My budgie only eats seeds. Can he be healthy without fresh produce?

Hello again! These items look great for King, but the bag is correct - generally, parakeets and parrots should be fed a pellet-based diet to avoid fatty liver disease. Seed diets are high in fat (even without the sunflower seeds), so should be given as a treat supplementally only. Millet should also be given in moderation. Your bird can definitely have fruits, but include some veggies, too! Grapes, apple, banana, broccoli, kale, green beans, and peppers can be great for birds. Avoid avocado, apple cores/seeds, cherries (with seeds - seedless are ok) onion, and garlic. Dried fruits are ok too, just avoid the ones that have added sugar. I hope this helps! Good luck with King!

I would not remove his food if that is all he is eating. Undigested seeds can happen sometimes, or you may also be seeing seed hulls that are dropped to the floor and land in the stool. If you are concerned about his nutrition, continuing to offer a variety of foods is best. Most birds are very picky and will refuse food several times until they finally give it a try and decide they like it. Continuing to add in foods, especially in a variety of ways such as hanging the fruit, cutting it differently, placing it in another section of the cage or in a dish, etc may encourage The Little to start eating those. If you start seeing lots of seeds in his stool, he has rapid weight change, doesn't want to eat or drink, or becomes listless or seems ill, then it could indicate something else going on which should be checked out by a vet in person.

Thanks for reaching out about Cheeya. You are correct that birds need more than seeds/pellets to thrive. A wide variety of vegetables including greens, red/orange/yellow vegetables such as carrots and squashes. Fruits are more like treats, due to high sugar content. As per handling them. It is a continuation of winning their trust and offering treats. Good luck.

Thanks for reaching out about Sophie. Vegetables are more important than fruit. Try limiting the seed offered so that the food bowl will be empty a few hours after offered. Ensure a second bowl with vegetables and other offerings is within reach at all times. More seed can then be offered later in the day. If a bird is bonded to your and sees you eating something, then offer it to them. Good luck.

The best thing you can do is to keep offering them. If they won't take it from your hand, start by just placing the treats in a cup in your budgie's cage so that they can try it out on their own terms. If they enjoy the food, you can offer it to them every time you come by, but without giving it by hand. Once they are comfortable eating with you just observing and staying near, you can then work up to offering it by hand and then interacting with them more closely. If they become stressed out, or don't want to try the item, give them some time to relax and settle down before trying again.

The only way i know of that works is a pretty simple one. you mix the pellets with his old food mix. first day 10% pellets and 90% old food. every day you increase the pellets by 10% and decrease the o;d food by 10% until you switch to pellets completely.

Hello. Pedro should be eating 70% compete pelleted food like ZuPreem or Roudybush. A high quality seed mix or nitro berries worth fresh vegetables can make up the remainder of the diet. A diet of only millet with some greens and herbs is deficient in many important nutrients (protein, vitamin A, etc). I’d strongly recommend an exam by a veterinarian soon to assess overall heath and work diligently to transition him to a pelleted diet. Your vet can provide guidance in this transition, but you can also read more about it here: http://m.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?articleid=121