FINCHforum

Admittedly, I bought my cutthroat from a petstore. What can I say...the price was right and I've been watching him for a while.

Anyways, I've had him for about a month now and he's yet to touch a meal worm. He eats his seed, greens, millet and oyster shell bits just fine and I feel I have a pretty decent diet for him. He's just not touching a meal worm. Is it because he's just not used to them? I heard that they eat meal worms and need to for a complete diet.

How can I get him to chow down?

Some birds don't like the mealworms -- try hard-boiled egg (it's easier, lasts longer and is cheaper, too!) Grate the entire egg with the shell and mix with a tablespoon of cornmeal (to dry it out some) and a few drops of coconut oil or oil of your choice -- nothing with saturated fat. He will probably try it. If not, put in a bird that will show him that it's good (societies are good for that!)

Thanks for your reply We'll be going grocery shopping today so I'll pick up some eggs. I'll be welcoming a gouldian tomorrow who eats mealworms, so at least they won't go to waste

Some gouldians don't eat mealworms either I have some that only eat when they have chicks

Yeah, I was wondering about that. When we talked diet so I knew what the gouldian was eating, she said that she loved mealworms. I'm actually really excited about getting her. A lady from my bird meet up group has had them for a while but just took in a bunch of foster parrots so she wanted to know if I would like her gouldian, orange cheek and canary. They'll be here tomorrow I have no idea what the gouldian looks like so it'll be a sort of surprise

Wonderful! Be sure to take pictures for us!

Just a side note: Cutthroats can be aggressive.

haha, they'll be in separate cages. When the aviary is built, I'll just decide who goes in it and who stays in their cage. The cages are all pretty big and I never overcrowd, so everyone has plenty of space to dart around in