eating

Question
My budgies are on a all seed diet. I want to feed them other foods like apples and things like that, but there scared of it. Every time I give the apple slice closer to them, they start freaking out and fly away. Why is this happening and is there a way to make them not scared of the fruit?

Answer
If they are afraid of the fruit, but you still want them to have the benefits of a well rounded diet, there are a couple of things that you can do.

You could try putting it in a separate food dish and see if they'll investigate it.  If it's in a food dish, they might associate it with food, not a weird wedge of something that's coming too close for comfort!

You could try dried foods.  This is a good option for birds that don't like to eat fruits or veggies.  You can cut it up into fine pieces and put it in with their seed because it won't make your seed spoil by adding extra moisture.  Just make sure that the fruit that you give them is free of extra salt, sugar, and preservatives.  Organic is best, or just dehydrate some fresh fruit yourself.

If they still won't eat apples, you can try carrots, spinach, parsley, peaches, or lettuce (it doesn't have much nutrition, but it can sometimes get them started trying new things).  They tend to like soft foods, and ones that have a lot of color.  But avoid avocados!  Budgies are highly allergic to them and it will almost certainly kill them.