas (You can leave these in the cage all day and no bacteria)
*Frozen Corn, Peas & Greenbeans (add a little water & microwave)
*Fresh carrots, baby broccoli, sweet snap peas, sweet potatoe (Yam if I can find it)
*Rice, bean mix (these I mix with the frozen veggies, spoon in ice cube trays and add water to freeze. Pop them out the next day and place in freezer bag - instant meal!!), Couscous
*Avi-Cakes, nutri-berry popcorn, kaytee wafer crisps, Rice/Corn Chex
*Fresh Millet - once a week usually on Sunday

:omg: Have I forgotten anything? I'm sure I have. Now, I don't give them these everyday. I swap it around so they don't get bored and I have enough variety to keep them guessing. I do try other veggies, but these are the ones they like the best. Mine don't care for fruit, but I still try. I do give them a VERY TINY piece of some things I'm eating like potatoe chips, bread, biscuit, waffle, etc... every once in a while. Can't think of anything else :D

[Finnysmommie]

Please do not feed your Lovebird, or any bird for that matter, yoghurt soy seed treats.
Soy is fatal to birds and i would never risk feeding my birds any soy product, even toast!

Ok I am confused. What I am feeding Finny is by Hartz and says Yogurt Soynut Surprise for birds. Why in the world would they sell something for birds that is poisonous for birds? This is very scary. I have not heard before that soy is fatal to birds.

[Mummieeva]

I have those balls also and wondered the same thing. My birds do not care for them much but they have nibbled on them before.


Steph

[Jezz]

Ok I am confused. What I am feeding Finny is by Hartz and says Yogurt Soynut Surprise for birds. Why in the world would they sell something for birds that is poisonous for birds? This is very scary. I have not heard before that soy is fatal to birds.

Because they are idiots>:
Soy is very bad and will easily kill a bid very quickly. Most handraising mixes and even pellets contain soy products, it is a shame becuase i know a few people who have lost birds due to the handraising mix containing soy.
Dairy products are also bad for birds

[Finnysmommie]

So with all the lists I have now I have got tons of things to try :-)

Tonight these are the things I tried. (I have not been to grocery store yet)

I tried them out on him individually on a paper plate, then on counter, then on me, then on hubby. was not interested...kept runnign from them.
So I chopped them up and put them in with his seed mix he usually eats.

Corn.. not on the cob but frozen (thawed in micro then let to cool) and I squished it so that the outter skin was off of it.

He is avoiding it like the plague.

Peas.. frozen but micro'd and cooled first. I also squished the outter skin of the peas off.

He appears to be interested but not attacking with gusto.

Greenbeans.. also frozen, I opened them up and got the seeds out and then cut beans into very small pieces.

He is eating these right now in his seed mixture and appears to like them but after every nibble he is rubbing his beak on the side of his dish.. wonder why???

He does like broccoli tops, he will pick everything off the top of it then throw the stem to the bottom of his cage. He makes a mess it is hard to tell how much he is eating or if he is just playing with it.

oh yeah tried celery also tonight... he hated it.

Is everyone starting to see why he is nicknamed finiky finny???

I will keep trying the veggies with his seeds as he is at least munching some of them. Corn probably wont happen as I can see most of it is now in his birdie litter.

Cindy

[Mummieeva]

Remember to try the foods for 2wks though. Some birds take awhile to warm up to new things.



Steph

[BarbieH]

There seem to be quite a few warnings about soy-based diets. Here is one article with several citations: http://www.theparrotsocietyuk.org/genarticle22.shtml

Why do they continue to sell products with soy? Because they can. There are no ramifications for the pet market. The FDA doesn't get involved unless there are direct human ramifications, I don't think.

Anyway, there are enough warnings out there to make a person really think twice about snax with soy for birds.

[Finnysmommie]

I am absolutely outraged!
How could they do this to people? Being a newer bird owner I assumed that if something was marked bird treat it would be safe for my bird. I have been feeding my bird these treats since I brought him home from the pet store.
Thank God, Jezz that you wrote that post.
Finny will never have another soy treat ever!

Thanks so much
Cindy

[Angelwing]

Birdies wipe their beaks after they've eaten to remove food particles. :)

It's great that you're giving Finny veggies to try. He probably won't instantly like them, or even attempt to eat them, but just give it some time.

[Janie]

Jeremy, thank you so much for that warning! Now that I have lovies that will eat many things, that is something that I need to be aware of.

[Mandolin]

Corn.. not on the cob but frozen (thawed in micro then let to cool) and I squished it so that the outter skin was off of it.

I give Kameko whole kernels of microwaved corn. She loves to do the mashing herself and takes the skin off herself. It is really funny because she gets mushed corn all over her beak. We haven't tried peas much but Kameko instantly took to the corn that way. Might be something to try. :2cents: