Khyron's favorite foods

Fresh veggies

Romaine lettuce, cilantro, parsley, cucumber, red leaf lettuce, broccoli, corn 

Cooked foods

Carrots, potato, sweet potato, pasta (okay w/ small amount of marinara sauce), rice, pumpkin, corn, eggs (scrambled w/o oil or salt, or hard boiled and smashed w/shell), chicken pieces, beans

 Fruits

Apple, orange, pear, bananna, papaya, mango, cantalope, grapes

 Other treats (small amount)

Plain yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese, bread, plain cereals (like Cheerios, Kix, Chex)

Daily food

Khyron enjoys pellets everyday and a safflower seed mix once or twice a week.  

Always have fresh water available to your cockatiels.  Many birds like to throw food into their waters and make “soup?  If this happens, make sure you clean out the bowl and refill with fresh water. 

In General...

Cockatiels should be fed mainly on a good quality pellets. Make sure the pellets look and smell fresh. Once or twice a week, they can be offered seeds instead of pellets (This is just a suggestion. It is what I offer my bird.). This should only be done if the bird is fully converted onto pellets. If not, the bird will have a difficult time going back to pellets the next day. The seeds should be shiny and have a fresh smell. The bird should also be supplemented with some other food in a dish in small amounts every day. This can include, but not required to include all: leafy green veggies (romaine, green leaf, red leaf, spinach, cooked or raw carrots, other vegetables, cooked beans, pasta, hard boiled or scrambled eggs, fruits (apple, pears, peaches, pomegranate, mango, papaya, banana), shredded chicken, and yogurt (in very small amounts). All the food should be cut into sizes appealing and suitable to the bird. Some foods can even be skewered and hung as a treat (this is more interesting to the bird). Another tasty and healthy treat for cockatiels is millet spray. I usually offer a stick per week.

Switching to Pellets

This task can be a painstaking ordeal for both owner and bird. Here are some tips.

1. For a bird that has been eating seeds most of his life, pellets are foreign to the bird. They don't recognize it as real food. Think of it this way... for a bird, the pellets are rocks.

2. Try to find a consistency the bird likes. I found out that my birds did not like hard food. They always preferred cooked vegetables. So I had to find a brand of pellets that were "softer."

3. Birds are not color blind. Some birds prefer color in their food.

4. Try soaking the pellets in water to form a mush. This brings out the flavor in the pellets. If your bird accepts this, lessen the water day-by-day.

5. Eat or pretend to eat along with your birds.