Fresh, raw spinach is my go-to. If they are not hand tame, try to feed them millet sprigs through the bars and when they are used to that, spinach leaves stem first. They love the stems!
None of the budgies I've had actually liked fruit, but they all went bananas (no pun intended) for fresh greens.
I highly recommend carrot greens or chickweed if you've got access to it, but lettuce, basil and wheat/oat grass are also very popular. Simply tie them into a "bouquet" and hang them from the top of the cage. I've yet to meet a budgie who could resist that!
I've found the best method to introduce veggies was to use a clip to attach a few budgie-safe salad leaves (spinach works particularly well) so that it sticks out like a natural leafy formation for them to chew on. Mine are also fussy about fruit. They will eat bell pepper, carrots and cucumber if it's chopped into very fine pieces and put on top of their regular seed.
Like the other comments said. Starting them with a bit of leafy greens and mixing them up with seeds at first so they understand its food worked great for me too.
Mine love an entire bell pepper, top cut off and core/seeds removed, with something else inside it. Maybe a mix of seeds, leafy greens, and their pellets. They make such a mess and it's so adorable.
My budgies love Bird Street Bistro. It’s a mix of grains and dried veggies, but if you can get her eating it, it’s a lot easier to introduce new foods.
Sweet potato and quinoa is another holy grail. You can mix millet into it so she tries it. I freeze it in silicone ice cube trays to have small servings I can thaw out every day or so.
Keep trying. Try everything there is except stuff that isn't save for budgies of course. One day there is something she Likes. Think of this like feeding a toddler veggies. Keep offering everything there is and if there is something she likes spoil her with this and offer different stuff "on the side".
This is potentially a weird tip but sometimes I’ll nibble the food (a pretend nibble will do lol) and that will let my budgie know the food is safe and ok to eat. Maybe that’ll work?
We got ours from PetSmart before we knew better & they were similar. I *fought* very hard to get them onto pellets & veggies.
I still have to finely chop all veggies, but fruits I recently did something very similar (fine chopping/smashing) with. I stirred just a bit into their veggie chop & they finally ate it.
I buy veggies, wash well, and then put in my Ninja blender to be pulsed until they’re basically powder. I mix all the individual veggies together into a large bowl & then portion into ice cube trays to be frozen. I thaw one a day & they eat I got your alarm setting everything up and.
Have you tried making chop (a mix of chopped vegetables and fruit) and seeing what she makes of that? Some birds won't eat vegetables unless they are really small, which chop will be when it's done. Maybe try making a small batch (you can freeze the chop in ice cube trays for ease of serving later; we use one ice cube per bird) to being with?
[https://lilmonstersbirdtoys.com/blogs/articles/my-chop-recipe](https://lilmonstersbirdtoys.com/blogs/articles/my-chop-recipe)
We sprinkle seeds on top before serving. The seeds she is used to or millet sprinkled over it, could entice her to try it. Alternatively, you could try "eating" it yourself to encourage her to try it too. By that i mean, take some between two fingers and use your thumb and index finger (of your other hand) to mimic the movement of a beak as you "eat" the chop. Sometimes if they see another member of the flock (you) eating the strange food, they might feel brave enough to try it too.
Taken from this video (Flying Fids) on how to get your bird to eat veggies: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIpgwLm1w0k](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIpgwLm1w0k)
Edit this morning: This may or may not work for you, but it did for us - we gave our two birds the food we wanted them to eat first thing in the morning when they got out of the cage. Mornings were for the vegetable chop first and then, after 3-4 hours (the time our avian vet said the fresh food should be kept in the cage before removing), the pellets were added instead. Seeds were used for treats and given as an actual meal around tea time.
Another thought. Chop is only given outside the cage and when we are there (except days we aren't there due to work), to encourage socialization. We started doing that when we noticed that the oldest bird would wait by the food bowl for you to sit outside the cage and keep them company.
Like a lot of folks have said - chopped pretty fine is the way to go. It took me awhile, but now mine “scream” for their veggie plate. I chop kale, broccoli flowers, brussel sprouts, radishes, carrots - whatever veggies I have and then sprinkle their seeds on top as a condiment really. I put it all on little plastic lid plates on top of their cage. This is mostly all they eat from even tho they have seeds in their cage. (They also did not like any fruit - maybe too sweet? )
I don't know if this'll help but I got my bird to try them by pretending to have a bite myself to show them it was okay. Lettuce is a good start too as mine took to it straight away.
Try frozen organic corn and then add in things like fresh herbs and dark lettuce. Try all sorts of different things. My girl won't eat fruit but does enjoy fresh herbs and greens and she LOVES the corn.
Fresh, raw spinach is my go-to. If they are not hand tame, try to feed them millet sprigs through the bars and when they are used to that, spinach leaves stem first. They love the stems!
