Lisa Shea Forums Parakeets General Parakeet Chat Questions about eating and water

I have had my parakeet for about 2 weeks, it is not hand trained yet and is jumpy when I clean it's cage, but that is not the question.
In the two weeks that I have had him, he only eats seed. He does not care that much for millet, nor any of the variety of fresh vegetables that I put in the cage every day. I tried broccoli, apple, orange, carrot, spinach. He has not touched the cottle bone or metal blocks I have provide for him.
Also, I have had a variety of containers for water, including a big bowl, a type that attaches to the door, and a watering bottle. I have never had any indication that he has ever drink or bathed.
He seems healthy (healthy poo). makes lots of noise. He is in a large cage with lots of perches of various sorts.

Should I be concern and will things change.

Keep trying with fruits and veggies, sometimes hanging them helps, try different size pieces - just be patient. And keets only drink a very little and often will not do it if anyone is around until they are 100% sure they are safe, but he is drinking.

If he wasnt drinking or eating, he'd be dead. He'll be eating the seed because he's used to it, he knows with a reasonable amount of certainty it won't kill him... everything else, he isnt sure of. Give him time and try new things. Also if he is a 'he' he wont use a cuttlebone or mineral block as much as females. not to say he doesn't need them, he just probably wont shred one in a day like my female has done before...

Some of the stuff they just don't know is food for a while. It helps to try to introduce it in a way where they can make the association... like maybe putting the millet or some cut veggies into a container that looks exactly like the one they eat their seeds from. It can help the lightbulb go off that "hey, this is food... it's in the food dish!"

I've had my Lemmy for months and the only fresh food I've managed to get him to eat was persimmon, and that I ate a bit of then put the rest in his cage and turned around and left. When I returned later, the persimmon was gone and he had orange on his beak.

or they could do what Nouba does and throw it all on the floor looking for their food underneath that junk lol


prepare for lots and lots of waste

Thanks all for your responses