Usually Mishka eats loads! Loads of seed, his calcium block and what not, but lately he has only been touching millet, same for my new arrival.
They have access to a mixture of different seeds (I buy a type of food that has a good mix which mishka has ha a lot of times)
All they seem to be eating is millet, Im not sure why. Any suggestions? Maybe its the type of bowl? I dont know. :s
They eat millet like we eat chips! (That's fries in US). It is junk food to them - a quick-fix mouth satisfier. That's not to say it is unhealthy but like all things should be eaten in moderation.
Your birds are quite young aren't they? So it isn't a problem yet. But continue to encourage new foods.
I would also remove the millet and let them have it only as a treat/reward.
They eat millet like we eat chips! (That's fries in US). It is junk food to them - a quick-fix mouth satisfier. That's not to say it is unhealthy but like all things should be eaten in moderation.
Your birds are quite young aren't they? So it isn't a problem yet. But continue to encourage new foods.
I would also remove the millet and let them have it only as a treat/reward.
Mishka is nearly 3 and would usually eat other seeds and what not. Id be worried to remove it incase they dont eat :s
Quote:
Originally Posted by Therm
Do tou have millet in the cage all the time?
I would simply remove the millet for a while and see if they revert back to seed.
Iv just removed it and they have 3 bowls of seed in their cage (2 at the bottom and one normal on the side of the cage) They also have two calcium blocks and a cuttlefish. Hopefully they chew on these and eat normal seed now Iv removed it :s
Last edited by StarlingWings; 07-09-2016 at 11:50 PM.
Reason: Merged posts
I would recommend removing it tomorrow morning and only replacing it in the evening.
You should try and convert your birds to a healthier diet that doesn't just consist of seed and if they are only consuming millet now, that's not great.
Please read through stickies on the diet and nutrition section to educate yourself on the benefits of an overall healthy diet that will help your bird.
On thing you should see is that birds need a small amount of seed daily. If your birds are always allowed to eat millet they might be filling themselves up on millet and ignoring the seed for just millet spray.
How much millet do you have in their cage?
A comparison for you to consider is that I give eight birds one spray of millet to share between them all, once a week as a treat.
I would recommend removing it tomorrow morning and only replacing it in the evening.
You should try and convert your birds to a healthier diet that doesn't just consist of seed and if they are only consuming millet now, that's not great.
Please read through stickies on the diet and nutrition section to educate yourself on the benefits of an overall healthy diet that will help your bird.
On thing you should see is that birds need a small amount of seed daily. If your birds are always allowed to eat millet they might be filling themselves up on millet and ignoring the seed for just millet spray.
How much millet do you have in their cage?
A comparison for you to consider is that I give eight birds one spray of millet to share between them all, once a week as a treat.
Iv just taken all the millet out and left the seed. I have tried mishka on healthier things like fruits/veggies (the ones that birds can eat) but he is not interested,Iv tried a few times but it just doesnt work well with him. So instead I occasionally use egg food in his seed mix, as well as put in a couple of calcium blocks. I also tried a special bird vitamin drop to put in the water. It isnt that I havnt tried to bring him up on healthy foods, he just wont have it. But the seed I get has a variety of seeds in. I can try again with fruits but I doubt he will go near them. I honestly dont know why he doesnt.
Do you offer them vegetables? They certainly need more than seed as Therm has pointed out.
They will probably be reluctant at first, especially Mishka, but they should come around eventually.
Could you try sprouting some seed for them? I don't know a budgie who doesn't love sprouted seeds
Budgies are exceptionally stubborn.
So I would buy a nice bit of leafy green stuff- spinach, romaine lettuce, kale.. clean so it's dripping wet and lovely and pop it on the floor of the cage when it's been freshly cleaned.
They might not take to it straight away but they can't take to it at all if it's not there.
Keep trying with vet rather than fruit (it's better for them) and just keep trying. Present it in different ways. I used to chop veg up for them but mine like a nice few spinach leaves scattered on the cage floor. When I drop it in, morning or evening feed times. I sit down and I can hear the 'plop' as the budgies drop to the floor of the cage to get to it.
You might also want to limit the amount of seed they are having access to when you try and feed veggies so they don't stuff themselves full.
Budgies are exceptionally stubborn.
So I would buy a nice bit of leafy green stuff- spinach, romaine lettuce, kale.. clean so it's dripping wet and lovely and pop it on the floor of the cage when it's been freshly cleaned.
They might not take to it straight away but they can't take to it at all if it's not there.
Keep trying with vet rather than fruit (it's better for them) and just keep trying. Present it in different ways. I used to chop veg up for them but mine like a nice few spinach leaves scattered on the cage floor. When I drop it in, morning or evening feed times. I sit down and I can hear the 'plop' as the budgies drop to the floor of the cage to get to it.
You might also want to limit the amount of seed they are having access to when you try and feed veggies so they don't stuff themselves full.
Yeah I may try some spinach, as I said to a reply earlier on the post Mishka has never taken to fruits or veggies. I dont know why. Ill try put some fresh spinach in tomorrow morning.
Quote:
Originally Posted by petites
Do you offer them vegetables? They certainly need more than seed as Therm has pointed out.
They will probably be reluctant at first, especially Mishka, but they should come around eventually.
Could you try sprouting some seed for them? I don't know a budgie who doesn't love sprouted seeds
I have tried veggies but Mishka has never taken. I can try again tho, Ill try tomorrow. But as I said as Mishka didnt take to veggies/fruits I used egg food mixed in with their seed, as well as calcium blocks / vitamin drops. And believe me Mishka isnt malnourished at all haha, he is a well fed birdie (not overweight though) Thanks for the advice How do I sprout the seeds?
Last edited by StarlingWings; 07-09-2016 at 11:52 PM.
Reason: Merged posts
Budgies only eating millet
(That's fries in US). It is junk food to them - a quick-fix mouth satisfier. That's not to say it is unhealthy but like all things should be eaten in moderation. 
