# What's your tiel's favorite food?



## Bubbles (Oct 19, 2010)

My Bubble's will not try ANYTHING new. Right now she's basically on an all seed diet because she refuses to eat anything else. What's your tiel's favorite healthy bird food? Fruits, veges, that kinda thing. Maybe if I keep trying different things she might like SOMETHING. Grrrr. And she keeps eating things I'm pretty sure a bird shouldn't have. Like the other day I made some Mac n Cheese. When I came back in the room Bubbles was covered in it >.< and chowing down like she'd never eaten before in her life. Or popcorn. You make it and she'll scream bloody murder until you let her jump in the bowl and chow down. Obviously these can't be good things for her to eat  but try to get her to try a vege and she acts like you're feeding her poison.


----------



## birdlover4life (Mar 6, 2010)

Finny loves peas and veggie mixes. I made him peas the second day home and i smooshed it on my finger and now he eats them on his own. Also, he LOVES nutri berries which are healthy.


----------



## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Spinach lol they love it


----------



## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

My Cockatiels go crazy for sweet potato and corn! (not together) But, they pretty much eat, and love, anything. 

You can try making birdie bread, it is simple, and you can put any foods that are OK for Cockatiels in it, and they won't even know! Here is a link: http://www.suite101.com/external_link.cfm?elink=http://www.birdsnways.com/birds/rbreads.htm You don't have to use them ingredients listed, you can add your own, like frozen veggies, pellets, etc. 

And here a link with quite a few different tips on how to get birds to eat vegetables: http://www.cockatielcottage.net/recipes.html


----------



## shelagh (Nov 2, 2010)

Machi loves hardboiled eggs, sprouts (try sprouting your own grains fresh), and unsweetened whole grain Cheerios. She's really into peas, as birdlover suggested; I haven't tried sweet corn yet but I'm sure they would enjoy popping the kernel and finding the sweet flavor. Another favorite (of mine and hers) is this Steamfresh wild and brown rice mix with broccoli bits and shredded carrots. It's in the freezer section. I often serve it as a dinner side and reserve a small bit in the fridge to offer for the next few days. Cheap and simple!


----------



## HAJiME (Sep 20, 2009)

Try cooked rice. It looks like seed so they may accidentally pick it up, which is the first step to trying something new. Put some in with their seed bowl so it sticks to the seed.

If you cut up sweetcorn and peas you can put that in too, but I'd wait until you can see them eating the rice so not to scare them off with lots of new things.

Mine also like egg, but if you feed egg remember it smells and the bowl needs cleaning out quickly and their poo may smell a bit.

I'd also recommend dandelions. Mostly because you can find them anywhere, so they cost nothing to offer every day and see them reject them every day, lol. I pull them out of neighbours gardens and no one minds because they are a weed! Perhaps not this time of year, but come spring it's worth doing. Mine love them.

On the subject of weeds in peoples gardens, my neighbour is an old lady and the grass in her front garden grows very tall and produces seeds. Mine LOVE it. Yes, it's seeds, but it may encourage them that trying something new isn't scary.


----------



## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

If your tiel likes macaroni you could make your own wholegrain pasta and make a vegie puree sauce with greens instead of the cheese sauce, or cut up some vegies to go with the pasta... then you can sit down and eat some with your tiel. It sounds to me like Bubbles just wants to share a meal with you! Also, popcorn is acceptable as a treat just make sure you reserve some for Bubbles before you add any salt or butter. 

My tiel loves the bread I make her (I mash pellets up with vegies and baby food with egg, a bit of seed and some quinoa flour or millet meal - you can add anything really, check out the recipe section in the food and nutrition forum). I usually break up the bread and add extra vegies for a meal... boy does she love that bread!! She also LOVES peas and LOVES LOVES quinoa. Have you tried corn on the cob? Hang in on a kabob for a couple of hours in her cage and it doubles as a toy... 

Arnie's not so fussed on fruits... tiels aren't big fruit eaters. I try to offer her berries occasionally and a bit of apple.

I would also suggest that you make it look appetizing (put it in a nice bowl and always feed her from that bowl) and also pretend to eat it yourself. My tiel always wants stuff I'm eating and if I make a big deal over something or new food I'm trying to give her she almost nose dives into the dish when I offer it to her!


----------



## Belinda (Oct 9, 2010)

sorry double post


----------



## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

apple cinnamon cheerios are dally's absolute favourite thing, but i recommend them only in small amounts.

scrambled eggs without milk is a mutual favourite to both my birds.


----------



## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

If i want to try something new i will mix it with seed


----------



## Hemlock (Aug 1, 2010)

Our guys eat just about anything we give them except for fruit. Right now the big thing is shredded carrot. Before that it was red bell peppers. They've also developed an affinity for dried pepper. Mixed greens are always popular, radishes are a favorite too.


----------



## .mpeg (Oct 6, 2010)

corn and peas are good, and mister will actually try to pull alfalfa out of my mouth if he's sitting on my shoulder. 
also gave him sunflower seeds for the first time today- instant hit!
he also loves to demolish plain rice crackers and milk arrowroot biscuits (was recommended them to help him gain weight). i put a bit of peanut paste on them, he loves it.


----------



## clem&peeps (Nov 17, 2009)

Mine love a birdy mash i make for them. I cook brown rice, barley, couscous, and oatmeal. Then i puree what ever veggies i have in the house and mix it in, and then divide it into meal size portions and freeze in small freezer bags. It also works to buy organic vegetable baby food like peas, carrots, sweet potato etc. instead of pureeing your own. My birds devour this, and if you have picky eaters they don't realize the veggies are there. 
Another favourite is sprouted seed.


----------



## KateBascombe (Sep 27, 2010)

Rob loves nutriberries and the zupreem fruitblend pellets. I have to crush the nutriberries because he can't pick them up whole. But I just mixed the crushed nutriberries together in a bowl with his seed. Once he's eaten all his seed he kept going back to the bowl and started accidently eating everything else.


----------



## PickleBird (Dec 10, 2008)

Snow Peas, and other Pea Pods and Peas....Yum


----------



## Emi (Jul 20, 2009)

My little guy loves loves loves his lettuce. But it can never take the place of millet in his heart.


----------

