A varied diet is important for pet birds, but sometimes birds can act a lot like stubborn kids when it comes to trying new foods. As with children, it’s best to start introducing a variety of foods when the bird is young. Morning is the natural foraging time for birds, and can be the best time to try a new food. Incorporate new foods into the dish with the bird’s usual diet to encourage him to try it, or prepare a dish of the new food and put just a few of his favorite treats in the dish. This will force the bird to forage through the new food to find the treats, and hopefully will taste the new food in the process.
Try offering fresh foods raw or cooked, warm or cool, etc. You may find that your bird prefers one way over another. If the bird doesn’t eat new foods in the dish, try hanging or clipping chunks or leaves in the cage to encourage nibbling and gnawing. Birds are attracted to bright colors, so try to incorporate fresh, vibrant foods to entice the bird to investigate.
Birds may try new things when in a “family dinner” setting. If everyone is eating pasta, cereal or veggies and the bird sees everyone enjoying it, he may just want to try it too! Be patient and try various things, and no matter what, always provide your pet bird with plenty of healthy foods.
