whats a good daily diet for Rocko ?

[mummybird]

Rocko as some may know is my ringneck. and he now decided he wont eat seeds !!! maybe i am feeding him to much other stuff so i was wondering what everyone else gives their ringnecks and how much and does it really matter if he doesnt eat the seeds???
ok heres an example of a daily diet... lets use today for a example....
this morning i gave him .....

mango about a teaspoon size.
apple just a small thin slice
a cherry
a roasted peanut in the shell (it had 2 nuts inside)
3 sun flower seeds i gave him when i was spending time with him.
and a piece of brocoli about the size of his head.
i also put about 2 large table spoons of his seed mix in his bowl every morning but i pick out the sun flower seeds.

then just then for lunch i gave him.
a brazillian nut.
a piece of pear
a leaf of bokchoy
and 2 dryed sultanas

and then we wont be getting anything else till dinner.... except he will still have his seeds.

but the thing is he doesnt touch his seeds anymore i thought maybe i give him to many fruit and veg so i didnt give him much yesterday but he still didnt touch his seeds... except he did pull the nuts out that come in it and the dryed currants but hasnt touched anything else...

and for dinner tonight we are having rice and vegies so i know thats what he will be getting too some boiled brown rice and some carrots brocoli and capsicum and baby corns.

is this a bad diet??? it varies a little each day with the fruit and vegies but it is about the same ammount ! am i over feeding him ?? he eats ALL his fruit and vegies. should i be worried if he doesnt eat seeds?

all my birds have a fruit and veg and seed diet but atleast they eat their seeds too !!!

please be gentle...lol... im new at keeping a ringneck and i am trying my best to learn !!!

[lovemytiels]

Hi Mummybird, the diet you are giving rocko is excellent re veggies and fruits. I myself prefer to give my ringnecks their treat bowl in the morning and it is layered so that they can forage for different things during the day and try not to give them anything else in the way of treats for the rest of the day. Mine do eat their seeds though, so perhaps maybe you are spoiling him just a tad ;D . I think all seed eating birds do need a certain amount of seeds in their diet everyday whether it is in the dry state or sprouted for them. Ringnecks are very good eaters but the more food you give them the more poops they will do LOL. I kinda have a rotation on their treat bowls. One day veggies, one day fruit, one day sprouted seeds but like you found when I first had them, that they would eat mostly what was is in the treat bowl and not eat their seeds, so they don't get a treat bowl everyday now. Hope this helps and perhaps Kim might have some more ideas as again she has more experience with ringnecks than me. Cheers Anna

[ollie]

Wow! that's one spoilt bird, no wonder he doesn't eat his boring seed.
Mine get fruit & veg most days and peanuts in shell most days but I only feed them in the morning with maybe a treat in the evening if I am down at the aviaries. I think I would save some of the fruit & veg for when you are spending time with him and cut him down to maybe morning and evening then let him eat the seed at lunch if he's hungry. If he is not in a big cage and not getting a lot of flying exercise he will get overweight pretty quickly.

[mummybird]

ohhhhh gawd ok i dont want a fat bird...lol ok so i will give him fruit and veg in the mornings and his treats in the afternoon (his nuts and sunflower seeds) when i am spending quallity time with him.
sound good ? and how much fruit and veg should he have ? about half a cup ?? or thats to much still... he probably gets nearly a whole cup now ...hehehe.
ohh and sprouted seeds sprinkled on top of his fruit and veg? in the mornings... he doesnt eat his sprouts lately either.... sound like a good plan ??
if not please correct me again.
ohh and some days not give him treats and fruit and vegies at all ?? ohh gawd i can imagine all the begging he will be doing now....

[ollie]

About half a cup is plenty for fruit and veg otherwise it is wated or lays in the cage and goes off.
Because he has been having it so often you may have to wean off all the meals gradually so maybe cut out lunch and then after a few days cut out the evening meal and see how he goes. You'll probably find he is more receptive to you when you have him out because he'll be looking for the treats.
Good Luck hope I have helped.

[mummybird]

ok sounds good...

[kim1]

we feed 50% seed, 40% vegies and 10% fruit daily, so !/2 a cup is more than enough, they love fruit so much but it is full of sugar so feed lots more vegies than fruit, as well as the normal carrot , broccolli, celery etc try raw zuchinni, chillies, boiled potato cubes, pumpkin and pumpkin seeds, steamed choko and any thing else you eat.

[mummybird]

rocko eats all fruit and vegies the good little boy except lettus and cabbage . doesnt matter though isnt like those two things have any decent nutriants in them anyways.

[AussieBirds]

Just a word of caution here about feeding your birds lettuce it, like celery, is mostly water and of no nutritional value at all. While the leaves of the celery plant is okay the actual stem of the plant is useless. Like wise with lettuce it is in essence water and can, if fed in excess, be harmful to your birds, this is particularly relevant in smaller birds such as budgies and canaries.

John

[mummybird]

awwww my budgies love it !!! and my partner works on a hydro farm so they got it like every 2nd day.... i think i might cut it down to just a little bit once a week now....

well rocko has eaten some seeds today those big white egg looking ones in the parrot mix but thats about it i think... and i put a seed bar in and i dont know if he actually ate the seeds or just ripped the bar appart... im sure he ate some of them.... i am now hand feeding him all his treats and fruit but the vegies get served in the mornings with some sprouted seeds... is starting to work i think and he has become alot more gentle today taking the food from my hands.

[mummybird]

well it is working he is eating his seeds all of them.... what a good boy... i have been feeding him all his vegies in a cup in the mornings and then hand feeding him nuts and fruit in the afternoon.

[ollie]

That's great, it will put your mind at ease and be beneficial for Rocko too!!! have a great Xmas.