Picking The Right Diet for Your New Cockatiel
Source: Morguefile
You can and should feed you cockatiel fresh fruits and vegetables. Fresh pears and apples are a favorite . They should be feed sparingly as not to cause loose bowl movements. You can also feed your bird spinach, cabbage hearts, carrot tops, and Brussels spouts. Make sure food is fresh and not wilted. Remove the left over from the cage daily. You bird will not eat even slightly aged fruits and vegetables and they just become a potential source of bacteria.
Spray millet and hard yellow cheddar can be used as treats .
Picking the right seed mixture for your cockatiel is important to the overall health and well-being of your bird. In the wild cockatiels eat seeds from a wide variety of grasses. This is the mainstay of the wild cockatiel's diet. In captivity it is best to feed seed mixtures geared specifically for cockatiels as these are those mixtures that most closely mimic their natural diet. Most cockatiels mixes include millets, oats, and sunflower seeds.
To assure your bird is getting the freshest seed it is best to purchase seed in smaller quantities. You can test the freshness of seed mixtures by wetting a small amount in a small bowl and keeping it moist. If the seed is fresh; much of it will have spouted within a few days. Keeping your seed in an air tight container in a dry environment will assure you seed stays fresh for a reasonable amount of time. Check your feed bowl often because it may look full when it is not. Cockatiels eat unshelled seed and the bird eats the kernel and disposes the hull. Be sure the bowl is full of unshelled seed and not just the shells of the discarded hull.
Millet
Source: morguefile
Fresh Fruits and Vegtables
You can and should feed you cockatiel fresh fruits and vegetables. Fresh pears and apples are a favorite . They should be feed sparingly as not to cause loose bowl movements. You can also feed your bird spinach, cabbage hearts, carrot tops, and Brussels spouts. Make sure food is fresh and not wilted. Remove the left over from the cage daily. You bird will not eat even slightly aged fruits and vegetables and they just become a potential source of bacteria.
Spray millet and hard yellow cheddar can be used as treats but should only be a small amount of your bird's diet. Yellow cheddar is a good source of calcium essential from your bird's health. A more accepted way to give calcium is from a cuddle bone or grit. Use of grit is controversial in using it as a digestive aid. However, digestible grit is a good source of calcium.
Pellets and Vitamins
Most cockatiels will do fine on a seed diet with an addition of a calcium source. Many owners like to supplement the bird's diet with vitamins. You should consult your veterinarian before introducing vitamins supplements into a bird's diet that has not consumed them before. Pellets are available as an alternative to the seed diet. These pellets are nutritionally complete. A good compromise for those concerned about their birds' vitamin intake would be to do a mixture of pellet based and seed diet. Introduce pellets into you bird's diet very slowly to avoid any digestive issues.
Keeping Consistent With A New Bird
If you adopt a bird from another person or group it is good to maintain the diet and supplements the bird is already receiving if the bird is healthy. If your cockatiel is molting it does not require a change of diet only a more ample food supply. It is best to leave your birds diet alone if your bird is healthy
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