Requesting for diet help with my budgies

"Starvation" methods of converting a budgie to eating other than seeds are not recommended by this forum.

It can take weeks, or even months, for budgies to decide to try new foods.

You will find many different tips with regard to presenting vegetables and encouraging your budgies to try new foods in the Diet and Nutrition section of the forum.
The first vegetable which my budgies that had not been weaned to vegetables tried (and loved) was sweet corn kernels sprinkled with a teeny bit of garlic powder (NOT salt).

Budgies seem to love "spicy" tastes.
They also adored fresh basil, cilantro, dill, chickweed, zucchini and red pepper.

When I introduced pellets to my budgie, my Avian Vet recommended using Harrison's High Potency Mash and sprinkling it on the budgie's seed mix every day.

This way, when the budgie hulls the seed it tastes[the pellet mash and ingests bits of it as well.
This helps the budgie identify the taste as a food source.
It worked for my all of budgies and lovebirds

Many members seem to find the easiest pellets to use for introducing pellets to their budgies to be the CANARY sized (XS) Zupreem fruity pellets.
Most budgies like the taste and the "Canary" sized pellets are tiny enough for them to easily eat them.
Once budgies become accustomed to the Fruity Pellets, introducing the smallest "natural" pellets is then an easy step.

Other than when I was using the Harrison's mash, I've never mixed my birds' pellets and seed together.

My birds have Zupreem Fruity Pellets, RoudyBush Mini Natural Pellets, Dried Herb Salad and Miracle Meal available at all times.

Their seed is rationed to approximately 1 ½ to 2 teaspoons of seed per budgie each day.
I give them seed first thing in the morning right after putting clean packing paper on the bottom grate of the cages.
I sprinkle their morning ration on the paper so they can forage for the seeds.
I then do the same thing in the evenings (after replacing the soiled paper with clean) and again allow them to forage for their seed.
You can also simply ration the budgie(s) food into morning and afternoon portions utilizing the food dish(es).

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Locating an Avian Veterinarian

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Additionally, please be sure to read the thread "Posting on the Forums" which is linked below.

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When you have mixed genders, it is very important to do everything necessary to prevent breeding.
Budgies are much healthier and happier when they are never bred.

A Heartfelt Plea to All Members
Tips For Discouraging Breeding
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Cage sizes.

Nice to have you with us. If you have questions after reading everything, please let us know.

Hello! Thank you so much for your kind response! 💗 My family and I really appreciate it!!!

I read the Pet Bird Nutrition PDF file. It was very helpful!!! I have also read the VCA link before, so it was refreshing! Thank you so much!

I have two pet budgies (one male and one female) that have only eaten seeds and never eaten vegetables/fruits. I tried introducing it to them and sprinkling some seeds on top, but they ignored it entirely.

After reading everything, I plan to grind the Harrison's Adult Lifetime Super Fine I have and sprinkle it over the seeds to try and desensitise them to the taste and the smell... I should have gotten the High Potency, but is it alright to use the Adult Lifetime one for now?

What do you suggest is a good feeding practice for them? I do not really know what steps to take right now... They are not tame and are rescue budgies that we got on the 12th of February, 2023... they do not even know how to play as they have never had toys or anything like that. The only form of entertainment that I think they get is when they chatter whenever I play music. My boy likes to chatter whilst I sing along to songs, and my girl (who is extremely shy) has been talking to me in the softest and the most gentle voice ever. ❤ She lets out these little chirps, and I return them by talking to her in the gentlest way possible as well... and then she chirps more... <3 :,3 Do you also have any advice for rescue budgies that do not even know what toys are? I tried making them a foraging box, but they are mostly afraid of/intimidated by it.

Today, I left the seeds in because I did not want them to starve themselves just to show their distaste for the pellets. I think my male budgie has been doing that.

He is currently moulting too, so I did not want to stress him any further. Also, I think he has been moulting since the 14th of March, 2023 (or even before that).

Please help me... I would just like to know what I can do next to try and get them to start eating well. I also do not want to starve them by accident. The PDF said that I could try feeding them twice a day, but I am nervous about doing that as they are such small birds, and I do not want them deteriorating. When I got them checked at the vet (our first and only vet visit), he weighed 31g, and she, 28g. They are already underweight, so I really do not want to risk anything. I just tried the starvation method, as the vet had advised, but I did not know that it could be very risky.

Also, do you know what I should do as a university student who sometimes has to leave the house for the whole day in terms of their feeding? Do I leave seeds in for the whole day? They like to eat in between!

Thank you so much again! Meet Capi, my lovely boy, and Mori, my sweet girl! We all thank you!

Please take care and stay safe always! God bless.

karenblodgett3261 said:

I rinse sprouts twice a day. Before I give them to LoVey I always Gove them a sniff and taste them myself to be sure their good. I found a great dprouting lid that fits on a mason jar. I'm at work on my break right now. I'll get a picture and link to order from Amazon when I'm on my longer lunch break 😊!

Click to expand...

Hi! Oh my gosh, thank you so much for answering me!!!

I would just like to ask... I will be washing my new batch of sprouts soon! However, it is nighttime where I am which means I will only get to wash them once (which is in less than an hour)... What I did was I rinsed the beans until the water was clear, then soaked them in vinegar, rinsed them again, and then soaked them for almost 6 hours. Threw the water where I soaked them and then rinsed them. I then suspended them over a piece of gauze I had sterilised after drying them a bit, and I left them in a stainless steel container with a lid. Since then, 4 hours have passed. I will be washing them soon, but I won't be able to wash them again until the morning (so like, until 8 hours later only). Is that okay?

I can't get up in the middle of the night as my parents will get mad at me. Hehe...

This is how it looks like, if it helps! The gauze is basically staying in position because of the lid closing on it. Also, it was a bit damp since I just squeezed the hot water out of it, and that was that.

Thank you so much again for your time and God bless! Hoping you have a lovely day at work!