Using Headology to expand your budgie's culinary frontiers

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Sojourner
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Using Headology to expand your budgie's culinary frontiers

Post by Sojourner » Mon May 07, 2018 2:27 am

Or, the Ongoing Saga of Teaching My Budgies To Eat Properly

TL;DNR = When Trader Joe's stopped carrying the sprouted rice/quinoa blend that had become my guy's new favorite, they virtually stopped eating anything but oats. But I accidentally discovered that when offered TWO things, one of which they disliked more than the other, they would act like "the other" (whatever it was) was suddenly Mana from Heaven and they will pick that out. The next day, if you put something in with the more hated food that is still left (all dry seed here), there's a 50/50 chance they will now eat the formerly hated and reviled food that they WOULDN'T eat yesterday. But they have to be MIXED TOGETHER. If I put them in feed cups side by side, they would reject both.

Now on to chapter and verse:



First there was the corn-free bird bread. And it was weird, and it was Green, and it was avoided, and it was reviled. Because Who Knows, that could be a SNAKE in disguise!

Then one day, in a flurry of angry budgie bites, it was consumed.

And it was Good. And they demanded MORE. And MORE was provided.

Then the Weird Green-filled Corn Free Bird Bread was CONTAMINATED with Bird Salad.

And the Bird Salad was weird, and it was avoided, and it was reviled. But it was liberally sprinkled with Weird Green-filled Corn Free Bird Bread.

So the Bird Salad also, by association, gradually became familiar.

And one day the Bird Salad was Also Consumed. But the Weird Green-filled Corn Free Bird Bread was still preferred, and demanded, and the Bird Salad was sore oppressed.

Then one day the Mana ceased to fall from heaven, as The Stupid Dangerous Hooman RAN OUT of the Weird Green-filled Corn Free Mana. I mean Bird Bread.

But there was still the Salad. And the Salad was good. And the Salad was plentiful.

And the Budgies discovered there was More To Life than Millet, or Oats, or even the Canary Reedgrass seed.

There was also Amaranth, and Chia, and Couscous. And there was Bulgur Wheat, and Flax, and Sesame. Also there was Nyjer, and Rolled Rye, and Rolled Barley. And there was Hulled Hemp, and Buckwheat, and all things Marvelous and New. Most especially, the Sprouted Three Rice Quinoa Blend from Trader Joe's.

And the Budgies were content.

Then one day Satan, in the form of a Large Snake, whispered into the ears of the Trader Joe's Executives (in the voice of Sterling Holloway), "LO, thou hast been selling a Sprouted rice/grain mix that these Budgies do love, and that is Good to thy Bottom Line. Yet, Verily, Budgies do not EAT that much of this mix at any one time, and lo, that is BAD for thy Bottom Line. Therefore thou shouldst cast out this product from thy line!"

And lo it did come to pass, that the Sprouted Three Rice Quinoa Blend no longer was allowed to dwell upon the shelves of Trader Joe's.

And the Budgies did become WROTH when their favorite Sprouted rice/grain blend no longer did appear in their feed cups, and when the bird bread ranneth out and the Stupid Dangerous Hooman was too busy with other sick inferior animals to make more.

BRING US NOT THE MILLET, they squawked, for the millet is not the Sprouted Three Rice Quinoa Blend!

NOR bring us the canary reedgrass seed, nor the oats. Hold, let the oats stay. But not the millet, nor the canary reedgrass seed, nor any of the other seeds and grains the Stupid Dangerous Hooman has been making daily offerings of. For only the Sprouted Three Rice Quinoa Blend is good in our eyes!

And we are SORE WROTH at its lack.

And in their wrath, the Budgies did turn away even from the Bird Salad. And the squawking was plenteous, and loud, and Angry.

And they did reject all substitutes. And they did reject all foods when offered singly. Except the Oats.

And the Stupid Dangerous Hooman did worry.

Then - A Miracle! The Stupid Dangerous Hooman, in her Desperation, began trying different COMBINATIONS of formerly acceptable foods. And the Stupid Dangerous Hooman did mix into the hated new brand of Sprouted Rice Blend some couscous.

And the Budgies did eye this mixture with disfavor, but yet - the couscous is OBVIOUSLY not as bad as the Hated New Sprouted Rice blend.

And so the Budgies did pick the couscous out from amongst the grains of Sprouted Brown and Red Rice.

And it was Good. And it was plenteous. And At Least It Was Not the Hated New Sprouted Rice Blend.

Then the Couscous ran out for the day. And the next day, the SDH did add Red Quinoa unto the Hated New Sprouted Rice Blend.

And lo, the Budgies were sore afraid, for the Red Quinoa was now Strange, and Weird, and Reviled therefore! Because birds have VERY short memories, except when their memory is very long. And it was long in regard to the Favorite Sprouted Three Rice Quinoa Blend, and very SHORT in regard to absolutely everything else they used to eat. Except the Holy of Holies, Oats.

And the Hated New Sprouted Rice Blend suddenly looked good by comparison to the Red Quinoa. And it was consumed. And it was good. Or at least better than Weird Red Quinoa that dwelleth not in bird memory despite the fact that they had been eating it from time to time for over a year.

And the SDH did see that her Budgies did eat of the Hated New Sprouted Rice Blend, and it was Good, but also it was Bad, because Too Much Of Any One Thing is Not Good.

And so it came to pass that the Sprouted Rice Blend was replaced with Bulgur Wheat. And the Budgies did reject the Weird Awful Bulgur Wheat, and did instead and with gusto consume the Red Quinoa in its stead.

Oh my, quoth the SDH. I See I Must Use Headology in my dealings with The Budgies.

And thus it came to pass, that every day, the SDH did add to the feed cup one Reviled Food and at least one other food, and the Budgies did with great Joy choose the Lesser of whatever two evils currently resided in their Feed Cup.

And one day the New Sprouted Rice Blend might be the Reviled food while the Amaranth Seed was consumed utterly. And the next day, the Amaranth seed might be the Reviled Food while the Bulgur Wheat was instead consumed with great gusto. And so forth.

And Lo, the Budgies did, in rotation, eat absolutely every single thing on the rotating menu Sooner or Later, even unto the Dill Seed which was formerly Totally Unknown to them.

And the Bird Salad did become Delicious again, and the screaming stopped, and the Budgies Did Play with their food, and All was Well in the Aviary, thanks to Applied Headology and Sneaky Feeding To Make It Look Like There Is Choice.
Molly Brown 11/22/15
Pyewacket 6/15/17
Trudy 2/24/18

Turn towards home, and go there. Many overs, over woods and fields, streams and hills, many overs. Just turn towards home. How else would one go there? Perhaps it was a dream, and you have awakened from it. May the earth rise up beneath you, with home in your heart, and your person waiting.

Sheather
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Re: Using Headology to expand your budgie's culinary frontie

Post by Sheather » Tue May 08, 2018 2:08 pm

I think you're dramatically overcomplicating what parakeets need in their diet. A complete diet can be composed of less than half a dozen things.
~Dylan

~~~

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Sojourner
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Re: Using Headology to expand your budgie's culinary frontie

Post by Sojourner » Wed May 09, 2018 12:27 am

Sheather

You are wrong.
Molly Brown 11/22/15
Pyewacket 6/15/17
Trudy 2/24/18

Turn towards home, and go there. Many overs, over woods and fields, streams and hills, many overs. Just turn towards home. How else would one go there? Perhaps it was a dream, and you have awakened from it. May the earth rise up beneath you, with home in your heart, and your person waiting.

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