Spring comes. How do your cockatiels feel it? Temperature in the room doesn’t change. Your birds may enjoy some more natural sunlight coming through the windows. It should not be direct. So, your cherished feathered friends start mating, nesting and laying eggs soon. Balanced nutrition is especially important now. Can cockatiels eat apples? Affectionate owners feed their cherished pet birds properly. Their diet should contain all essential elements. But be sure to avoid any health risks and toxicity issues.
What Can Cockatiels Eat?
No doubt, cockatiels are herbivores. They may get protein with tiny amounts of scrambled or boiled eggs. Cottage cheese or fish is acceptable when you fix a limit on them. But the food of this type is not typical for parrots. Sunflower seeds and millets are great sources of proteins and carbohydrates.
Sunflower seeds are nutritious. They contain magnesium and vitamin E. But sunflower seeds are too fatty. They contain 30% to 50% of total fats. An abundance of seeds may cause obesity or nutritional deficiency. So, what can cockatiels eat and not eat?
Best food for cockatiels is balanced. But for vitamin A, it contains:
- Amino-acids.
- Vitamins C, E, D3, B6, and B12.
- Crude proteins.
- Minerals, including calcium, zinc, and manganese.
Not all cockatiels are picky eaters. For example, Sweetie is. She adores veggies and fruits, especially, papaya and melon. Other ones prefer seeds as they are delicious. What can I feed my cockatiel? Sometimes it’s difficult to measure essential nutrients and ingredients. Pellets are beneficial. They contain dehydrated fruits, veggies, and legumes, as well as supplements. So, they meet your birds’ nutritious needs.
What Kind of Foods Cockatiels Can Eat?
Diet depends on cockatiel’s age, gender and state of health. Females, laying eggs need to get more calcium. Supplement their food by dark green veggies, like broccoli leaves or parsley. Birds that molt consume more proteins (amino-acids).
Baby cockatiels eat no fruits and vegetables until they are 5-6 weeks, at least. Their parents should feed them. Keep an eye on the nest. When baby cockatiels are about 3 weeks old, their parents might give up feeding weak ones. Stronger chicks will survive. Other ones require hand feeding.
What can cockatiels eat list
Cockatiels | Daily Feedings, times | Amount of Food, tsp. | Fruits/Vegetables |
---|---|---|---|
Baby | 5 | from ½ to 1 | - |
Weaning | 3 | 1-1/2 | small bits |
Adult | 2 | 2 | variety |
What do baby cockatiels eat? Only the special baby formula is suitable. Mix it with warm boiled water. Use a small dropper bottle or syringe to feed a weak chick. Do it every 4 or 5 hours until the bird is 6-7 weeks old. Weaned cockatiels are about fully grown. Start offering them small bits of veggies, fruits, millet or softened pellets.
What Vegetables Are Good for Cockatiels?
Adult birds enjoy eating seasonal vegetables and leafy greens. To clarify, they consume fresh spinach, bok choy, broccoli leaves, chard, endive, celery, carrots with tops. Advice: offer your cherished cockatiels dark, leafy greens several times a week. Because greens contain a lot of calcium and vitamins, variety in food is beneficial.
Do you wonder, what can cockatiels eat? The list of safe, beneficial vegetables is pretty long. It includes:
- reddish;
- kale;
- peas;
- zucchini;
- corn (on the cob);
- pumpkin.
What do cockatiels eat in the wild? They destroy cultivated crops. The birds are ground eaters. Their diet is varied, as flocks migrate from one farmland to another. So, wild cockatiels seek various food sources. They commonly get plant seeds, berries or edible greens. Seeds are fatty. But wild birds move a lot. They try to escape predators and find generous food sources. Domesticated cockatiels spend multiple hours a day inside the cage. They need healthy food.
Do Cockatiels Eat Fruits?
Parrots need to get delicious, fresh foods every day. Veggies meet their health requirement pretty well. Many birds prefer them due to crunchy texture. Some of them eat fruits. They are still less nutrient and rich in vitamins than greens. Give them to your lovely parrots every third day, as a treat.
Can cockatiels eat kiwi? Yes, it’s safe. Kiwi contains about twice more vitamin C than oranges. It has a lot of potassium. But as well as citrus fruits, like oranges and grapefruit, kiwi is acidic. Thus, give kiwi to your pet bird, but very small amounts. Additionally, dry fruits are beneficial.
So, give cockatiels affordable fruits like bananas or apples. Seasonal ones bring additional variety to your pets’ diet. They include:
- apricots;
- melons;
- pears;
- plums;
- apricots;
- peaches;
- lychee;
- nectarines.
Can cockatiels eat mango? Virtually all tropical, including guava or papayas, are suitable. Use them as occasional treats. Thus, mango is rich in potassium, copper and magnesium. It contains vitamins A, B6 and C. Additionally, cockatiels love the fruits. They might become their favorite treats.
How Do You Feed Apples to Birds?
Apples are popular, safe fruits. They are rich in antioxidants and fiber. Give small pieces to cockatiels every week. In winter, when other seasonal fruits are absent, they can get small pieces of apples on daily basis. But you are to remove apple cores and pits. They are toxic!
Multiple fruit seeds are not acceptable. Some of them, like those of apricots or cherry, contain cyanide. Other ones may cause allergy in birds. So, wash the fruits properly. Make sure they are free of pesticides and waxes. Cut apples in small slices. Offer them in room temperature to your feathered friends.
Cockatiel not eating much is common. Your bird might suffer from stress. New surroundings could frighten the parrot. Changing the diet from baby formula to pellets or a food mix could be stressful too.
But remember about toxic foods. Don’t give your pet birds anything poisonous, like:
- chocolate;
- avocado;
- mushrooms;
- onions;
- caffeine;
- alcohol;
- rhubarb.
Quite naturally, this list is not complete. Leaves from tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants are harmful. Avoid salty and sugary foods. Ask your avian vet if you doubt. Most fruits are safe and healthy. But for their pits and seeds. If you still want to avoid mistakes, buy ready pellets and mixes. These pet supplies are well-balanced. They let your birds be healthy and fit.
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