FINCHforum

OK so I have my 2 societies in their own cage and my other 3 pairs in another cage.

I have tried everything for the 2 societies, apple, lettuce, broccoli, egg, egg shell, egg & biscuit, finch crumble, peas, corn, and spinach. The only thing they will eat is carrot and their seed and water.

I have tried grating it, cutting up really small, putting a whole piece in, but no success.

The other 3 pairs freak out when I put a tray or plate of any sort in the cage, they won't settle after I do it, I have tried all the above foods but they will not go near the tray. The only thing they will eat is if I sprinkle Spinach leaves over the grate on the cage, if it falls through they can pick it back up. They also like their Cuttlebone. But problem is they will only accept their seed and water dishes in the cage. I have tried to put a bath in there but once again they wouldn't accept it, they bath in their water dishes.

Does anyone else have this problem? Is there anything I can do differently? I have tried and tried again and again, but neither cages will allow any change.

I would pick one thing at a time, like hard boiled egg and keep offering it. Maybe sprinkle a little bit of their seed on the top. Eventually the dish and food will not be so scary and they should try it. At first just put a very small amount, like a teaspoon so your not wasting so much. Of course I also would put the egg shell in a little dish and leave that in the cage always because it will not go bad.
I say egg because in my opinion egg is the most important "extra" food to give any bird. It is loaded with protein, vitamins and minerals that the adults and chicks need. Vitamin D3 for calcium absorption is also in eggs for those birds not able to get direct sunlight.
best of luck

What color is the dish you are offering it on? I've found that mine seem terrified of certain colors. I once put in a black dish as a bath and they FREAKED out. No one would perch while it was in there; they just flapped around, clinging to the bars when they would land briefly. Guess it looked like a deep dark hole in the ground to them. Mine also freak out if I wear certain colors, like red for example.

nelloyello11

I have mainly used container lids, they are plastic see through with coloured clips on the sides. I have just bought them a new bath, its ceramic blue on the outside and cream colour on the inside. They wont go near that either. They just flap around very unhappy if I use any sort of tray / container or bowl.

I wear mainly black clothes but they don't seem to be worried about me around the cage.

Any ideas?

@debbie276

I will give it a try, mainly the egg food for both cages, lucky it is only one egg a day as I am throwing it all out. I have left the egg shell in the cage.

I agree with Debbie that egg food is probably the most important. Plus, they can actually smell it and know it's something good. I have one gouldian hen, Venus, who goes NUTS if I am even preparing it in the same room - she's all over the front of the cage waiting for me to give her some. She goes right for it the second I put it in. She even ends up with egg all over her beak and everything, it's crazy but hilarious.

The two vegetables that are most widely accepted by my birds are romaine lettuce and cucumber slices. They ALL love it. What I would do with the romaine lettuce is take a whole or half of a leaf (depending on size) and clip it to the side of a cage by a perch so they can nibble without having to go to the bottom. With the cucumber slices, try putting one in a small clear container next to their food dish. They love to eat the centers out of them.

Bathing can be difficult to get them used to unless they see others doing it and then catch on. I would leave a little pool of water -if you have another dish exactly like their food dish that you can put water into sometimes that will coax them into trying it. Just don't make the water too deep. I never put in more than will cover just their legs if they are standing in it. Also, never put a dish of water in with a sick bird!

Best of luck...

Lisa wrote: I agree with Debbie that egg food is probably the most important. Plus, they can actually smell it and know it's something good. I have one gouldian hen, Venus, who goes NUTS if I am even preparing it in the same room - she's all over the front of the cage waiting for me to give her some. She goes right for it the second I put it in. She even ends up with egg all over her beak and everything, it's crazy but hilarious.

Mine too! my hen is waiting in the fields.. like "hurry up.. could you be any slo---werr?"

she also has seeds all over her face, and her beak is always green from eating veggies.. overall shes REALLY big on eating..a nd big in general which is why I switched her name to Roseanne.

I will give it a try, mainly the egg food for both cages, lucky it is only one egg a day as I am throwing it all out.

If you hard boil an egg you can give them a very little bit and store the rest in the refrigerator, that way you wouldn't be going through so many eggs. It should be fine in the frig for about 3 days.

Do they go to the cage floor at all? You could try putting something they really love like millet spray in the different container, and leave it there. They might eventually venture up to the container to get the treat. If they do, once they strongly associate the container with something really great, you could start alternating the favorite treat with something you want them to try.

I hear you! I have trouble getting my finches to eat new things. For example, none of my finches will eat freshly made egg food (only dry). And only my Gouldians seem to like fresh veggies. I usually chop up some slaw mix (which I also eat) and they go crazy over it. Depending on which kind I buy, the mix usually has a lot of cabbage and carrots or broccoli stems and cabbage.

I've found that my birds don't like any bathing dish that is clear or white at the bottom. I think it confuses them, as they can't judge the depth of the water. Perhaps try something with a darker bottom. I use a lot of small, dark green pot plant trays as additional feed dishes. Nice and cheap and easy to clean

I agree with Debbie, try 1 type of food/dish at a time and let them get used to that. Everything is still very new for them but they will settle with patience

Grant You are having more luck than me, I can only get some to eat Spinach and another pair to eat carrot. But today I had a breakthrough with egg shell with all of them. 3 indoor cages.

My hope is to get them to eat the egg itself, as it seems they all want to breed (The Double bar owls and the 2 pairs of Manikins) I understand how important the egg food is. I have even tried Egg & Biscuit dry food and wet and Finch crumble.

The only positive thing for me and the Manikins that have laid 5 eggs, is giving them something called "Breeder Aid" its an oil that you mix into the seed and leave it to soak for 24 hours. It is supposed to be a complete diet for breeding birds. I can only hope they are getting what they need.

But I will keep trying to introduce new things.

Another off the cuff idea - my societies love Miracle Meal, a soft food you can find at specialty finch shops online. If you could find something like that they would take, you could get them used to a softer food, and maybe gradually add the egg to it. But then if they don't like it, you're stuck with another expensive food they won't eat. They can be so finicky!

dcompt

That sounds like the Egg & Biscuit I use. I can either use it dry or wet. I have tried both way, I even made it into little balls and put it in their seed dish, they refuse to eat it. I am getting really worried not when the babies hatch. All I can rely on is the 'breeders Aid' that I am giving them.

Update: they all now eat cucumber, spinach, carrot, broccoli, peas, corn, alfalfa, cauliflower, eggs and egg shells. It just took some perseverance. Keep trying in small asked so you don't waste to much. Eventually they will get there.