Conure Diet [Fruits?]

[WallyBirdie]

My conure has had his first berry today. He absolute loved it!

I know parrots need well balanced diets with fresh greens, fruits and vegetables and appropriate seed/pellets, etc.

I've also read horror stories on birds and diabetes, obesity, fatty liver, and kidney failure. This is all downright alarming!

I am sure he is doing well. My question is... how much fruit can he have without having too much? Should a berry be reserved as a special treat?

 

[Isaac 0]

You may get more replies if you post on a forum intended for parrots.

 

[Quailobsessed]

They can have fruit maximum three times a week, so they should be reserved as treats

 

[WallyBirdie]

They can have fruit maximum three times a week, so they should be reserved as treats

Thank you! I've done a good bit of research and I'm doing my best to properly care for my new buddy. But most diet related resources say to feed fresh fruits and vegetables daily, and offers recipes for chop. Fruit has been a grey area because they can be healthy but they also have a lot of natural sugars.
Thank you so much for all your help, on this post and others.

 

[WVBirdsAndBees]

Just be careful to not overdo it on really sweet fruits. Otherwise, he can have a bit of fruit daily. Never offer so much that he only eats fruit and not veggies, pellets, etc as well. I used to help run a large exotic bird shop and have helped raise everything from budgies to hyacinth macaws. Every bird in the place got some fruits and veggies daily, in addition to a warm mix and pellets. Healthiest birds I've ever been around. All about balance.

Most of the diseases you hear horror stories about are from that lack of balance which causes poor nutrition. Most common is people feeding birds seed heavy diets with minimal nutritional value, essentially junk food. But too much of anything can be bad.

My macaw is obsessed with peppers and grapes. She gets quite a variety but those are her favorites by far - to the point that her hearing anything being cut on the cutting board in the kitchen requires yells of "Pepper?!"

Good luck with him. If you have more questions, feel free to let me know. I got excited to see a parrot question. I'm still relatively new to chickens but parrots have been a passion of mine for 15+ years. Amazing creatures!

 

[WallyBirdie]

Just be careful to not overdo it on really sweet fruits. Otherwise, he can have a bit of fruit daily. Never offer so much that he only eats fruit and not veggies, pellets, etc as well. I used to help run a large exotic bird shop and have helped raise everything from budgies to hyacinth macaws. Every bird in the place got some fruits and veggies daily, in addition to a warm mix and pellets. Healthiest birds I've ever been around. All about balance.

Most of the diseases you hear horror stories about are from that lack of balance which causes poor nutrition. Most common is people feeding birds seed heavy diets with minimal nutritional value, essentially junk food. But too much of anything can be bad.

My macaw is obsessed with peppers and grapes. She gets quite a variety but those are her favorites by far - to the point that her hearing anything being cut on the cutting board in the kitchen requires yells of "Pepper?!"

Good luck with him. If you have more questions, feel free to let me know. I got excited to see a parrot question. I'm still relatively new to chickens but parrots have been a passion of mine for 15+ years. Amazing creatures!

Thank you so much for the information, source, and encouragement. It is such a relief to know that those horror stories can be avoided with balanced nutrition and that my boy is doing alright.

It's amazing to hear about your parrot experience, and best of luck with your chickens! (If I can ever assist you in that aspect, I'd be happy to. I have been raising my flock for over a decade.)

I do have a question about parrots and greens. Monty will try (and eat) almost anything, but he is not overly fond of greens. He will not eat spinach or kale. He will only eat broccoli if it's steamed and paired with carrots. He does like dandelion greens and leaves from my weeping willow.
Thing is, I know greens are important. Is it okay that he has this preference?
I give him a fresh variety every day and follow food guides, and he has a balanced seed mix with dehydrated vegetables. He gets hard boiled egg on occasion. Apple is is top favorite food and is used as a treat and to encourage him to go into the cage if I need him in while I run an errand. (He is still learning step up, but he is afraid of hands. He is now consistently stepping up/perching on my arm and not flying away. We are still working to relate this action with the verbal command.)

I think I'm on the right track. Got my first snuggle yesterday.

Any information regarding diet and training, as well as stories on your own experiences is appreciated.

 

[WVBirdsAndBees]

Thank you! I'm still learning about chickens so may take you up on the advice. So far so good. We're up to 35 birds and definitely learning every day.

