Cockatiel food: What to use, when and how much?

[Pajarita]

Well, you can't really believe everything business people say about their product, can you? I mean, Perdue also says he loves chickens but that doesn't mean he really loves them, it's just propaganda. Making money out of animals does not show love for them. Profit and love for the merchandise never go hand in hand and this is not my personal opinion, it's a fact of human nature. Just to illustrate the difference between people who claim to love birds and the ones that actually do, compare this couple's work to Marc Johnson and his wife, Karen's.

YES! You should, most definitely, make YOUR own decision as to what is best to feed your ekkie and do it based on your own research and not what I or anybody says, including your avian vet (by the way, I don't know how it is in Australia but here, in the States, avian vets don't study parrot nutrition at all -zero, zilch, nada- and they also don't study behaviors). But, let's get one thing clear, when it comes to parrots husbandry, you are going to hear the 'different opinion' argument A LOT (as in 'you have your opinion and I have mine') but diet for an undomesticated species is never a matter of people's opinions, it is what nature evolved them to eat and, although we might not be able to give them the same fruit, bud, nut or whatever they eat in their natural habitat, we can give them food that will fulfill the basic requirements of protein, fat, carbs, moisture, etc levels. And this is where pellets fail.

Now, the pellets you posted look to be actually quite good (I like Tops better) but they do have some iffy ingredients: salt, clay and large amounts of vit D3 as well as 1% ash (and no, it's not 'good minerals' because the minerals are listed separately); and, of course, the biggest problem of pellets is that they are so very dry -only 10% moisture whereas a parrot natural diet is made of plant material with a moisture content of 85 to 95% (one of the main reasons why pellets end up causing kidney problems in tiels). Another thing that I did not like was the disclaimer that "All ingredients subject to change ​before release to general public." I mean, I want to know that when I buy something, the ingredients are the same ones they are disclosing otherwise, what good is posting them in the first place?!

[Roonil Wazlib]

hummn, I'll check out tops - i think i would like to introduce pellets to his diet, perhaps as a once a week thing so hes used to them incase of emergencies, or when my parents have to look after him. They can give him a pellets in place of a dinner or something over a couple of days, so its not as difficult for them to look after him.

[Pajarita]

I hardly ever go away anywhere but, when I do, I leave enough daily baggies of gloop prepared as well as a list of what fruit, veggie and green should be given day by day so my husband or daughter (the ones that take care of them when I am out) can feed them what they are used to.