# what are some good soft foods



## luffy3001

im breeding my cockatiels and i need toknow what are some good soft foods how do i make them should i put water in them and how long do i give it to them thanks


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## tielfan

Soaked or sprouted seeds and grains are excellent: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=9019

If this is food for the parents to regurgitate to the babies, pellets are actually a soft food. The parents eat the pellets then drink water to turn them into mush.

Many tiel parents will regurgitate cooked foods to their babies, but my birds don't like cooked food. Unless you count multigrain bread - that's a favorite baby food with my breeders.


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## dudeitsapril

you can buy many different soakable food mixes! Mine love theirs. It contains different oats, grains, veggies, fruits and more!! Mine eat eggs, and veggie mashes also.


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## mitch2006

while they are laying/incubating eggs you can give parents hard boiled eggs
crush shells and egg up and feed to parents.it provides extra calcium for them.

as for chicks who are weaning ages cooked rice,veggies,whole wheat bread crumbs/pieces,sprouts,millit..etc.
there is so much more to be able to mention in one posting for me...

as for hand fed babies 2weeks-4 weeks i only feed hand formula...no extras are needed its all included in kaytee formula mixtures which i buy.


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## luffy3001

Is it ok if i give my cockatiels moistened white bread


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## mitch2006

luffy3001 said:


> Is it ok if i give my cockatiels moistened white bread


white bread is like candy it has too much sugar and little nutrience in it for the chick whole wheat is best.
if you do toast wholewheat bread no butter or margarine on it though.


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## luffy3001

so i took out there food yesterday night and i put in moistened whole grain bread and they wont eat it when u guys breeed ur cockatiels do u always put soft food or u dont have to


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## lperry82

I give mine plenty of veg and scrambled egg before they hatched but now i give them plenty of veg which i do anyways


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## luffy3001

ok thanks i will try that


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## Mentha

Be careful with feeding eggs too much can be harmful to your birds. Only feed them about once a week at most.


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## lperry82

I havent give them any egg since they hatched so when can i start giving them egg again


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## Mentha

You can give eggs in moderation. I give my birds about 1/4 of a hard boiled egg for every 3 cockatiels about once or twice a month. They don't usually go for the yolk but like the whites.


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## lperry82

even if they still feeding the babies


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## luffy3001

but im giviing them the soft food so they could use it to feeed there babies


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## Mentha

lperry82 said:


> even if they still feeding the babies


yes, because the parents are the ones at risk of too much of a good thing, not the babies. There are so many good things you can feed your parents that the risk of overindulgence should not be a problem if fed in moderation.


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## luffy3001

do they sell specific soft foods for cockatiels at petco or something


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## lperry82

I only give it to them 1-2 a week


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## tielfan

Your birds haven't laid eggs yet so they don't need the soft foods right this minute. But it's good to get them used to the foods in advance so they'll use it when the babies come.

The bread doesn't have to be moistened, and if it's wet for a long period of time you may have problems with bacteria and mold. I just tear up a piece of bread and offer it that way. It gets hard and dry pretty fast since I live in the desert, but if your parent birds are willing to eat it this way they can drink water to soften it up for the babies.


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## Renae

I have been giving my pair (that currently have 2 eggs) 

- Beak Appetite
- Mash 
- Sprouts (they get sprouts 2 x a day)
- Veggies 
- Pellets


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## mitch2006

solace what is beak appetite and also mash?are they breeding foods
what pet store do you buy it from? just curious to learn what these are


for my parents would have eggs or are producing eggs
i just give/gave mine crushed hard boiled eggs with shells inside egg mixture.(is extra calcium)
whole wheat plain toast every 2 days extra veggies daily(broccolli/cauliflower,carrots,peas..etc)
seeds/pellets/millit 2x daily and cooked rice in very small amounts every 2 days aprox

once babies are hatching i stop giving soft foods to parents and the eggs/shells .
i do continue to give parents extra veggies/fuits,seeds/pellets,cuttle/mineral bones so they feed this to babies.
as some soft foods can cause crop problems with chicks crop/digestive tracts in some babies while other babies are not affected..
i choose not to take any chances so go with the regular parents diets with extras added as stated above

when babies are weaning supply lots of veggies/small sized pellets/sprouts/cooked rice/millite/seeds/fruits/nutriberries/avicakes there is so much foraging stuff you could provide to list all


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## tielfan

Mash is a homemade food mixture and there are many different recipes. Here's an example right on this forum: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=12504

Beak Appetit went out of business a couple of years ago, leaving many bird owners distraught. If I remember right it was a soak and cook mix, which is the sort of food that my finicky tiels reject.


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## mitch2006

thank you solace for the quick response 
ive learned something new thanks


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## Renae

I am not sure if you can get Beak Appetite there, I order mine from another state (in Australia). I can get it from 2 different places, but you can make your own Beak Appetite if you have no luck finding a store that carries it:

(as well as the link tielfan gave you, here are 2 more links) 

Beak Appetite Fans, Make your own!!! - Avian Avenue Parrot & Other Birds Message Board

Homemade Beak appetite - Lovebirds Plus Community

For the mash, I dice up different vegetables (organic and frozen), add in beans, grains, brown rice, pasta and a bit of seed.


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## mitch2006

i guess i do do the mash already then... a mix of everything they like


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