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Cockatiel diet??

Talk about bird illnesses and other bird health related issues. Seeds, pellets, fruits, vegetables and more. Discuss what to feed your birds and in what quantity. Share your recipe ideas.

Cockatiel diet??

Postby nimble » Mon Jul 22, 2013 5:03 pm

Hey! I'm the proud mommy of Nimbus, an almost-3-month-old cockatiel. When I first got him from the breeder, he was on an all seed diet. Nearly all the research I did beforehand said that parrots should not be on a seed-only diet, and that this could cause fatty liver disease and other problems ultimately resulting in a short, unhealthy life. Which is certainly not a thing that I'm willing to let happen to Nimbus!!

I understand the importance of diet and nutrition, but the problem is I just don't know much about proper parrot nutrition! While I could spend all day talking about equine nutrition and the horse's gastro-intestinal system, I am just about clueless as to that of a parrot. Mudpie's diet is carefully planned, presented, and monitored, and I can tell you exactly what feed and supplements he is getting and, perhaps most importantly, why. But as far as Nimbus goes... I feel like I really don't have enough information.

I've seen lots of different suggestions as to what a proper parrot diet is, but for the most part people seem to just "wing" it (pun intended). It would be really helpful to me if someone could give me a clear idea of what Nimbus should be eating and how much and, if possible, why.

Currently, he gets free choice ZuPreem AvianMaintenence Natural Bird Diet for Cockatiels, and some spinach, romaine lettuce, and broccoli. So far he will nibble spinach and lettuce, and sort of play with the broccoli. Whenever I offer him fruit (I've tried mango, apple, and banana) he acts afraid of it and sort of just runs away. He'll eat millet out of my hand, and pick up spinach out of it, but isn't really up to trying new things. (I tried to give him a cooked noodle, too, and he really wasn't into it) Is there a way I can help change that?

He was hand fed and is totally friendly and cuddly, so I'm pretty sure it's not me he's afraid of.

If there's anyway someone could give me tips on a) how to introduce and get him to eat new foods, specifically fruit and b) a structured, planned out diet -- be it weekly or daily -- of pellets, fruits, and veggies, and whatever else.

Also, he spends nearly all day out of his cage with me, and even though he has access to food and water, he does't usually eat very much. Even when he's in his cage he doesn't spend a lot of time eating, so I'm not really concerned about him overeating. (should I be?!?!)

Thank you very much for your time!!

:greycockatiel:

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nimble
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
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Types of Birds Owned: Cockatiel
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Re: Cockatiel diet??

Postby Eric&Rebecca » Tue Jul 23, 2013 4:15 am

Hi! I have two cockatiels myself and have ahd many in the past so I know how yuo feel with diet!

You're right, all seed diets are vey bad for birds. There's no set diet for parrots but more a diet per bird like cockatiel diet is very different than a senegal for instance. There are many options you can take for your cockatiel.

Firstly, cockatiels are not big fruit eaters but more prefer vegetables such as carrots, leafy greens, sweet potato, bell peppers and a particular favourite of mine chillis! The hot taste is ppealing to them as they don't sense the spiciness as much. Stronger tasting or certain tastes of foods are what's more important to birds in general but particularly cockatiels. Another resaon for them being scared of fruits is the bright colours, they see coours wayyy brighter than we do so a mango can be quite alarming! Also trexture and size is important, try serving the new foods in different ways; mashed, warm, chopped, squared, etc, you'd be surprised how often this works. Also cockatiels are natural ground foragers so perhaps consider buying a platform or feeding tray which you can use for new foods to encourage this instinct or alternative buy a birdy kebab a kind of stainless steel spear with NO sharp which you can hang from the top of the cage with various fresh items on. You can also use millet clips for large clumps of fresh leafy greens, mine love kale, sometimes spinach (this is not fed often), brocolli, watercress, lambs lettuce....

With regard to your pellet choice, I would rethink that personally as Zupreem are full of unnatural colours and ingredients. If you are going to use pellets, I would suggest using TOPS. They are organic, cold pressed (not baked or extruded) and use no articial colours or synthetic vitamins. However, a cockatiel any any small parakeets diet should be varied and while pellets do play a part and in my OPINION should be a part of it you do need to supplement with regular vegetables, fruits if possible, rice (brown and well cooked) or wholewheat pastas, homemade eggfood during moulting (birds need more protein during this time), pulses and sprouting mix.