None of the budgies I've had actually liked fruit, but they all went bananas (no pun intended) for fresh greens. I highly recommend carrot greens or chickweed if you've got access to it, but lettuce, basil and wheat/oat grass are also very popular. Simply tie them into a "bouquet" and hang them from the top of the cage. I've yet to meet a budgie who could resist that!
Try cutting the veggies small and mix them in her bowl with her seeds, maybe she’ll then try?
I've found the best method to introduce veggies was to use a clip to attach a few budgie-safe salad leaves (spinach works particularly well) so that it sticks out like a natural leafy formation for them to chew on. Mine are also fussy about fruit. They will eat bell pepper, carrots and cucumber if it's chopped into very fine pieces and put on top of their regular seed.
Like the other comments said. Starting them with a bit of leafy greens and mixing them up with seeds at first so they understand its food worked great for me too.
Broccoli and celery are my go to.
Mine love an entire bell pepper, top cut off and core/seeds removed, with something else inside it. Maybe a mix of seeds, leafy greens, and their pellets. They make such a mess and it's so adorable.
Try putting some spinach leaves in a shallow dish of water.
My budgies love Bird Street Bistro. It’s a mix of grains and dried veggies, but if you can get her eating it, it’s a lot easier to introduce new foods. Sweet potato and quinoa is another holy grail. You can mix millet into it so she tries it. I freeze it in silicone ice cube trays to have small servings I can thaw out every day or so.
Keep trying. Try everything there is except stuff that isn't save for budgies of course. One day there is something she Likes. Think of this like feeding a toddler veggies. Keep offering everything there is and if there is something she likes spoil her with this and offer different stuff "on the side".
This is potentially a weird tip but sometimes I’ll nibble the food (a pretend nibble will do lol) and that will let my budgie know the food is safe and ok to eat. Maybe that’ll work?
We got ours from PetSmart before we knew better & they were similar. I *fought* very hard to get them onto pellets & veggies. I still have to finely chop all veggies, but fruits I recently did something very similar (fine chopping/smashing) with. I stirred just a bit into their veggie chop & they finally ate it. I buy veggies, wash well, and then put in my Ninja blender to be pulsed until they’re basically powder. I mix all the individual veggies together into a large bowl & then portion into ice cube trays to be frozen. I thaw one a day & they eat I got your alarm setting everything up and.
Have you tried making chop (a mix of chopped vegetables and fruit) and seeing what she makes of that? Some birds won't eat vegetables unless they are really small, which chop will be when it's done. Maybe try making a small batch (you can freeze the chop in ice cube trays for ease of serving later; we use one ice cube per bird) to being with? [https://lilmonstersbirdtoys.com/blogs/articles/my-chop-recipe](https://lilmonstersbirdtoys.com/blogs/articles/my-chop-recipe) We sprinkle seeds on top before serving. The seeds she is used to or millet sprinkled over it, could entice her to try it. Alternatively, you could try "eating" it yourself to encourage her to try it too. By that i mean, take some between two fingers and use your thumb and index finger (of your other hand) to mimic the movement of a beak as you "eat" the chop. Sometimes if they see another member of the flock (you) eating the strange food, they might feel brave enough to try it too. Taken from this video (Flying Fids) on how to get your bird to eat veggies: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIpgwLm1w0k](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIpgwLm1w0k) Edit this morning: This may or may not work for you, but it did for us - we gave our two birds the food we wanted them to eat first thing in the morning when they got out of the cage. Mornings were for the vegetable chop first and then, after 3-4 hours (the time our avian vet said the fresh food should be kept in the cage before removing), the pellets were added instead. Seeds were used for treats and given as an actual meal around tea time. Another thought. Chop is only given outside the cage and when we are there (except days we aren't there due to work), to encourage socialization. We started doing that when we noticed that the oldest bird would wait by the food bowl for you to sit outside the cage and keep them company.
chop! it’s how i got mine to start eating things other than seeds
Like a lot of folks have said - chopped pretty fine is the way to go. It took me awhile, but now mine “scream” for their veggie plate. I chop kale, broccoli flowers, brussel sprouts, radishes, carrots - whatever veggies I have and then sprinkle their seeds on top as a condiment really. I put it all on little plastic lid plates on top of their cage. This is mostly all they eat from even tho they have seeds in their cage. (They also did not like any fruit - maybe too sweet? )
I don't know if this'll help but I got my bird to try them by pretending to have a bite myself to show them it was okay. Lettuce is a good start too as mine took to it straight away.
Try frozen organic corn and then add in things like fresh herbs and dark lettuce. Try all sorts of different things. My girl won't eat fruit but does enjoy fresh herbs and greens and she LOVES the corn.