Diet

[Suzanne_Oeid]

Hi all, i wanted to double check with someone about the amount of food im giving to Rio, im not sure if its enough because he is always excited whenever he sees someone eating or for his treats and i dont know if hes eating just for the heck of it or genuine hunger. Its great for training though

Around 8am he gets breakfast which is mostly fresh veggies and fruits and its just a handful not the full size bowl thats provided in the cage.

And then at 8pm he gets another handful of nuts and dried fruits and veggies at times some of the wild bird seeds

Throughout the day getting seeds and treats and if we are snacking on something he'll usually get a piece.

Am i feeding him the correct foods and is it enough?

Anything i read about the diets show what to provide but not the amount

Thanks in advance

[Wolf]

The easiest way to know if you are giving enough food as far as the amount is to check his feed dishes which should never be empty, there should always be at least a little food left when you feed his dinner and when he goes to bed.
As for nutrition, I am afraid that I am going to have to do a little research before I can give an adequate answer as I don't have cockatoos,so I will have to look into their dietary requirements first.

[Suzanne_Oeid]

Oh i feel really bad now because I've only been filling his bowl at those times because thats what i understood from the vet. So after breakfast and he empties the bowl, should i refill? For the day then change and refill again for dinner?
He often has food left in the morning from dinner

Thanks wolf

[Wolf]

Birds eat primarily two times a day. No! Adult birds primarily eat and drink twice a day, in the morning and again in the evening. But they also snack off and on during the day, so if a birds food and water dishes are empty and they are not sleeping for the night, they need more food and water. And you get to be the smiling wait staff because they can't do it for themselves.
The exception to this is if you have an obese bird, and even then it becomes more of a matter of changing the food that it has to eat rather than reducing the amount of food.

[Suzanne_Oeid]

Oh okay, thanks for that.
I know you said you're unsure about a cockatoos nutrition needs but during the day would you suggest just leaving the wild bird seeds? So that can be the dish thats always there and available to him and just for breakfast and dinner he gets the fruits and veggies?


Trying to figure out whats best for him and i really want to take care of rio correctly, with my previous cockatoo we pretty much fed him anything at anytime

[liz]

Primary food should be vegetables. Don't let his veggie bowl empty during the day. All I have is Amazons and Cockatiels but these guys eat all day. My fat Amazons get a large plate of veggies in the morning that still has leftover in the evening. I do leave Budgie seed in with them all day (no sunflower seed). They just pick at it so I know they are not getting too much. I give them 2 almonds and 2 peanuts at bedtime to make sure they are not hungry. They love those but the fat content is not needed in their diet.
They are beggers. Rambo pretty much stays in his window but will flap his wings when he sees me and wants something. Myrtle is free flight in the house and wants anything we have. To keep Myrtle from taking our food, at meal time Myrtle has her own plate at the far end of the table. We put her legal food from our plates to hers so she knows she is getting what we have. (It is just my aunt and me so we don't care if it looks strange to have a bird at the table.)
They have nap time in the afternoon and that is the only time I am sure that they are not eating.

[Wolf]

Ok, I feel that I have done enough research into the diet of cockatoos with special emphasis on sulfur crested cockatoos such as the one that you have. With that in mind, I think that it might be best to begin with what I feed my birds and when, as the same diet will work wonderfully for your bird.
My birds begin their day at sunrise and shortly afterwards I give them fresh raw vegetables, fresh fruit and a fresh leafy green. About an hour later I feed them a cooked mixture of whole grains( 40%), mixed vegetables ( 40%) and White beans and lentils ( 20%). We call this cooked mixture gloop and combined with the fresh foods that I gave them at the start of the day this food is supplied for all day enjoyment by the birds. Then for dinner, which I am giving at 6 or 6:30 right now, I give them a ration of a good quality seed mix. My birds all go to bed at full dark and I remove any left over seeds at this time. I do this as so far they have not learned to sleep and eat at the same time.
It is hard for me to give exact times for feeding as my birds use the same light schedule as the birds outside use, this is called a solar light schedule and it serves to keep their internal biological clock in tune with the seasons and it plays a major part in controlling their reproductive and molting cycles, keeping them to just once a year. This also reduces aggression in parrots due to hormones. Anyway I use the early morning twilight period called dawn and the early evening twilight period called dusk as my cues for providing them with both breakfast and dinner.
Food with a parrot, including cockatoos, also plays a big role in their reproductive cycles as well as their molts. In addition to being a trigger for beginning and ending these cycles, food also provides the nutrients for making the hormones and new feathers, it is a great bonding and social activity for them as well. Food can also be used to help reduce aggression in parrots as an abundance of protein rich foods will increase aggression. This is the reason that I provide my birds with such a large amount of whole grains, they provide the birds with less protein and fats than seeds do, while providing them with larger amounts of essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals than seeds.
I hope that this will help answer your questions concerning diet and nutrition for your bird. Please feel free to ask as many questions as you want and I will do my best to give you accurate answers.

[Suzanne_Oeid]

Thank you so much liz and wolf, added the new ingredients for todays shopping list
i will definitely try to give him more of the veggies and fruits and cut back on the seeds

About the solar light schedule, i might need to get him a second cage for outside because at the moment he's room has a window but is not getting much light

Thanks again totally appreciate it

[Wolf]

Not trying to discourage you about a second cage as it might be a great thing for you to have, but lets take a kook at this a little bit closer first as it may save some money for you.
First of all do you have other pets in the house? This is probably the biggest and most important question, because this bird is going to want to spend as much time with you as is possible. It will want to ride on your shoulder or arm when you are moving around in the house, or it will want to follow you about. This makes the animal question also a safety question.
As for the solar light schedule, the most important light for your bird to get is early in the morning at dawn while it is just getting light and the other is at dusk as the sky gets darker but is not dark yet. These two times are needed to tune the birds internal clock which is what controls its reproductive cycle. Sunlight during the day is good but for the bird health it can get enough of the sunlight in about 20 minutes outside in the shade. So if you want a cage for outside and just for the light a small travel cage would be adequate for this, as well as to take the bird to the vet when it needs to go.
These birds are highly social creatures and so you really want the bird to be where you spend most of your time so that it can interact with you and everyone else in the house. They usually love being the center of attention so for that you might want a play stand out in the main area of the house or its large cage there. The only reason that it needs to be in a cage in another room is so that it can sleep undisturbed at night. The rest of the time this bird will want to be with everyone else so it can be a part of its human flock.

[Suzanne_Oeid]

Im glad you mentioned this yes we have a cat in the house which in fact is actually scared of Rio lol

Im gonna have to make him a second play stand but in the main lounge in that case before taking him to sleep. Because its a two storey house and his room is downstairs which is why he doesn't get much light and the main lounge where the family sits is upstairs.

I gave him the foods like you suggested, wasn't able to get white beans and lentils but i understand what you mean how they just nibble randomly throughout the day so he's now less crazy whenever he sees food haha