It sounds like you're doing great. My white-fronted amazon is extremely picky. You just have to learn what they like and roll with it. Generally, a good quality pellet or pellet/seed mix has most of what they need. Fruits, veggies, nuts, treats etc are mostly supplements to give them variety as if they were foraging in the wild. There's certainly nutritional value in many of the extras but they're not critical. That's why I mentioned never giving them so much fresh stuff that they ignore their pellet diet. As long as you do that, you're generally good. Just be mindful of what's toxic to them, use quality pellets, don't do super sweet fruits daily, and make sure they don't have so much extra stuff that they don't eat the pellets.

As for greens specifically, my birds aren't crazy about them either. It happens. Birds are weird and definitely individuals. As a group, parrots have very few taste buds and they're grouped on the tip of the "tongue" muscle - which is why you see them poking new foods with it to check out the taste. With relatively few taste buds, they often like food with strong flavors and/or fun textures like sweet fruits, hot peppers, crunchy nuts/seeds, etc. Mine love habaneros and jalapeños if I happen to be cooking with them. Greens aren't particularly flavorful or fun so some parrots aren't interested. You'll also notice some weird individual preferences. My amazon will not touch anything yellow, from ignoring food that color to avoiding toys with much yellow on them. My macaw will eat all the other colored pellets in her mix except the green ones, which end up still in the bottom on the bowl or on the floor where the dogs eat them. Sometimes they're just weird. Roll with what they like.

Step up training can be tough but it sounds like you're doing great if you're getting snuggles. Finding that perfect snack/treat that they love is big. Then you can use it to practice stepping up from hand to hand (or arm to arm at first if the bird is nervous like your little guy). It sounds like you're already onto that trick with using apple to lure him back in. So you're past the hard part and are developing trust. If something scares him and he regresses or you have future birds you need to train, one tip I use is to buy a couple backups of their favorite perch - as close to identical as you can get. Often times they will step up onto that as you hold it and that can be a great first step to building trust. When rehabbing shy or traumatized birds, I'd often use a long wood perch at first to get the step up training going. Less risk of being bitten and the birds more comfortable. Then gradually decrease the length of the perch until they're used to my hands being close.

Overall, don't push it. Move at his pace. If he misbehaves while on you, such as biting you or your clothing, never swat at him (even lightly) or point at him as you correct him because it reinforces the "hands are bad" thinking. Just a little shrug or drop of the arm to throw him off balance will usually redirect them and discourage the behavior. And while I say don't push it, it's worth noting that showing them no fear does help. Sometimes conures will sorta test you out. If we had one at the shop that had an attitude with hands (especially aggression), I'd often lay my hand in their space as I cleaned the cage or worked with them. Of course, this requires a willingness to get bit occasionally but that happens with birds. I'd rather it be on my terms when I can ignore it and show them that 1) they don't scare/intimidate me, 2) they're not in charge, and 3) hands aren't bad or there to hurt them.

Lastly, once he does get the step up thing you have to enforce it. If you say it and he won't step up, gently press a couple outstretched fingers against his chest until he loses balance and has no choice but to step up. Then reward him with attention or a treat. He'll gradually realize he might as well just listen because you're going to win anyway and there may be a reward - until he decides to be stubborn again and you repeat the lesson.

You're doing awesome. Just doing the research and caring so much is huge. Sorry I rambled so long. Once I get going on parrots I just keep going...

Here's a photo of my rotten pride and joy, Roxy. I couldn't find a good photo of Suzy the amazon but she's fun too.

 

[Quailobsessed]

My parrots probably wouldn't eat greens on their own either, but I give them a vegetable chop (with a variety of vegetables including greens) every morning as their main meal and pellets in the evening to fill in any gaps. Because the vegetables are all mixed up, they get a taste of everything. Also, my I ask, what pellets are you using. I know of two great brands that I would recommend

 

[WallyBirdie]

My parrots probably wouldn't eat greens on their own either, but I give them a vegetable chop (with a variety of vegetables including greens) every morning as their main meal and pellets in the evening to fill in any gaps. Because the vegetables are all mixed up, they get a taste of everything. Also, my I ask, what pellets are you using. I know of two great brands that I would recommend

Chop is always good. What pellets do you recommend?
I have been giving the Zupreem fruit ones. (I know the artificial dyes are controversial, but he only eats a few, and it's what the breeder used.) I have also been offering Roudybush Mini- but he will only consider it if mixed with seeds or given during playtime (when he thinks it's a snack or toy). The seed mix is Natural Harvest Universal Blend- it is full of dehydrated vegetables, seeds, nuts, etc. It isn't a top-of-the-line brand (to my knowledge) but he likes it. That with the pellets and fresh foods- I think it's going well. He seems healthy and happy, and we're getting along great.

