Tips For Introducing New Foods To A Picky Bird

When it comes to your feathered friends, choosing a well balanced diet is key to keeping them healthy and happy for a long time to come. But, when you have a picky bird, it can be hard to figure out what to feed them and how to introduce new foods to them. When you are ready to give them new foods that you aren't sure if they will like or not, here are some excellent tips that can help you make an introduction easier:

Start young if you can - young birds are usually much more willing to try new foods than older birds who may be "set in their ways."

If a food is totally new to a bird, it may not even recognize it as food. Offer new food in a familiar dish with other foods you know your bird already likes, and he or she may try the new food. Even if your bird only gets a taste of the new food by accident they still might decide they like it.

Place a couple of treats such as sunflower seeds, raisins or cheerios in a dish of new food. Your bird will likely get a taste of the new food while extracting the treat (the key here is to only use a couple of the treats and make your bird dig through the new food to get to them).

Offering new foods first thing in the morning is helpful, since this is when many birds naturally forage for food. Offer new foods alone first thing in the morning, and then give them their usual food a couple of hours later.

Try different forms of new foods - some birds prefer raw vegetables to cooked, while others are the opposite. Some like cooked veggies warm, others prefer them cooled. Some birds might be more willing to taste a puree or even juice made from new vegetables.

A food that is ignored in a food dish might be eaten if offered in a clip on the side of the cage or in a play area. Try weaving greens through the bars of the cage, and using a clip for slices of vegetable or fruits.

Offer a chunk of corn on the cob, which many birds like to gnaw on.

Bright orange or yellow fruits and vegetables often attract attention Try a mix of brightly colored veggies, in bite sized pieces and mixed together (cooked or raw).

Give leafy greens freshly washed and still wet and hung from a clip. The droplets of water may attract your birds attention.

Offer foods after you have a bite - watching you eat the food may be all the temptation your parrot needs. Try making a fuss, acting like this is the best food you have ever had, and maybe even feed some to another family member to help convice your parrot that this is something he/she really wants to eat!

Most birds enjoy eating freshly sprouted seeds, which are an excellent source of nutrition and are often helpful in enticing birds to make the leap from seeds to greens.

Never starve a bird into trying a new food.

Keep in mind that your bird might take a few tries with a new food or treat before they even go near it. So, don't worry if they don't take to it right away. Also, make sure that you don't leave a new treat in their cage until it rots and can cause health problems for your new bird.

Bird Diets: Seeds Vs. Pellets

When it comes to finding the right bird feed for your pet bird, how do you know what's the right type of feed for them: seeds or pellets? Well, let's take a look at both sides so that you can see what might be the best for your bird.

Now, keep in mind that in the wild, birds have a very large variety of what they can eat and they will not get that as a caged bird. Also, you should know that with just seeds or pellets, a bird cannot get the balanced nutrition that it needs like it will get in the wild. Pellets do a better job of providing a more balanced diet than just seeds do. But, either way, a bird's diet should always be supplemented with tons of fruit, vegetables, and other goodies that will help to ensure that they are getting the vitamins, nutrients, and minerals that they require to be healthy.

Birds should be fed quality commercial pellets as a staple in their diets. They should also have a variety of fruits, veggies, and other greens on a daily basis as well. You can easily add in some seeds as a treat for them too, just make sure not to let them eat too many seeds - think of them more as "junk food" for your birds. If they are offered seeds on a daily basis instead of the healthy things that they need to eat, they will go for the seeds and that can lead to health problems in the long run for them.

When you take the time to make sure that they have a variety of different types of foods in their diet, your bird will be a much happier, healthier pet and will live a long time.