Birdie Tip: Some birds are finicky eaters. Introducing new foods can be frustrating when they do not eat them. the main reason birds resist new foods is because they do not recognize them as food. You can overcome this hurdle by two ways: one is to pretend you are eating the food and give some to another flock member to do the same in front of the bird; the second method is to put the food in a high food dish next to the highest perch. Birds feel more secure up high and will be more likely to eat there.

Bird Brain Information: There is no such thing as a "runt" in clutch of baby birds. In parrots, eggs are usually lain every other day, and they hatch on the same interval. So each baby is 2 days behind the previous hatchling. The last one to hatch is several days behind the first hatch and is therefore smaller. This is different than being a runt. A runt occurs when a litter of mammals, dogs for example, are born. The puppies compete within the womb for nutrients and growing space, and one always gets less of both than the others. When they are born this smaller one is considered a runt.