Getting Him On Fruit Help?

So I have a cockatiel parrot called George whos about a year and a half now. Hes a lovely little parrot - very snuggly and loves all the attention he gets and loves to goof around - he even plays peakaboo!. He’s out of his cage all day and is with someone 24/7 (mostly me). I’ve had him for about 7 months now and he’s grown very attached to me. The one problem is, he doesn’t eat fruit and practically turns his nose up at any fruit or veg I put in his bowl. He just avoids it if it’s there. This is partly because his previous owner had him on an all seed diet and I’ve managed to get pellets into his diet during these months and have cut down on the amount of seed in there. Now all I need to do is get him to eat his fruit and veg to balance everything out.

Got any tips on how to get a fussy parrot to eat fruit and veg? I’ve tried just putting it in his bowl every so often so he grows used to it - didn’t work. Even tried eating some infront of him as he’s usually very interested in what I’m eating, but, yet again, no. I’m really struggling and I don’t want to miss the opportunity of getting him on this sort of diet so I’d kindly like to take some advice right now! Thank you !
 
Hello and welcome Leo, Cockatiels are not great fruit eaters , mine will turn there nose up with all frits apart from apple, Dandelion flower and leaves go down well with mine, pretend to eat some in front of your bird, get some grass that is seeding, apple leaves mine also enjoy do not pick from public places or by roads, I normally can find a verity of safe foods from the farm I live on as they tend to enjoy fresh picked more,
 
:welcome: Leo and George! Sounds like you have made some great progress with George already!

Have you tried threading fruit and veggies on a birdie kabob (skewer) so it becomes part toy/part food? Or threading large wet kale leaves in and out of the bars? Keep trying. I would put a bowl of fruit and veggies in his cage daily - one day he will try some. I slot in these birds' fresh bowls first thing in the morning when they are hungriest. Then I will slot in their dry bowls maybe an hour later. You could mix seed with the fruit and veggies to get him started. I also experiment with cutting up the fresh stuff in different shapes and sometimes large and sometimes small. Have you tried defrosted peas? My Pionus loved them so I used to press them into other foods like mashed sweet potato etc. Sunflowers are a hit here, so I sprouted them (much more nutritious) and I serve them on top of other sprouts or food I want them to try. You could also try sprouting millet spray which might be fun for him.
 
Smaller birds have smaller beaks and may prefer smaller pieces of food, rather than ones that they have to slice pieces off. Our budgies love a mix of finely chopped fruit, veg, beans and pulses. Adding a little of George's seed to the mix may encourage him to try it - he will inevitably taste some of the other stuff while trying to pick the seeds out of it and then realize that it all tastes pretty good :)

This mix doesn't stay fresh for long. Anything not eaten within an hour or so will need to be discarded in a sealed bag.
 
Keep trying with a variety of fruit and veg - something that is ignored for weeks might suddenly become a favourite, or a small piece of something ie a quarter of a brussels sprout, will be eaten once or twice then she gets bored with it for a while (I have learnt to buy only small quantities of things unless Im going to eat them myself too). Dora is a Senegal and so I have tried chopping things finely or offering larger pieces, but her favourite is always to go for the larger piece I have put by for my own lunch!
 
if you have any chickweed growing in your garden or in a nearby field that hasn't been sprayed he might enjoy that - my lovebirds used to love the stuff, and dandelion leaves to a lesser extent. Does he like carrot or celery? If you wedge a decent-sized piece between his cage bars he'll probably start nibbling it for fun and then eventually eating it.
My greys like spinach and watercress leaves too. I think most people agree that vegetables and sprouted seeds are much more important than fruit - unless you are a caique or a lory.
 
My cockatiel is pushing 20 soon and she has always been a problem with eating fresh food, but this is what she readily eats and seems to enjoy (sometimes) ):

May nibble a slice of apple pegged to her cage bars (as far as fruit is concerned that is it)
Fresh, pref organic Broccoli florets pinned to her cage (if it is not fresh she can tell)
Broccoli flowers, the yellow flowers
Fresh peas in an open pod
She will eat peas carrot etc, chopped small and lightly cooked.

Her seed is now Tidymix small parrot, took a little while but she now prefers it to Trill and of course millet occasionally.
 
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