What treats to your budgies like besides regular food?

[laceykins]

My parakeets love their food and their millet, but I have not had much success with any fresh food. I've tried getting frozen bags of mixed veggies and heating them up for them. I've even sprinkled their molting/conditioning supplement in with the veggies because they love it. They pick at it, but that's it. I'd really love to get them eating a bit more of a variety of things in addition to their regular good, but it seems like anything I try never even gets touched. Advice on foods your birds love would be greatly appreciated! I'm open to any ideas

 

[chicmom]

I have a Rosey Bourke (Pink parakeet from Australia), and she's the same size as a parakeet. She's not interested in much other than her seed mix and millet sprays. I have zipped some cooked corn,carrots & green beans in a food processor for her and offered it, but she doesn't seem real interested. I would say offer it anyhow because birds take a while to realize they like something. I offer her Higgins leafy greens and herbs too, which she really likes to peck at. It just looks like little bits of dried leaves and chammomile flowers and stuff.

My larger Indian Ringneck Parakeet really likes her corn bread muffin. I cook these mini corn bread muffins up, and chop up peas and carrots and put it right in the batter. They bake up nicely, and I freeze them and she gets one per day. You can put broccoli in them, or chopped kale too. She likes those.

Also your parakeet may nibble on some fresh kale. Maybe tiny bits of fruit to, like apple. My IRN loves those little mandarin orange sections too.

 

[GuineaFowling]

Always provide fresh food, it doesnt matter if your bird eats it or not. Simply allowing access to the food will eventually get your bird to eat it and like it. I had a picky lovebird a while back who only ate seeds. I immediately switched her from seeds to sprouted seeds. She took to that quickly and then I offered her fresh food but she would not eat it. Chop up fresh food, various colors and shapes, and then put some millet in it and mix it. Your bird will dig through the fresh food for the seed and will likely get a taste of this or that. Eventually s/he will get used to the tastes and actually eat them. It takes a while though. I also would put fresh collared greens or carrots or other snipping in various places around the cage. My lovebird would pretend not to care but when my back was turned she would investigate these 'new' things and try them. Your bird may not like the taste immediately but will get used to it and eat it. Is your bird tame? My lovebird wasnt tame so It was harder to introduce her to these foods. With tame birds most of the time you just bring the new food up to your mouth, pretend eat it while making exaggerated yummy noises, and your bird will likely want some and take a bite of it when you offer it. This is how I introduce new foods to my conure.

Good Luck!

 

[laceykins]

Always provide fresh food, it doesnt matter if your bird eats it or not. Simply allowing access to the food will eventually get your bird to eat it and like it. I had a picky lovebird a while back who only ate seeds. I immediately switched her from seeds to sprouted seeds. She took to that quickly and then I offered her fresh food but she would not eat it. Chop up fresh food, various colors and shapes, and then put some millet in it and mix it. Your bird will dig through the fresh food for the seed and will likely get a taste of this or that. Eventually s/he will get used to the tastes and actually eat them. It takes a while though. I also would put fresh collared greens or carrots or other snipping in various places around the cage. My lovebird would pretend not to care but when my back was turned she would investigate these 'new' things and try them. Your bird may not like the taste immediately but will get used to it and eat it. Is your bird tame? My lovebird wasnt tame so It was harder to introduce her to these foods. With tame birds most of the time you just bring the new food up to your mouth, pretend eat it while making exaggerated yummy noises, and your bird will likely want some and take a bite of it when you offer it. This is how I introduce new foods to my conure.

Good Luck!

Thanks for the encouragement! I'll keep giving them fresh stuff daily. One day they will eat it. I tried sprinkling some millet seed over fresh veggies this morning and that seems to be working!

 

[jak2002003]

Mine love eating...

steamed sweet corn on the cob
Broccoil
Carrots

They also like the inside 'hearts' of lettuce

Also mashed up hard boiled egg (with the shells crushed up too).

They like huge chunks or whole pieces of the vegetables.... not cut up... They love to gnaw them to bits... if I cut them up they won't touch them.

Make sure you don't have any other bird treats in the cage like honey seed bells or sticks.. because they will eat these rather than the healthy stuff... like us eating chocolate bars instead of an apple.

I only feed mine grit, budgie seed mix and mineral blocks as the main diet.. but some of the above vegetables every day... They are all over 6 years old and very healthy. I never feed them sugary bird treats which will make them fat.

Good luck... remember they can sometimes be frightened on new things in the cage.. so give them time to explore the new foods and play with them before they get a taste for them.

 

[laceykins]

Mine love eating... 

steamed sweet corn on the cob
Broccoil
Carrots

They also like the inside 'hearts' of lettuce

Also mashed up hard boiled egg (with the shells crushed up too).

They like huge chunks or whole pieces of the vegetables.... not cut up... They love to gnaw them to bits...  if I cut them up they won't touch them.

Make sure you don't have any other bird treats in the cage like honey seed bells or sticks.. because they will eat these rather than the healthy stuff... like us eating chocolate bars instead of an apple. 

I only feed mine grit, budgie seed mix and mineral blocks as the main diet.. but some of the above vegetables every day...  They are all over 6 years old and very healthy.  I never feed them sugary bird treats which will make them fat.

Good luck... remember they can sometimes be frightened on new things in the cage.. so give them time to explore the new foods and play with them before they get a taste for them. 

Great advice, thanks. Steamed sweet corn on the cob sounds pretty yummy even to me! I think I'll try that next. Yum!