IndianRingNeck.com

Hi Friends,

I've a IRN named Charlie. He is refusing to eat anything but guava which is not available in this season. Kindly help.

Wow, Joe, that's a humdinger!

Did he used to eat anything different in the past, or has he lived his whole life on guava? Did you just get him? When was his last meal? Is he an adult? Healthy?

Perhaps you should find an available fruit with the same texture/wetness/appearance as guava and offer that. Be sure to eat it, yourself, in front of him and share.

I think it highly unlikely he will starve if you don't provide guava. Offer the usual seed mix, some nuts, variety of fruits and vegetables, grains mush (like oatmeal), and bird food pellets (just get a few from a friend), and see what he likes. Again, I strongly suggest you eat the food in front of him. Make yourself a plate of options, cut small, and eat in front of him. Share. You can pretend to eat the seeds and pellets if you want.

I cannot advise you to starve your bird, but I can tell you that when I tried to get my bird to stop holding out for sunflower seeds it only took him a weekend to entertain other options. I gave him plenty of seed mix, minus the sunflower seeds, at all times. He skipped a few meals but by the end of the weekend he was cured of only eating sunflower seeds.

Good luck, and don't forget to provide good water at all times.

-MissK

Thanks MissK....

Asian pears are similar, but he needs a varied diet.