# Won't Touch Veggies



## JordanAndVevila (Feb 7, 2011)

I have a pretty long list of foods that are ok for cockatiels, as well as a pretty long list of foods that are not ok for cockatiels. However, I have a question about a couple of things. I heard somewhere that cinnamon sticks, dried chiles, and cilantro are all ok for cockatiels. Is this true? I haven't been able to find information to back it up yet. Also, if so, are only certain types of chiles ok, or is it all chiles? Also, can they be fresh, or do they have to be dried? 
Another question I had, is how can I get my Vevila to eat some different foods. She eats exact pellets. I did buy her a seed mixture, that I give her occassionally as well, but her base diet is pellets. I would LOVE if she would eat human foods, such as veggies, fruits, and pastas, maybe even some chicken and fish. I know that these foods are much healthier for her, and I would greatly prefer she eat these. However, anytime I put some in her cage, she ignores them altogether. Is there a trick to get her to eat them? Today, I did put a small amount of coconut into her seed mix, when I gave her her seeds. She absolutely loves seeds, and wanted them so badly that she was willing to eat them even with the coconut in the bowl. She actually ate most of the coconut too, and that sure did make me happy!  But that is the only thing she has eaten other than seed and pellets, and I have introduced tons of different foods to her. I was just wondering if there is a trick to help her eat these different foods?
One more thing, I made a salad, and I wanted to give her a small bowl, but I wanted to make sure everything in there is safe for her to eat first? The salad has romaine lettuce, purple cabbage, green onions, mushrooms, a small amount of lemon juice, and tomatoes. There are also some shelled sunflower seeds sprinkled through it. (Not many though.) Would it be alright to offer her a small bowl of this salad?


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## lordsnipe (Nov 11, 2010)

I'm not sure onion (normal onion or spring/green onion), mushrooms or tomato are on the list I have at home.


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## JordanAndVevila (Feb 7, 2011)

lordsnipe said:


> I'm not sure onion (normal onion or spring/green onion), mushrooms or tomato are on the list I have at home.


The list that they can or can't eat? Lol. sorry.


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## shelagh (Nov 2, 2010)

Perhaps if you try sprouting seeds she will be inclined to try them out; if she already eats her seed, it will be a familiar fare, yet by sprouting the seeds you will eliminate the intrinsic fat and offer the seeds at their highest nutritional value possible. I'm so sorry about your little boy, and I hope that Vev will be well <3


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> I'm not sure onion (normal onion or spring/green onion), mushrooms or tomato are on the list I have at home.


These are on the can't list.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

It takes time and patience to teach a bird to eat new foods but most of them will eventually start eating at least some new things. Most cockatiels don't like fruit so you don't need to bother with that, but they can learn to eat veggies and other foods. I have some tips for persuading them on my website at http://www.littlefeatheredbuddies.org/info/nutrition-conversion.html

It's actually very good for her to have some pellets in her diet since they're designed to be nutritionally complete and may help her get some nutrients that would otherwise be hard to provide. But many people aren't comfortable with the 80% level that the pellet companies recommend and want to have more natural foods in the diet. If you're really motivated, there's a bird nutrition group at http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/FeedingFeathers/ that's geared toward providing a balanced diet that's mostly based on natural foods.


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## JordanAndVevila (Feb 7, 2011)

shelagh said:


> Perhaps if you try sprouting seeds she will be inclined to try them out; if she already eats her seed, it will be a familiar fare, yet by sprouting the seeds you will eliminate the intrinsic fat and offer the seeds at their highest nutritional value possible. I'm so sorry about your little boy, and I hope that Vev will be well <3


Thank you. How do I sprout seeds? Is it just by placing them on a wet paper towel? What seeds can I sprout for her? Thank you so much. She seems to be doing pretty well with it actually. I'm very thankful that she is such a strong bird. I was torn up, and figured she would be a million times worse, but she is actually helping me with it more I think. They're such wonderful, sweet little birds. =)


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## JordanAndVevila (Feb 7, 2011)

Oh ok. Thank you very much. I won't attempt to share my salad with her then. =) Thank you for the answer! =)


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## JordanAndVevila (Feb 7, 2011)

tielfan said:


> Most cockatiels don't like fruit so you don't need to bother with that, but they can learn to eat veggies and other foods. I have some tips for persuading them on my website at http://www.littlefeatheredbuddies.org/info/nutrition-conversion.html


Thank you so much. It's interesting to know that they don't eat different foods because their instincts tell them not to trust it. I didn't know that. It's always nice to learn new things about cockatiels. They are such fascinating birds, and there is so much to learn! Your website has some interesting information on it. Thank you so much for posting the link. I also found your article on sprouting seeds, which is very helpful. I placed the coconut in her bowl of seeds, and she actually ate most of the coconut! So maybe I will keep trying to mix some veggies in with her seed and some millet, so she is at least forced to try it, or touch it, like your article suggests. Thanks so much, and I really hope this works! This forum has been so helpful to me! It's so nice to have somewhere to turn for some answers from people who have more experience. It's also nice to get interactive answers to specific unique situations, rather than simply typing my questions into google and hoping someone had a similar issue or expereience. Thank all you guys so much for all your help! It is immensely appreciated.  
She actually does eat probably an 80% pellet diet. she was on only pellets when I got her, but I read seeds are good for them too in small amounts, and I previously fed my parakeets seeds, so I went out and bought her some. She only gets the seeds for a few hours every day or every other day, as she would only eat seeds, and no pellets if I were to leave the seeds in there all the time.  Little cutie.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Veggies are moist so you're better off serving them separately from seeds, which might develop mold problems from the moisture. Tiels take to home-grown sprouts pretty readily since they look like seeds, so you can mix veggies with the sprouts.

