cockatiel is eating pellets!

[Monica]

All I can say (at least right now) is that an all pellet diet is just as bad as an all seed diet... its better to do a 50/50 of both than one over the other.

There's a poster sometime back that had a tiel for several years (late teens to twenties), and all their tiel ate was pellets... and the tiel ended up getting kidney problem or something other...

[bustersbuddy]

Yes, the vitamin deficiency may certainly be one issue. If this is the case, by all means keep him on the pellets, just don't forget to include the occasional seed. We started Buster on veggies by offering them as treats. If your little one is hand tamed and will eat from your hand, try offering little bits of fruit and veggies from your hand only at first. Chop them really fine so they are about the size of the largest seed in his mix. Texture and size can be big things to birds so try to keep new foods around the same size as the old ones at first. If your bird likes millet (and what cockatiel doesn't?!?), try rolling pieces in millet, giving them a solid coating of millet (like a birdie candy bar). Press some of the millet into the fruit or piece of veggie so he has to dig the millet out of the fruit. This will make sure the birdie gets some of the fruit in his mouth along with the millet. Keep us posted and be patient, it can take a long time to change eating habits.

[karrieluvsbirdies]

thanks bustersbuddy!that is the best idea that i've heard so far,and one i think might actually work! he's CRAZY about millet.

[bustersbuddy]

Yep, most of them are and luckily, millet is fairly low-fat and very healthy for the little guys. Don't I wish the same was true for my favorite snacks! Glad you liked the suggestion. I got it here on the board and in Deutsch's book, so its not original with me, but it really works for Buster, so I thought it worth passing on.

[Tiki]

My tiels won't touch pellets with a ten foot pole-thankfully they do eat veggies and wholegrain toast.

[Suz Stickville]

The only pellets that I have been able to get the Brat Brids (my tiels) to eat is Mazuri ... small bird maintenance diet....

I mix the pellets (pain colored and small seed size) in with thier seed mix w/ tropical fruit (small hook bill w/ no sunflower and few safflower).... one tablespoon of each... and 1/2 tablespoon oats and groats..... this is thier dry food mix...... offered fresh once or twice daily (depending on how much fresh they have eaten).... and I have very little waste...

They also get Liss Kitchen Sink (had to sprinkle a little greens and grain seed treat on top to get them to try ) daily and fresh veggies and greens... twice a week I sneak some egg food in with the KS...

Birdy bread every other day.... sometimes daily ... either veggie or fruit... have both in freezer..

Fav green around here is kale... fav veggie .. Tweety, broccoli ... Freyja, snowpea pods.... the jury is still out on fruits... some times they hog it up... or will ignore ... unless I make them plain oatmeal (not the instant kind) and mix fresh fruits in (blueberries and cranberries the preference).... the oatmeal does a quick disappearing act once placed in cage...

Tweety has been the hard sell getting to eat new stuff ... pellets, veggies, what ever... patience is the key ... and just keep trying.... took me MONTHS to get him to try and fresh foods.... and trying 3 brands/types of pellets to get him to even TRY them... But then he is an older bird ... that when I got him this May had been on a Hartz cockatiel seed mix diet only for 5 yrs ... with NO fresh foods, diet suppliments or toys.. with no human interaction other than being fed and watered ever other day and cage cleaning once a week....

I figure a mixture of various stuff is why they are doing soo welll now... birds forage (pick and choose what thier bodies need) in the wild... so now the Brats are just foraging in thier cage... with the choices that they are offered...

They each have cuttle bone and mineral/vitamin blocks in eash of thier cages ..... to add to dietary needs/options...

Both are just now finnaly not full of pin feathers... from the last heavy molt... and the feathers are soo much different than before .... softer and fuller ... and the feather colors are alot more intense.... so I guess I am doing something right..

Spoiled Brat Birds... is what JB calls them .... between food, mist baths and toys .... I wonder why...

Suz

[karrieluvsbirdies]

omg,poor tweety!he had no toys or anything?where did you get him?whoever owned him before is pathetic. at least he has a wonderful home now to make up for it!

[Suz Stickville]

Originally Posted by karrieluvsbirdies

omg,poor tweety!he had no toys or anything?where did you get him?whoever owned him before is pathetic. at least he has a wonderful home now to make up for it!

Some one that I knew had split up with his wife 5 yrs before... Tweety was hers... the man was NOT a bird person.... Tweety was left with the man....

He cared for him ( with water and Hartz seed mix) and cleaned his cage once a week..... he made a coment one day ... that he was about to set this D**m yellow tiel loose/free.... there are hawks in the area...

I did not even know he had a bird.... looked a JB ... kinda pittiful... he said OK , you can have THE bird.....

And that is how I got Tweety... early this May...

Within a week ... was searching for info on how to take better care of him .... and found this board.... have been hear ever since....

I have found other bird info sites... but this is like another home with friends to me here..

Suz

[bustersbuddy]

You would be surprised at the number of people who don't know that birds need toys and things to occupy them. That's what I mean when I say education is job number one in cutting down on the number of unwanted and abused birds. think ofthe problems this could cause for a big bird like a cockatoo or macaw!

[karrieluvsbirdies]

i know what you mean-i work at a pet store,and you wouldn't believe the number of people who come in and want to buy a pet cuz they think it's cute,yet they have no clue what the animal needs to stay healthy and happy.lots of times they end up changing their minds after they learn what's involved with taking care of the animal.