Food for my 10 month old Cockatiel

[ToniTxs]

What are some foods to give my baby. He will not take food exept from my mouth, i do not put it inside my mouth, I have tried some fresh fruits but he doesn't seem to care for them much. thanks, ToniTxs

[Joel]

You are either pulling our legs here or not being clear enough. Do you mean it won't eat seeds or pellets from a dish or crackers, corn, eggs, fresh veggies, millet etc........Sorry, can't believe a 10 month old cockatiel ONLY eats from your lips. If so though, offer all the things I mention plus other things and use a "teacher bird" if you must. If all that fails it may need to see a birdie physchiatrist ............

[ToniTxs]

Yes he eats seeds, pellets, crackers from his dish and millet. Sorry I was not clear on that. I try to give him table foods, fruits, veggies, on a plate, from between my fingers, on my hand or in his dish and he refuses to eat them that way. The fresh fruit and veggies he won't eat at all.What do I do? I know he needs to eat them.

[Joel]

Hi again Toni,

Whew, you had me a tad concerned there. Glad to hear it is eating what it is eating though. I would not worry about the fruits as most cockatiels IME are not noted to eat them but may occassionally. I do not feed fruit to any of my 100 or so. Mine however love their veggies so I would not give up on that. I use fresh (well washed) or frozen (thawed in microwave for 1-2 minutes & drained). They really like the corn (on cob even much better), the peas, fresh well washed broccoli, romaine lettuce (green as possible & crispy), scrambled/boiled eggs, cuttlebone (a must) and many other veggies.

I use Zupreem Fruit Flavor Blend when it comes to the pellets. I have tried a few others but they really like the Zupreem best.

I would immediately discontinue using your lips (mouth also) to feed them in any way and I would make sure you SCRUB your hands very well before handling their food. I suggest you use anti-bacterial soap to do this. Good luck and be patient while continuing to offer all the good healthy stuff.

[ToniTxs]

That is the kind of soap I do use, so I did do that RIGHT :) , I will try the corn on the cob, maybe he will like that. I will stop on the lip part, I knew the mouth part was bad, that is why I only went as far as my lips, and I wiped them off before I would give him anything. I really appreciate your help on this. I have posted a picture of him on this site, his name is Sammi. He is really a sweet bird, I am very proud of myself and him, for all that we have accomplished together. Thanks again, Toni

[BirdzRmylife]

Ugh Joel... (MISSED SOMETHING)
I may have read over this, but I don't think you got told the casulaties of human saliva and our beloved feathered friends. Human saliva contains thousands of bateria, some in which can be harmful to your tiel, especially since his immune system hasn't developed well being he's a baby. You deffinitly need your little one feeding exclusively from a non-wet zone......
Steven

[ToniTxs]

I stopped the lip feeding, I went to the store today and got him some veggies and a couple of fruits to try him again on, he will just have to learn, I have the patients, because he is only a baby, and I am his mother, we will just have to practice until we get it right. thanks, Toni

[Joel]

I didn't miss anything Steven, I purposely left that explanation off so you could chime in with it yourself . Heck, I can't cover all the bases. Were a team here, RIGHT?????.....EH????.....Thanks for the help.....

[BirdzRmylife]

[ToniTxs]

:D THANKS GUYS!!!!!!!!!