Cockatiels should still have some seed daily (just a small portion)but you can make this healthier in a number of ways. I buy tidymix parakeet diet which excludes sunflower seeds and has special dried fruits and various healthier things, while it should not be a WHOLE diet its still a healthier seed portion. You can also sprout your seeds, the sprouts are very good for them and also help the seeds to become a healthier portion of the diet.

The alternative is to feed a completely raw diet, which consists purely of fruits, veggies, some seeds, pulses, sprouts, rice, etc. This is a healthy diet also although should only be undertaken with a great amount of research. I personally don't feel I have enough experience to implement this yet. There is a lovely poster called Parajita on the forum who could help you more with this. We differ in our opinions but if you DO want to go down this line I'm sure she can help you.

I use the following diet; TOPS pellets, 2-3 portions of fruit, veg, rice and pulses daily, small portion of seed which also contains dried fruits and veggies which they do eat. A varied diet I find works very well for my cockatiels combined with regular outside cage time up to 4 hours per day AT LEAST. This has worked well for me. If you are feeding pellets, make sure to feed plenty of moist foods.

The easiest way to introduce new foods other than what I have suggested is to eat it yourself on a plate but try to preent him from getting near it... after a while of him trying to eat it offer some. you'll be amazed how well this one works.

Change textures, shape and way of serving as mentioned previously

Change where you serve, cockatiels prefer to be fed on platforms where they can forage through the foods on offer rather than being fed in a bowl.

Try to hand feed, be patient and wait for him to come to the vegetable. Withdraw all food 2-3 hours before so your bird is hungry and see if he takes it. May result in you having an achey arm. If he's tame as you've pointed out this is a great activity for you both.

You need to have a great amount of patience for new food introduction, just keep trying, if he doesn't eat it don't give up on that thing keep trying and see. You will get there! Cockatiels are notouriously stubborn and fussy but you have him young so he will get there.

As for proportions of what should be fed I use 25% between pulses and rice type things, pellets, seeds and fresh foods but you can vary this depending on what your tiel can handle. At certain times you will find they eat more of one thing than another and a week later more of pellets than another. It depends on what they feel they need. It also might be an idea to offer the seed portion as a meal in the evening so he only has the option of healthier foods in the day. Please watch the birds weight though because you don't want him to get starved but at the same time you want him to be hungry enough to get new foods so remove the choice aspect, that should definitely help!

ONE big thing lettuce has no nutritional value. Stick to dark leafier greens and a range of colourful veggies.

If he's out of the cage so much why not try implementing meal times... a routine is very important for the bird.

Also please get him checked by an AVIAN vet, its important just in case and it helps makes sure there's nothing wrong to start with. From the pictures he looks healthy enough but its very important that you do it as much as you'd take a newborn baby for its first check up :-)
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Eric&Rebecca
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Re: Cockatiel diet??

Postby Pajarita » Tue Jul 23, 2013 11:32 am

Congratulations on your new baby! What a beautifully marked pied tiel Nimbus is -and I love the name, too!

Rebecca is correct. They are ground foragers and not only favor but also benefit from eating 'on the ground' - I use a disposable white paper plate for their food and place it at the bottom of their cage, they love it and all I have to do is throw it away which I love -LOL. She is also correct in that they are not great fruit eaters (I have two that do eat fruits but a very limited selection and only because they've been with me for many years) but they do adore their greens (mine get a different one each day of the week: romaine lettuce -it's true that it's not as nutritional as other greens but they do love it, bokchoy, nappa, chicory, escarole, dandelion greens, kale, broccoli, broccoli-rabe, endive, carrot tops and a great favorite of them but which they don't get very often because it's VERY high in oxalic acid: Red Swiss Chard -same thing with spinach, too high in oxalates). They also love sweet potatoes (baked or boiled) and corn (on the cob VERY lightly steamed or the frozen kind) as well as the baby sweet peas and cooked and diced carrots (mine also eat it raw but only if it's grated). I don't feed pellets, I feed gloop which is a dish made out of cooked whole grains (wheat, oats, barley, brown rice, kamut, etc) mixed with cooked and diced or chopped veggies (sweet potatoes, corn, peas, carrots, green beans, beets, etc). I flavor the gloop every day alternating spicy and fruity. For dinner they get a budgie mix with some safflower but no sunflowers except during molt when they get a few sunflowers mixed with it as well as sesame seeds (the gloop also has flax seeds in it for omega 3 benefit).
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
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Flight: Yes

Re: Cockatiel diet??

Postby Eric&Rebecca » Wed Jul 24, 2013 11:07 am

Can I also say I love the way your baby looks as if its wearing a little grey waiscoat :-D
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