patagonian conure

Question
Hi Alicia,
I rescued "Sheila" my 10-year old patagonian conure from a shelter about 2 month ago. I loooooove her.  I could help notice though, that she likes yoghurt. I was eating it this morning and she would not let go until I gave her a little of it. To my surprise, she licked the spoon clean. I say surprise, since she has not taking much of other foods I have offered her so far (fruits, nuts, noodles, eggs...) Is it save for her to have milk products?

Answer
hi. thanks for your question. and kudos to you for taking in a shelter rescue. that is terrific!  
incidentally, my 15 year old sun conure loves yogurt more than life itself. he does the same thing your conure does..."demands" a taste and licks the spoon clean! he will even start biting me if i don't let him taste it! he especially likes flavored yogurts.
you should continue to keep her trying different foods...you are doing a good job so far. it is possible that since she is a rescue bird, the home(s) she had prior to you may not have offered her such a variety of foods. as such, she "grew up" only eating certain foods and may be wary of trying anything new (birds are so much like humans, its scary!) keep on trying though.
as far as the milk products, i understand your concern, especially since you've finally found something your bird actually likes! you are correct however in being suspicious of milk products being good for your bird. birds are not mammals and as such, they were not nursed or raised on milk products. thus, i have read that their bodies lack the enzymes necessary to properly digest milk products...they are, in a sense, lactose intolerant.
these factors however do not make milk products "off limits" for birds. the key is moderation. a few "licks" or so off of your spoon are fine...my bird also likes to eat cereal soaked in milk (though plain cereal is better) and little bits of shredded cheese.  this can give birds calcium as well as a tasty treat. again, keep in mind that birds are lactose intolerant and that milk products are high in saturated fat. try a few bites or a little bit of milk products every once in a while as a "treat" but by no means a dietary staple. and keep trying to expose her to a variety of foods that she may like.  good luck. alicia