How do I get my budgie to know that an apple is safe to be eaten?

Question

I have tried to show him by eating a bit myself, but he flies away when I try and give him it. I've put it in his cage, but he just ignores it. I have to take it out before it goes off because he never touches it.

Sarah c , I've read on the net that they need a few supplements to their seed diet, like fruit for tip top health.

He also reckons cuttlefish bone is for standing on!

Answer 1

i have 2 budgies they wouldnt eat apple i put them some carrot in and they ate yhat and now ocassionaly eat apple.also they was like your budgie sitting on the cuttle fish than one day i noticed they had pecked aload off it so i reckon that if you keep the cuttlefish clean and in the cage your budgie if he needs it will use it.its the same same with the iodine block it can be there ages then all of a sudden its gone.my budgies also like a piece of celery.i think the apple because of the texture takes them getting used to it.its like when my parrot was alive he would never eat fresh bananna yet it if i gave him the dried bannana he loved it.

Answer 2

Perhaps, he doesn't like apples. An all seed diet is the road to malnutrition. I think you would benefit from a good quality pellet food.With that I was told no more than 10% seed and no more than 20% fruit and veggies. Even though, there is no recognized standard for birds yet, pelleted foods are superior. I use Zupreem because of its convenience to buy where I live. The developer of Science Diet created Zupreem. There is cold pressed pellets like Roudybush. It is fresher but can harbour bacteria so if I used it, I would refrigerate that one. My birds like broccoli and bananas also. Try converting to a pelleted diet by slowly replacing the seed diet by 1/4 per week. Have a great tweet year Just like people I guess birds have their preferences.

Answer 3

You are right budgies do need fresh fruit and veggies. My quaker parrot is hesitant on everything new I feed him, but eventually he comes around. I do this with him. When I choose a new item to feed I dice it up pretty small, and leave it for about 2 hours making a big deal out of it, YUM , YUMMY, this is GOOOOOOD, take a bite myslef then leave it in his cage with him to inspect. It may take several weeks of him trying. Both of my birds learned to love apples, but neither will touch the skin , so try peeling it first. Make sure you take it out and replace it with fresh, after a couple hours, b/c bacteria can grow fast on fruit and vegs, and can be lethal to birds, even if it still looks ok to eat.
Keep trying and mix a little bit of what he does like with it.
You can give hime almost any fruits and vegs, EXCEPT
advocados and onions. ALso never coffee or alcohol!
Good luck, they are amazing little creatures!

Answer 4

Either he doesnt like it or you are putting too big of a piece in the cage and he doesnt understand that it is food. Try little tiny pieces diced into his seed to introduce him to it...If he still doesnt eat it..he doesnt like it obviously

Answer 5

He might not like apples too much. Try a piece of pear instead. Or you could give him some lettuce or spinach.

Answer 6

For goodness sake go to the library and get a book on keeping budgies. And as for showing it how to eat, well.

Answer 7

He's probably read Snow White. The Queen ate a bit of the apple and Snow White thought it was fine, but half was poisoned.

Answer 8

budgies dont like apples

Answer 9

Budgies are seed eaters, give him some seed and he might be interested. If he doesn't want fruit does it really matter?

Answer 10

Leave the apple in and his curiosity will get the better of him.