Variety is Important

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Caged birds should be fed a wide variety of high-quality

foodstuffs.  Seeds and nuts in the diet must be restricted to

maximize optimal health and prevent disease.  Unfortunately,

just because we offer a veritable smorgasbord every day to our

pet birds, this is no guarantee that they will consume the

foods.  Furthermore, there is certainly no guarantee that our

birds will consume food items in the proper dietary proportions.



Caged birds tend to select their foods according to habit (what

they are accustomed to eating) and the appearance of the foods

offered.  If the food item is unfamiliar (or, worse yet,

perceived as threatening by the bird), it will not attempt to eat

it.  Birds must become familiar with a food before any

experimentation is likely.  Visual and tactile (touch and feel)

familiarity seem to be important.



Diet changes should never be attempted with sick birds or with

those suffering from multiple stresses (change of environment,

introduction of a new cage mate, exposure to temperature

extremes, etc.) because forcing a bird to experiment with

unfamiliar foods produces a fair amount of stress by itself.



Many larger caged birds developed very poor eating habits

(dependence on seeds) during holding and quarantine before

purchase.  Seeds may have been the only or predominant food

offered during these periods.



Birds, like people, can become easily habituated in their

feeding behavior and diet.  Birds must gain substantial

familiarity with a given food item before they will attempt to

eat it.  However, it is usually not sufficient to offer what the

bird prefers (seeds) along with new food items.  It is unlikely

that the bird will completely ignore its particular preferences

in favor of the new foods.