Scared of New Food

[flrancho]

Not often, but occasionally I try to give my finches a "treat" to vary their diet from just a finch mix seed. I usually offer chopped banana or millet seed, since I know these are safe, though I've given other things as well. However, my finches seem to be scared of new food. They'll look at it in the treat bin, cautiously go a little closer, but they never eat it. Even the last time I placed millet seed in the cage, they were quite scared of the strange object on the bottom of the cage and didn't touch it for hours. They finally went down and ate it when a finch I had had for a while, went down and took a few investigative bites out of it. Is there a way I can lessen my birds fear of trying new foods? I don't know if they just don't like what I'm putting in, if I'm chopping it up to big for them. I'd like to vary their diet some, but have stopped trying as I usually just throw away what I placed in there.

Also, what are some treats I should and should not give my birds? I know some things are poisonous to them like avocado. If I give them veggies, should they be cooked - steamed, boiled with nothing added?

[lovemyfinch]

The biggest trick to getting them to try new foods is persistance. I have never had a finch to whom I have given a new food take to it right away. Yes, I have thrown out a lot of brocolli and kale, but now they all flock to it as though there was no tomorrow.

[Sally]

Finches are just like kids, they don't all like the same things. For me, I like to chop veggies into very tiny bits, so it is easy for finches to pick them up. Mine like broccoli, cabbage, carrot, kale, collard greens, cucumber (this I just slice, they eat out the center), corn, peas--you can try different things to see what they like. Most of it is fresh and raw, though I have used frozen peas and corn, thawed.

Most birds will learn to like eggfood, which can be as basic as a hardboiled egg mashed shell and all, with a little enriched yellow corn meal added to dry it out, or you can add all kinds of goodies like commercial eggfood, nestling food, handfeeding formula, insect foods.

[atarasi]

My Societies are very scared of anything unfamiliar placed into their cage. I have a white ceramic shallow dish I leave in the cage when when it's empty. After they got used to the dish, I add a small amount of eggfood, veggies, or whatever else in the dish.
Some species are more courageous than others I guess.

[can]

It took me forever to get my birds to eat anything other then greens and seeds! After a year, the first thing they took to was mushed boiled egg, the second was apple. I tried everything, grating it, cutting it up very small, different shapes, boiled vegetables, etc. Then one day, I was eating an apple, I sliced it up, stuck a wadge into the cage and left them alone. No surprise when I came back and there were little beak marks in it!

[flrancho]

Thanks for the hints.

Since posting this I've given them some chopped up raw broccoli, torn up romaine and some banana. I was very surprised in that one of my Zebra Finches went right up to all three without delay and ate some of all. I can't say the same for my other finches, as they completely ignored the broccoli and lettuce, but two others did eat some banana.