As one should, I try to offer my parrot new foods at least once per week. It doesn't need to be anything elaborate, just healthy. The problem that some parrot owners run into is that their bird won't try new foods. My solution might not work for everyone, but it will work for many individuals who have spent time and money on food, only to have their birds turn their noses (beaks?) up at it!
I obtained Scout, my Congo African Grey, when she was 10 weeks old. Of course, we had to hand feed and then wean her. I would heat up water in a drinking glass and microwave it, then mix in the formula. Now that she is weaned, she still imitates the microwave, thinking that she's going to get some food! So I started to use it to my advantage; I place her on the back of the chair (her old hand feeding perch) and have her watch as I prepare some new delicacy in the same drinking glass. This is enough to set her off sometimes, until I add another stimulus: that microwave. When I heat it up, she definitely starts getting excited and "Fweep!"-ing. It's nothing to try to get her to eat the food after that!
So my tip is this: try an old, familiar, and favorite stimulus to get your bird to eat a new food. It could be something like a toy or even some favorite seed added that could encourage your bird to eat.
By JSRP from Lincoln, NE
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To get my Eclectus to try new foods, particularly anything thats red in colour, first I have to make a big performance of eating it and loving it myself while he watches with interest. That often all it takes as Ill have what shes having is his default preference, however if hes being especially stubborn about the suspect thing in his food bowl I ham it up even more and make it seem its sooooo good he cant have any of it because Im going to eat it the lot, does it every time.
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