Rescue parakeets!

[Sojourner]

I got a couple of rescue parakeets awhile back. I was told they were eating pellets and that they loved veggie/fruit plates.

However, in my home, they are rejecting all pellets, veggies, AND fruits and will only eat parakeet mix - millet and oats. They nearly always leave the canary reedgrass seed. In fact if they eat it, I assume I didn't give them enough seed.

I've been putting a veggie plate into the cage every day. They actually did eat from it - for like 2 days, now they are back to ignoring it.

I've tried scattering seed in amongst the veggies but except for that brief and apparently failed period of experimentation, they are ignoring it.

I saw where someone was giving their budgies food treats wrapped up in a screw of paper. So I've been thinking of breaking off bits of spray millet, which they do (greedily) recognize as food, and giving them that to play with. Then when they're used to finding food (I hope, because my guys don't play with ANYTHING in the cage except the mirror) I'll put other stuff in there and hopefully get them eating a more varied diet.

They do use their mineral block, but I'm not sure they're using the mineral mix. In fact I'm pretty sure they're not, its really not going down by much. Hopefully they'll get bored enough that they'll try to eat it eventually.

They are starting to use the water silo.

Is the paper-wrapped-food idea safe? They won't crack open their sunflower seeds either, so I though maybe that should be the #2 item in the mystery-twist of paper after the spray millet bits. Or maybe it would be better to put something in there that is more immediately recognized as food.

These guys absolutely HATE anything new. They don't like to go down into the cage bottom. I finally figured out that they don't trust me when they CAN see me, so when they CAN'T see me, they trust me even less. They're starting to go down there but if I stand up they get all suspicious again, LOL!

I keep reading that you must chop their veggie/fruit mix up fairly finely so they can eat it. But that makes no sense to me - they go to town on the mineral block with their sharp little beaks, but they can't bite a piece of banana or guava off?

My finches eat off whole florets of broccoli or leaves of spinach - shouldn't the budgies be at least as good at biting bits off things? After all, they hollow out logs for nests and destroy wooden toys. If they can bite bits of WOOD off, surely they can manage to bite off a piece of apple?

[slwatson]

Sojourner

I don't have budgies, but I was having the same problem with my love birds. They weren't interested in the chopped foods I put in their cage, so I bought a skewer that hangs from the cage, and I make carrot, cucumber, and zucchini shish kabobs and they seem to like it. It makes it easier for them to bite off pieces since they can't hold things with their feet like parrots can.

[Sojourner]

slwatson

Thank you! That's a good idea! An edible toy, LOL!

I think they're going to need to be in a bigger cage before I can really get their environment whipped into shape. Right now they're in a Prevue "cockatiel" cage that isn't actually QUITE big enough for 2 finches, let alone 2 parakeets, each of whom is twice the size of a finch, LOL!

Currently they ignore every toy in the cage except the mirror. Hopefully when there is more room for them that will change.

[slwatson]

Sojourner

Good luck with them! You'll have to post some pics!