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Post by Jo on Mar 9, 2015 6:43:02 GMT -5
Hi
I picked up my first quaker this weekend, he's hand tame and knows step up and we've spent a little time together so far without too much stress. My question is what are some good foods which will help him realise that I'm a good person to be around? I've tried grapes and sprouts, neither of which he seemed too keen on. I tried with a little banana this morning and he just dropped it. The only thing he has taken a small bite of so far was the porridge I had for breakfast this morning. So what are your quakers favourite treats?
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Post by aaron on Mar 9, 2015 11:25:07 GMT -5
Greetings to you and your new little friend! Primary treats for our QP Cupcake include a little piece of a nut, like a walnut or almond, or generally a piece of one of these: quakerparrotforum.com/thread/416/flax-snax -- Of course all birds love seeds for treats but I personally am not a fan of giving our bird seeds at any point as they seem to make her a bit crazy. She does love lentil sprouts but those I feed to her as a main staple of her diet rather than a treat. She likes apple and sweet potato as well, corn, butternut squash, zucchini, sometimes a banana... but I don't really consider this stuff to be treats, but rather supplementary parts of the diet. Each bird will have different tastes of course so what is a treat to one QP could be unthinkable to another  |
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Post by julianna on Mar 9, 2015 12:18:33 GMT -5
Hi Jo... when I first got my little quaker... I read the section on this site of what was not safe food and then from there I just tried little bits of almost everything to find out what his favorites were. Nowadays he loves ... as a treat.... anything with starch.. like spaghetti lol or baked potatoes .... For vegetables his staple is romaine lettuce which I give him daily. I think he likes the crunch and watery taste most.
I found one of the most fun things about having a quaker is getting to share food with them. He will check out what is on my plate and choose what he likes the best.
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Post by siobhan on Mar 9, 2015 18:38:49 GMT -5
Whatever YOU are eating. LOL No chocolate or caffeine. But if you don't have that, just sit down with your food and let your parrot come and get greedy on you. One of my tiels will walk right into my plate and help himself. Even my don't touch me bird, Jade, will take food from my hand very politely and without chomping. Mashed potatoes are very popular and so is popcorn. Hubby makes oatmeal cookies from a family recipe that they love (very little sugar -- they're almost entirely made of oatmeal and flour, so I let them have bites).
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Post by aaron on Mar 9, 2015 20:23:38 GMT -5
Cupcake would happily raid our plates but in general I don't let her because I try to keep her from eating food with added salt... I know that they don't process salt like we do and it can lead to kidney issues.. Right before we completely changed her diet around, Cupcake had started to show mild signs of kidney issues, so ever since I try pretty hard to keep her from eating it. Since then she no longer has those symptoms, but it was kinda scary at the time.
Oh, and no avocados. I don't think anyone mentioned that yet.
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Post by cnyguy on Mar 9, 2015 20:24:24 GMT -5
Ralph's favorite treats are popcorn (plain, air-popped, with no butter, oil or salt), cheddar cheese (well aged hard cheeses have little to no lactose and can be offered to most parrots as an occasional treat in small portions) and whole wheat cinnamon toast. Although they're a part of his regular diet, Ralph also enjoys fresh green peas as a treat, and he thinks that the pellets I soak in spring water to soften them are a special treat-- he hasn't caught on that they're the same as the dry ones in his food dish.  |
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Post by Sharyn and Mr P on Mar 10, 2015 7:44:14 GMT -5
Mr P eats just about everything but his favorites include grapes, cut in half so he can lick the juice out, apples, bananas, oatmeal (I make it with almond milk, no sugar or salt), pistachio nuts and almond slivers, cheerios cereal dry out of the box, bagels and wheat thins (which he ONLY gets occassionaly and very little of) soft taco shells, chicken and pork chops. As far as birdie treats go, he loves the LaFaber Avicakes and nutriberries. I agree with everyone else, whatever you are eating they are going to want to at least try, and in moderation, everything but what was specifically mentioned is fine for them as treats. Mr P also gets birdie bread (I make it myself) that includes all kinds of veggies which he won't touch if they arent disguised in bread. He gets this daily but he thinks it's a treat. I feed it to him in his special green treat dish and he hasn't figured out it's the same veggies he won't eat if they aren't disguised Am I smarter than the avg quaker? Some days yes...some days no |
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Post by rickygonzalez on Mar 15, 2015 13:56:58 GMT -5
My Sonic loves oatmeal with a bit of honey, (half a teaspoon) or less. As everyone has mentioned if I'm eating it, he wants some.Basically try a bit of everything and see what he/she likes, believe me you will know what they like. They will let you know. Most of all have fun with your bird!
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Post by biteybird on Mar 16, 2015 2:58:10 GMT -5
Bonnie likes grapes (cut in half, like Mr P has), apple and strawberries. She loves chilli seeds, pumpkin seeds, safflower seeds, cashews, almonds, chicken, cheese and steamed white rice. She will have a go at anything on the bench I'm using to prepare a meal and much prefers to steal it rather than eat what I've given to her...grrr!
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