Every tiel has different preferences of course, but mine don't like veggies in a food bowl unless it's corn kernels and peas. Otherwise they prefer their veggies clipped to the side of the cage - mostly leafy greens but also things like broccoli florets and asparagus spears.

The Food and Nutrition section of this forum has a sticky thread on sprouting at http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=9019


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## JordanAndVevila (Feb 7, 2011)

tielfan said:


> Every tiel has different preferences of course, but mine don't like veggies in a food bowl unless it's corn kernels and peas. Otherwise they prefer their veggies clipped to the side of the cage - mostly leafy greens but also things like broccoli florets and asparagus spears.
> [/url]


Thank you. I never thought about clipping them to the side of the cage. i did think of the seeds becoming moldy, so I was putting a very thin layer of seeds just to get her attention, and then emptying and cleaning the bowl when I removed the foods from it. I will try clipping the foods though. That's a great idea! Thank you.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> so I was putting a very thin layer of seeds just to get her attention


Yes, that's fine. Those seeds are going to disappear quickly anyway (assuming that she doesn't have a big bowl of seeds elsewhere in the cage) so you shouldn't have any problems with mold. When she picks up the seeds she'll have to touch the veggies or other food beneath them at least a little bit, which can eventually lead to experimentation and eating.


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## JordanAndVevila (Feb 7, 2011)

Thank you for the information. She doesn't have another bowl of seeds. Maybe that's why she ate the coconut today? I hope so. I'd like her to have a healthy variety. I'll continue to mix a small amount of veggies with some seed, and hope it helps, but I will also try clipping some foods to the cage. If that doesn't seemt o be working, I will try some of the other tips on your webpage, such as replacing the food, and seeing if she adjusts. Thank you, and wish me luck!


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## shelagh (Nov 2, 2010)

I go to the local community market and buy wheat berries (Machi's favorite), fenugreek (a close second fav), quinoa, mustard seed, radish seed, buckwheat, etc. to sprout for my birds. You just rinse the seeds then soak them overnight in water, then rinse at least every 12 hours (I just leave mine in a strainer sitting over a bowl in a warm, dim spot with a napkin loosely covering them) until they sprout. I try to start a new cycle every couple of days so the birds have fresh digs when their old ones become spent, though the sprouts do grow for several days.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> I will try some of the other tips on your webpage, such as replacing the food,


A clarification for the benefit of the readers: anytime you replace the usual food with something new, it's for a short period only (like a couple of hours in the morning) and then you put the usual food back in the cage. People should never ever assume that a bird will eat the new food when it gets hungry enough, and the top priority is to make sure the bird gets enough calories every day even if the bird refuses to eat anything but junk food.


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## JordanAndVevila (Feb 7, 2011)

shelagh said:


> I go to the local community market and buy wheat berries (Machi's favorite), fenugreek (a close second fav), quinoa, mustard seed, radish seed, buckwheat, etc. to sprout for my birds. You just rinse the seeds then soak them overnight in water, then rinse at least every 12 hours (I just leave mine in a strainer sitting over a bowl in a warm, dim spot with a napkin loosely covering them) until they sprout. I try to start a new cycle every couple of days so the birds have fresh digs when their old ones become spent, though the sprouts do grow for several days.


Thank you so much! That doesn't sound difficult at all. I have quite a few health food markets nearby, that I'm sure will have seeds like that. I will definately get some to sprout next time I am out.


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## JordanAndVevila (Feb 7, 2011)

tielfan said:


> A clarification for the benefit of the readers: anytime you replace the usual food with something new, it's for a short period only (like a couple of hours in the morning) and then you put the usual food back in the cage. People should never ever assume that a bird will eat the new food when it gets hungry enough, and the top priority is to make sure the bird gets enough calories every day even if the bird refuses to eat anything but junk food.


Thank you. I figured I would only try replacing it in the early mornings, if it comes to that, as I've heard they can be very stubborn little birds, and refuse to eat anything at all if they don't trust it. I wouldn't risk that! I'm definately glad that she eats pellets, because I know that they are really good for her. I'd just like to implement some healthy natural foods as well, either as treats, or as a fresh healthy food, to supplement the pellets and seed. =)


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## JordanAndVevila (Feb 7, 2011)

Vevila must be an anomaly of the bird world! Today, I got her some millet sprigs. She is terrified of it! I reached it ut to her, and she ran away! So instead, I tore a small chunk off and dropped it into her food bowl. She is carefully eating around it, and ignoring the stick that I placed in the bars. It amazes me. She is almost 9 years old! Is it possible that she has never had millet before?!?


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Could be...since she's in a new place new stuff is probably scary. But its ok, once she realizes its good and yummy you'll have something to tempt her with! Hopefully she discovers this soon!


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## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

try to pretend eating it in front her, she might get the idea - especially if you make a fuss over it and tell her how yummy it is and pretend you don't _really_ want to share it with her, but ok... you'll be nice this time (you might feel a bit stupid, but it usually works!).


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## JordanAndVevila (Feb 7, 2011)

Hopefully she discovers how good it is! It would make it much easier to socialize her. =) Thank you, I will try to pretend to eat it. =) Hopefully that will help. She is awfully curious anytime I'm eating something. She comes to the bars and cocks her head, but she won't leave the cage, and she runs if I offer her any. But curiousity is a good first step! =)


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## Milo (Feb 12, 2011)

tielfan said:


> Most cockatiels don't like fruit so you don't need to bother with that, but they can learn to eat veggies and other foods.


My boy loves fruit, especially apples but he likes the occasional banana too. However i can not for the life of me get him eating veggies.


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