Feeding Fresh Veggies, Cucumber, Celery and more . . .

[JerseyGuy]

Curious about feeding fresh veggies, including Cucumbers, Celery leaves, and more ....
How do you prepare and offer it to the finches ? Does it get cut up and plated and put on
the bottom of the cage ? What is your experience with offering these foods to your Gouldians?
I have tried boiled egg, but they ignored it. I haven't tried anything else yet.

[lovezebs]

JerseyGuy

Here are a couple of pictures regarding presentation of veggies, greens, and fruits.

As in regards to eggs: grate them, or press them through a garlic press, add some crumbled spray millet and toss with a fork.

[Spreckles]

What a salad bar! I pulse mine in a food processor. My birds wouldn't eat anything until I mixed millet into it. Just keep offering. When its not brand new anymore they will try it. Once the 1st brave bird tries it they all dive in.

[jimenezl]

Hi. Very lovely. Is this a daily buffet?

[lovezebs]

jimenezl

Usually every day, with variations of contents, depending on the season and what's available.

My guys absolutely love their veggies and fruits, and with egg food thrown in as well, I find that they go through less seeds .

[jimenezl]

Hi Elana,
Nice birds too. It must keep you busy, preparing all this food on a daily basis. I posted a new topic earlier today, inquiring about time spent tending to our avian charges. Maybe you would be kind enough to post there as to how much time and effort is involved in doing what you do?
Thanks anyways, and no troubles if you choose not divulge any 'secrets'..
Kind regards,
Luis

[lovezebs]

jimenezl

I already responded to your other post, lol.

Food prep, takes very little time really.
Eggs are put on to boil for 10 min, while I'm washing and or chopping greens, fruit etc.

When done cooking, I throw them into cold water, peal them (save the shells for later use), put them through a large garlic press, add my dry egg food, crumbled spray millet, pulverized freeze dried meal worms, toss with a fork and serve.

No special secrets

[JerseyGuy]

JerseyGuy

Here are a couple of pictures regarding presentation of veggies, greens, and fruits.

As in regards to eggs: grate them, or press them through a garlic press, add some crumbled spray millet and toss with a fork.

Quick question -----> What are the ingredients in the Photo's you posted?

[lovezebs]

JerseyGuy

The veggie/fruit options that I offer are varied. The different choices, are:

Baby Spring Mix
Spinach
Romaine
Beet greens
Broccoli
Red Swiss chard
Parsley
Cucumber
Corn on the cob (fresh or thawed from frozen)
Grated carrots
Dandelion
Chick weed
Apple
Banana
Blueberry
Watermelon
Cantaloupe
Grapes
Orange slices
Raspberry

There may be other things that slip my mind at the moment, but variety is the main idea.

[JerseyGuy]

I removed the Seed cups from the cage, and placed the seed on a plate on the bottom of the cage, and added a plate of 'Rainbow Salad' which is made up of Broccoli, Carrots, Red Cabbage and Cauliflower and Cucumber and put that on the bottom of the cage too.

My 2 Gouldians are very very very Stubborn. They will not go down to the bottom of the cage to eat. So it looks like they would rather starve than eat. I can not believe this.

Well I'm not giving up - they will learn to go to the bottom of the cage or they will starve!

[Stuart whiting]

JerseyGuy

The veggie/fruit options that I offer are varied. The different choices, are:

Baby Spring Mix
Spinach
Romaine
Beet greens
Broccoli
Red Swiss chard
Parsley
Cucumber
Corn on the cob (fresh or thawed from frozen)
Grated carrots
Dandelion
Chick weed
Apple
Banana
Blueberry
Watermelon
Cantaloupe
Grapes
Orange slices
Raspberry

There may be other things that slip my mind at the moment, but variety is the main idea.

Wow and all on a daily basis, must cost a fortune, that amount is more than an average weekly shop,

By all means birds need some greens but the size of that list I onestly think that is a bit excessive

[JerseyGuy]

Yes, I've seen your posting previously, Stuart.

[Sally]

Many of our pets almost eat better than we do. Some members cook quinoa or couscous to add to the veggie mix. Possibly not all these veggies and/or fruits are offered at the same time, although Jason Crean has a whole facebook group devoted to raw avian nutrition, in which people mix up virtual salads for their birds. Patricia Sund goes around giving talks at various conventions about offering "Chop", which is where several people get together with a huge amount of veggies, they chop everything up, mix it all together, and then freeze batches for their birds.

Variety definitely can be the spice of life for our birds!

[kyle]

lovezebs
Hi Elana. . You're birds are looking great! In the first picture is that a parrot finch? What unusual coloring.

[lovezebs]

kyle

Hi Kyle,

Thanks.

Yes, he was lovely....
Regretable I lost him quite a while ago very suddenly and unexpectedly.