Baby Cockatiel and Feeding

[braveheartdogs]

Hi there,

I have a new cockatiel baby, Feather. I have had her since May 8. When I brought her home she was eating seed, but they were also offering her pellets. I started her on Lafeber pellets and Avicakes also. I keep pellets in there all the time, and offer Avicakes once a day. She seems super hungry when I put in the Avicakes and it's like she is waiting to eat those. I don't see any pellet crumbs like do with all of my other birds. Her weight seems ok. She seems healthy and fine otherwise. She does eat other things I give like veggies and egg and stuff. Should I just keep doing what I am doing and hopefully she will pick up on the pellets?

I stopped mixing seed with pellet because the pellets never get eaten. At least with the Avicakes I feel like she is getting some of them.

Thanks!

Vicki

[srtiels]

Can you find out what she was eating prior to receiving her? Until you see that she is eating a variety of foods I would still give seed and spray millet.

Susanne

[braveheartdogs]

Can you find out what she was eating prior to receiving her? Until you see that she is eating a variety of foods I would still give seed and spray millet.

Susanne

Yes, I know that she was eating seed before I got her. She was also offered vegetables. She is eating vegetables when I offer them. Also, she loves hard boiled egg. She has eaten a few cheerios for treats:)

She will happily eat seed and she loves the Avicakes. Do you think I should switch from Avicakes to seed with a pellet dish also in there? Would you be mixing the seed and pellet (seems like a waste becasue she will always choose the seed:) or put in a pellet dish and a seed dish? Would you put both in at all times or would you offer seeds only once a day or something like that?

Thank you for your help!

Vicki

[srtiels]

As to my own birds I beleive in free choice. I daily place out a bowl of seed and pellets (not mixed) Millet can be cut into 1/4 pieces and 1 a day or every other day. Some greens and veggies, egg, etc. Leave in a short time because they can spoil quickly.

Susanne

[braveheartdogs]

As to my own birds I beleive in free choice. I daily place out a bowl of seed and pellets (not mixed) Millet can be cut into 1/4 pieces and 1 a day or every other day. Some greens and veggies, egg, etc. Leave in a short time because they can spoil quickly.

Susanne


I'm not giving her millet because I am using that for her training.

With the free choice, do you find that they ever choose the pellets?

Vicki

[tielfan]

I'm not giving her millet because I am using that for her training.
Cockatiels think there's a big difference between loose millet and spray millet, with the spray millet being much more desirable. So it's OK if you want to provide loose millet seed in the cage and save the spray millet for training.

My tiels will eat a few pellets but it's not a huge part of their diet.

[srtiels]

With the free choice, do you find that they ever choose the pellets?

Yes, they do eat some of the pellets. Sometimes just seed one day, and the next day the pellets. Both are available all the time.

[Cannuck2007]

With the free choice, do you find that they ever choose the pellets?

Yes, they do eat some of the pellets. Sometimes just seed one day, and the next day the pellets. Both are available all the time.

I do this as well and find that they do eventually pick up the pellets. Some more than others. They seem to know instinctively what they need from day to day. Each cage has dishes for seed, dishes for pellets and then the treat or "wet food" dish where I put the bean, rice or vegie mixes. I give Spray millet once a week as a treat with loose millet in the seed mix.

[atvchick95]

if they were offering her pellets, Then you need to be offering her the same exact pellets as they were. This is most likely why she isn't touching the pellets

when ever i get a new bird from any where, rather its from a bird fair, pet shop, or from a online sale ad,friends etc. I always ask what the bird was eating at their home and for the first week I feed it just that food, 2nd week their normal food they're used to gets mixed with the brand i use (of course this doesn't happen if they're fed what i feed all my birds) and gradually decrease the "normal" brand to where the bird(s) are only eating my brand i feed.


All my birds eat Pellets - Zupreem fruit blend, It is the biggest part of their diet, along with Fresh veggies, Greens, Cooked foods, birdy bread

they get very little seed Non breed birds only get seed as a treat (so in their diet seeds are only about 5% of their diet IF that since they don't get it often) however my breeding birds, and birds with babies do get seed daily. but Its still not very much I'd say for the 2 of them per cage 2 tablespoons of seed is all they get

[braveheartdogs]

When I got Feather she had only seed and veggies in her cage. When I asked why some of the babies were eating pellets and others were eating seed, they told me that some of them just wean onto pellets easier so they give them that but if they are having a hard time, they give them seed.

I have not given seed (in a dish) to my cockatiels in years. I have sometimes given seed treat sticks, or nutriberries or something like that, but never dishes of seed (because I have heard for so long that seed is bad, pellets are good). I fed ZuPreem fruit blend for a long time, but read that the more natural pellets may be a better choice. One of my birds Pegasus has some plucked areas and my friends bird had the same issue (on fruit blend) but it improved with different pellets, so I decided to do that.

So, right now Feather is getting pellets and Avicakes. Poupon and Pegasus get only pellets. All of them get fruits, veggies, etc. Maybe I should give all of them a pellet dish and a seed dish. Maybe I should get rid of the avicakes altogether and just leave a seed dish and a pellet dish.

How much seed do you recommend I put in there per bird per day? I am a little bit afraid that they will just go seed crazy and eat only seed.

Thanks everyone.

Vicki

[braveheartdogs]

Cockatiels think there's a big difference between loose millet and spray millet, with the spray millet being much more desirable. So it's OK if you want to provide loose millet seed in the cage and save the spray millet for training.



Ok, thank you.

Vicki