The daily menu
This is a question that comes up a lot, with many budgies and weiros, in particular, refusing to eat fresh foods after a full-seed diet.
There's a few reasons they might refuse.
Firstly, parrots are naturally neophobic - that is, they fear new things. In the wild they are prey animals, and for survival, automatically perceive anything new as a threat, until others in the flock bravely experiment and basically indicate 'the coast is clear'. This instinctual behaviour is still very much alive in them, only being a few generations removed from their wild ancestors.
Secondly, many birds are weaned on to only seed, a common practice with unethical breeders who don't provide - or don't know about - correct nutrition. When this happens, and seed is all they're familiar with, a transition will need to occur to familiarise the birds with fresh food. Due to the neophobia, this can take weeks, months, or longer.
Before I go any further: this is general advice and information based on our experiences and discussions with avian vets. All birds are different. Please consult an avian vet to discuss your birds’ dietary needs before making any significant changes. It's important to note that sudden changes to the diet can cause upsets (sadly not just emotional 😅).
Breakfast
Morning is when the birds are hungriest, and so we like to pack the most nutrition possible into their meal. This includes a mix of soaked and sprouted seed, cereals, and grains; as well as finely chopped vegies and herbs.
Sprouts are a way to give birds the seed they love, with their nutritients more readily available. Fat is also used up in the sprouting process, so birds will get more of the good stuff, and less of the bad.
There's many combinations of things you can soak and sprout. Basically any raw whole seed will sprout well. Ingredients can include oats, rice and other grains and cereals, peas, beans, lentils and other members of the pea family. Any of the oil seeds like safflower, sunflower, and sesame are also possibilities.
This information that we were largely inspired by at the beginning, was obtained from https://www.parrots.org/lp/parrot-sprouts/
Finely chopped vegies are especially good for transitional birds since they're more likely to pick up something when they're foraging through for the seeds. Some birds also just prefer chopped over bigger chunk.
A very basic recipe for chop is available in the Resources section of this website.
Lunch/Dinner
Although seed is available 24/7, we replenish it in the afternoon with good quality seed from a stock supplier.
As to how much seed, we go by avian vet recommended amounts. A single budgie is maintained on 1-2 teaspoons of seed per day. Many people tend to fill the containers that come with cages (understandably) which results in the birds being overfed, another discourager for trying fresh foods.
This is accompanied by more fresh vegies, in bigger chunks or whole pieces, which many of the birds love destroying. Examples include brocolli heads, bunches of kale, celery, or spinach/silverbeet.
Dessert
I say dessert since it's a 'sweet treat'. The plumheads and kakarikis are particular fans of this course and will vocalise if it's late.
This is a small bowl for each aviary, filled with sliced fruit (examples include apple, kiwifruit, strawberries, pomegranate) and a few natural almonds.
Tips & Extras
When a new bird comes in who hasn't had fresh food before, we generally offer corn on the cob hanging over a perch, which plays into their curious side. Big green leafy veg are also good as they have a large surface area for the bird to explore, and they often like to lick or bathe in water droplets on them.
We love using Peter’s Mix from Eclectus by Design. This is a beautifully aromatic blend of herbs, flowers, nuts, spices, and healthy seed, which we sprinkle on top of their regular seed or sometimes mix in.
For those in Australia, we often use one of the pre-made vegie mixes from Coles or Woolies (Kaleslaw for example), in addition to other fresh food. These mixes make an easy and quick addition to the morning sprouts mix.
On hot days, frozen peas and corn are a good cooling snack for them.
We always enjoy experimenting with new foods, including herbs, flowers, and other things we may have not even known birds could enjoy. If there's something not listed here that yours love, or just a favourite food in general, comment below.