If there is something more I should be doing, I'm open to hearing/reading.

 

[WallyBirdie]

Thank you! I'm still learning about chickens so may take you up on the advice. So far so good. We're up to 35 birds and definitely learning every day.

It sounds like you're doing great. My white-fronted amazon is extremely picky. You just have to learn what they like and roll with it. Generally, a good quality pellet or pellet/seed mix has most of what they need. Fruits, veggies, nuts, treats etc are mostly supplements to give them variety as if they were foraging in the wild. There's certainly nutritional value in many of the extras but they're not critical. That's why I mentioned never giving them so much fresh stuff that they ignore their pellet diet. As long as you do that, you're generally good. Just be mindful of what's toxic to them, use quality pellets, don't do super sweet fruits daily, and make sure they don't have so much extra stuff that they don't eat the pellets.

As for greens specifically, my birds aren't crazy about them either. It happens. Birds are weird and definitely individuals. As a group, parrots have very few taste buds and they're grouped on the tip of the "tongue" muscle - which is why you see them poking new foods with it to check out the taste. With relatively few taste buds, they often like food with strong flavors and/or fun textures like sweet fruits, hot peppers, crunchy nuts/seeds, etc. Mine love habaneros and jalapeños if I happen to be cooking with them. Greens aren't particularly flavorful or fun so some parrots aren't interested. You'll also notice some weird individual preferences. My amazon will not touch anything yellow, from ignoring food that color to avoiding toys with much yellow on them. My macaw will eat all the other colored pellets in her mix except the green ones, which end up still in the bottom on the bowl or on the floor where the dogs eat them. Sometimes they're just weird. Roll with what they like.

Step up training can be tough but it sounds like you're doing great if you're getting snuggles. Finding that perfect snack/treat that they love is big. Then you can use it to practice stepping up from hand to hand (or arm to arm at first if the bird is nervous like your little guy). It sounds like you're already onto that trick with using apple to lure him back in. So you're past the hard part and are developing trust. If something scares him and he regresses or you have future birds you need to train, one tip I use is to buy a couple backups of their favorite perch - as close to identical as you can get. Often times they will step up onto that as you hold it and that can be a great first step to building trust. When rehabbing shy or traumatized birds, I'd often use a long wood perch at first to get the step up training going. Less risk of being bitten and the birds more comfortable. Then gradually decrease the length of the perch until they're used to my hands being close.

Overall, don't push it. Move at his pace. If he misbehaves while on you, such as biting you or your clothing, never swat at him (even lightly) or point at him as you correct him because it reinforces the "hands are bad" thinking. Just a little shrug or drop of the arm to throw him off balance will usually redirect them and discourage the behavior. And while I say don't push it, it's worth noting that showing them no fear does help. Sometimes conures will sorta test you out. If we had one at the shop that had an attitude with hands (especially aggression), I'd often lay my hand in their space as I cleaned the cage or worked with them. Of course, this requires a willingness to get bit occasionally but that happens with birds. I'd rather it be on my terms when I can ignore it and show them that 1) they don't scare/intimidate me, 2) they're not in charge, and 3) hands aren't bad or there to hurt them.

Lastly, once he does get the step up thing you have to enforce it. If you say it and he won't step up, gently press a couple outstretched fingers against his chest until he loses balance and has no choice but to step up. Then reward him with attention or a treat. He'll gradually realize he might as well just listen because you're going to win anyway and there may be a reward - until he decides to be stubborn again and you repeat the lesson.

You're doing awesome. Just doing the research and caring so much is huge. Sorry I rambled so long. Once I get going on parrots I just keep going...

Here's a photo of my rotten pride and joy, Roxy. I couldn't find a good photo of Suzy the amazon but she's fun too.View attachment 2231207

Thank you for the helpful information and the great picture of on of your birds! Absolute beautiful!
As for rambling- ramble on! I might not always be able to offer a response that does justice to your message, but I certainly enjoy reading it!

Also, I have a question... My conure sometimes squeaks when he's excited. It's not a squawk or chirp or any sound I've found online. Is squeaking a normal conure sound or is it a sound he makes because he's young?