Need Information On Fruits And Veggies

[Donna]

I have been reading where we need to give our Budgies more than just seed to eat and that they need fruits and veggies, too. Even though I buy the Vita-Vittle seed mix (a better quality of seed) I would still like to give my birdies the fruits and veggies - but for some reason they don't seem to want it - or even act interested in it. Could it have anything to do with how I present it to them?

I have clamped a piece of broccoli to the inside of the cage and all they did was squawk at it for about 2 days, so I removed it. They didn't ever try it from what I could see. Another time I tried to stick a half of grape in the cage, and again, they ignored it. I tried taking that same grape and clamped it to the inside of the cage, but still no results. I even tried putting the half of grape on the floor of their cage, and then later I dropped it in their seed dish, but still, nothing. . . I finally ended up removing it.

I took a baby carrot once and stuck it in the cage but my Budgies didn't touch that either. I even tried to shred the carrot and that didn't even help.

Am I doing something wrong? I don't know if I am suppose to be chopping or shredding the food so that it's smaller and easier for them to eat or if I should be leaving it whole. I also don't know if I am suppose to be mixing the fruit or veggie with their seed, or should I be keeping it separate from the seed? How long should I let the fruit or veggie remain in the cage? Will they eat it if it dries up? I really don't know what I am suppose to do. I want my Budgies to live a long healthy life but I don't know how to get them to eat anything beyond the seed. I have only had my Budgies for 2 months.

I am really anxious to hear back from you if you've had success with this. Any advice I can get will be MUCH appreciated. ;)

Thanks, so much,
Donna

[Amy]

Try looking here (http://www.talkbudgies.com/showthread.php?t=2024)

[Donna]

Boy that was a quick response and thank you for answering so quickly but I have already read all of that and I still have a lot of questions.

I already had the list of foods that is good for my Budgies to eat but that still doesn't seem to answer my individual questions that I just asked. None of the posts really cover my concerns and so that is why I posted my questions.

Thanks for the link, though. . .

[BUUZBEE]

hello
i would say yes, it is in the presentation. when i feed new budgies veggies for the first time, i get a small low sided bowl and give them shredded romaine lettuce, corn kernals, and grated carrots. i give them to this daily. when the are used to this, i add other things each day, varying it every day.
as for the fruit, i put 1/2 an apple cored, on a "kabob" i will attach some pics to show you. good luck, sometime with other birds it can be hard to get them to try it. i have had birds that would not use a bird bath at all, when i got different birds that were added to the aviary, they hoped in, and the others followed! monkey see,monkey do. try eating a salad in front of them, get them curious about the lettuce etc.
again good luck!

[BUUZBEE]

here is a link to some of the pics showing how i serve their veggies/fruits

i cheated, and didnt shred the lettuce, i used baby greens today

http://s12.photobucket.com/albums/a201/BUUZBEE/Aviary%20and%20Cages/feeding%20time/?sc=3

[Joey]

You said you left the Brocoli inside the cage for 2 days above?Thats very very dangerous it could go bad and they could take a bite and get very sick:o Only leave fruit and veggies inside the cage for a few hours.

[Donna]

Thanks Anna and Joey for your imput on how to introduce fruits and veggies to my Budgies.

Anna, how many birds do you feed with that big bowl of food? It looks like an awful lot for just a couple of birds. I guess I can start with just a little until they start liking it. The photos were helpful so maybe I will try using a wooden kabob stick. I didn't know there were metal ones. Yours looks handy. I will make sure if I use a wooden kabob stick, I'll put the sharp part out of reach so that my Budgies don't get hurt.

Also, Joey, I'm a little confused about how it could be dangerous for a piece of broccoli to sit in a cage for a couple of days. It's just broccoli. It wouldn't be any different than giving my Budgies a blade of grass or a dandylion that has been out in the yard would it? I can see certain fruits possibly not being good for them after they've sat out a while. (say - maybe a wet fruit like pineapple or something that could grow bacteria.) But I would actually think that the fruit would just dry up and it would be no different than feeding them a dried fruit from the store. That's just my feeling on the subject but maybe you have proof, otherwise.

Thanks to both of you for the information.

Donna