To give your parakeet a healthy and happy lifestyle, you need to ensure they are receiving a well-balanced, proper diet.
This includes giving them fruit, vegetables, and other healthy foods on top of their seed meals.
Unfortunately, not all budgies eat other types of food other than these seeds.
This is one of the common problems of bird owners with parakeets.
Are you also struggling to introduce new food to your pet birds?
Well, in reality, parakeets can survive with a pure seed diet, however it might lead to some health problems in the long run, such as fatty liver.
Luckily, there are some tricks or techniques that you can use to encourage your budgies to eat any food, like how bird owners experiment on their food preparation.
Interested to learn the tricks?
Carry on reading to find out
Why Does My Budgie Only Eat Seeds?
As you have known, parakeets are not natural picky eaters.
In fact, they can eat almost anything from fruits, seeds, grains, nuts, to vegetables.
So, you might be wondering why your budgie rejects any other food except for seeds.
There is a possible reason why your budgie only eats seeds.
This is because it is the only thing they know that is edible and are completely unfamiliar with other food options.
It is possible that they have only been eating seeds since they were young, the reason why they reject other foods.
You don’t have to worry though as you can still amend this diet problem.
There are still available options and tricks that you can do to introduce your budgie to new food.
Can Budgies Just Eat Seeds?
Parakeets are usually fed with seeds, however it must not be their complete and total diet.
Though you can choose to let them eat seeds as their everyday meal, it will significantly affect their health in the future.
It is important to know that seeds are high in fat and carbohydrates.
While they are great food options to supplement your bird’s energy level, they are extremely lacking in vitamins, minerals, and protein.
That’s why the best option is to introduce your parakeets to other food such as fruits, grains, and vegetables, so you can give them a healthier and more balanced diet.
This would give them the best food meal that can give them a longer and healthier life as well.
So how do you get your budgie to eat fruits and veg?
Let’s find out
Ways To Get Your Budgies Eat Fruits And Vegetables
When introducing new food, it’s almost certain that you will have a hard time feeding them to your parakeets.
It’s most likely that you will only end up seeing fresh fruits or vegetables untouched whenever you try giving them to your birds.
Many bird owners have the same struggle, so these are some of the few feeding techniques to encourage your budgies take new tastes:
1. Mix Other Foods To Their Usual Diet
Always be gentle when you are introducing fruits or vegetables to your parakeets.
You can try out a small amount first, then mix it thoroughly with their seed diet.
Slowly increase the new food, while also decreasing the amount of seeds as they become more familiar to fruits and vegetables.
2. Feed Them In The Morning
Your budgies are most likely hungry in the morning.
This is the best time to introduce them to fruits and vegetables until they slowly accept it as food.
After all, budgies may only eat seeds since it is the only food they know.
Once they become familiar with other food options, you can give them healthier options and transition to a new diet.
3. Eat In Front Of Them
It is likely that your parakeets will become extremely curious when they see you eating food.
Eat fruits or vegetables that you want to introduce to your pet, then tease them as if you don’t want to give them a taste.
It is highly effective to encourage your budgie to try the food.
What Do I Do If My Budgie Won’t Eat?
If your budgie is persistent not to eat what you offer to them, make sure that you do not try to force feed them as it might lead to aggressive behavior.
Introduce the new food to them slowly and start with small amounts at first.
In the beginning, make sure you still give them their usual seed diet, so they will not starve or keep refusing the food.
You don’t want to forcefully change their diet by stressing your lovely birds out.
It can probably take months for them to fully adapt to their new diet, so just try to be patient at all times.
Will a Budgie Starve Itself?
Transitioning your parakeet from eating a seed-only diet to a more healthier one can be pretty challenging.
Your budgie might starve itself as they can be pretty stubborn trying not to taste their new food.
This is because they are hesitant to try it as they are totally unfamiliar with it.
Just take the transitioning process slowly as changing their diet can take a while.
Just be persistent enough encouraging your feathered friends to have healthier and more formulated meals.
After all, it will give them a healthier and happier life.
Wrapping Up
Seed only diet might be sustainable, but it is not healthy in the long run.
This is because seeds lack essential nutrients that your budgies need to become strong and healthy.
Changing their diet might be really difficult at first, but it will benefit your feathered friends as they grow older.
It can take time so patience is key!