why are they doing this?

[hugs28]

I wanted to ask all those cockatiel owners out there if there birds do this or is it just mine lol. I have 2 tiels and they both only eat the little beige colored seeds. They don't touch the sunflower seeds and the rest of the stuff that is in the mix. This is what they were raised on, but they waste alot of it. Any ideas, do I leave it there and hope they will eat it. Do I let them eat what they want and throw the rest away. And should I get a seed that mostly has those kinda seeds in it. thanks for any advice. :eusa_wall

[Monica]

I'd say that you've got some smart tiels there! They really shouldn't be eating all that much sunflower seeds to begin with as they are quite fatty though there is not much else I can say about the rest of the seeds in the mix (as I don't know what is IN the mix nor what all they are ACTUALLY eating). Try finding a seed mix without sunflowers and very little safflower seeds if any.

Besides seeds you should also be feeding plenty of fruits and veggies among many other fresh foods. As long as they eat plenty of fresh food it shouldn't matter as much as to WHAT seeds they eat but rather HOW MUCH as seeds alone is a very unhealthy diet for ANY bird. So try feeding them more fruits and veggies, find a better seed mix, and I hope all goes well!

[hugs28]

hi and thanks,

they do get a variety of foods, they are not yet into much as they are babies. I tried some nectarines the other day and they turned there beaks up lol, I do know they LOVE eggs, scrambled or sunny side up lol. But I slowly giving them new things. Now I read that they need grit, is this true, should I purchase a box of grit and put it in with there food? thanks again

[HareTrinity]

Birds need grit to eat.

Since they don't have teeth, they have a special sort of pouch just before their stomachs (called a "crop" or "craw") into which the food goes and is then ground up using small stones (grit).

Without grit, they wouldn't be able to digest very big pieces of food unless they were very soft... Maybe that's why they've been avoiding the larger seeds?

Grit's usually pretty easy to find in pet shops; buy a bag and give them a small bowl separate to their food bowl with it in. That's what I do, anyway...

[BirdzRmylife]

HareTrinity,.... I hate to say this but... its a PROVEN FACT.... that birds such as hookbills, finches, waxbills, etc do NOT need grit, and in fact if eaten in large quantity grit can cause impaction, and prove to be fatal. Parrots, finches, waxbills, etc hull there seeds before swallowing. Therefore they do not need to consume grit, to grind away the seed.The only birds that DO need to consume small consumptions of grit are pigeons and doves, who swallow seeds hole...

Birds who are sick, tend to swallow too much grit, and become even sicker... or birds who are healthy occasionally will consume too much grit, becoming impacted.

So, in short Hugs don't feed your bird grit. Its a waste of money, and old tradition.

If you are going to feed any "grit" pass up on the stone, and go for baked, crushed eggshells. And these are not for helping break down the seed, but too give your fid calcium.

[BirdzRmylife]

For your other question!
I own two cockatiels aswell...

One of my cockatiels is big, and robust(bred for show), and he consumes everything from the smallest millet,to pumpkin seeds, and almonds. While my other cockatiel is a "small cockatiel" who won't even eat groats/oats! In other words he's like your tiels. The beige coloured seeds I'm assuming your talking about are canary grass seeds, or millet.

ONe of the biggest reasons your tiels probably aren't eating the larger seeds, is because they are cute little babies. The young tend to stick with tradtion for awhile, and when they get to a juvenile stage they will broaden there horizons for seed tasting.

I highly recommend that you convert your tiels to a small nuggeted pellet such as Mazuri, or Kaytee(Even though I don't like the brand, they do have small nuggets) while your tiels are young. Not only will it be benifical to their health, it will make choosing seeds no option. I converted my tiel to pellets cold turkey, which was bad, and most birds will not do this. When converting make sure your tiels aren't starving themselves.

If you aren't going to convert, I'd make up your own seed blend consiting of small seeds such as various millets, canary grass seed, rape seed, niger seed, and groats... And if you are keeping your fids on a seed diet, make sure to supplement with veggies, fruits, table foods, etc.

[HareTrinity]

Think I did read that somewhere before, now you mention it... Probably just my experience with helping looking after wild birds and having had some pet birds who DO like grit...

Thanks for correcting me, though.

[hugs28]

Thank you so much for your input. I am not sure where to find the individual seeds. The seeds I am talking about is the same seeds that a parakeet gets, something like that. Anyway, can I just mix the pellet and the seeds. I bought the grit last night, but I did not give them a seperate cup of it, I mixed a bit of it in there food. Now I also just bought a book, and it said to use grit also, that is why I asked. Cause I know the parrots don't need it, I have and eclectus and I never gave it to him and know I don't need to. These are my first tiels and I was not sure. I sure love them though. Hubby wants to get another one already lol. I have 2 now. Anyway thanks for all the information you have and can give me.