cockatiel food

[gecko_steve]

I currently feed my cockatiel an all seed diet, I am trying to get him to eat veg but dont seem interested, but I know this could take a while so I will persevere.
I have been reading that it is better to feed cockatiels a pellet diet, does anybody else feed there tiels pellets and if so where do you get it from. And is there any better mix you could recommend than just plain seed mix bought from a pet shop?
Thanks in advance
Steve

[Javeo]

The most important thing is to offer a variety of foods, when i had parrots, including 'tiels, i used to sprout mung beans and other pulses for them as a staple with seeds making up a small part of the diet. Just buy a bag of dried mung beans, soak a teaspoon full in a cup of water, changing it a few times a day and the beans will sweel and sprout a shoot. This is very high protein, low fat food for caged birds that dont need that much fat in thier diet. offer greens like spinach, coriander and dandelion which they love nibbling on.

[lola]

I've never bothered with sprouting the seed, my tiels all love soaked seed - the shortcut way to this is for one tiel: 1 small feeding potful of his normal seed mix, put in larger microwaveable jug with lots cold water - m/w on high for 4 mins, rinse really well in a sieve under cold water to clean and cool it, then feed in normal way - this is in addition to normal dry seed which should always be available. I'm not a fan of pelleted food, these birds have specially designed beaks to crack seed shells and that's half the fun for them, sorting out the seeds they want and opening them

Also offer a slice of apple or pear or a stick of carrot held in place with an ordinary clothes peg. Or chop some fruit up with a little grated carrot, chopped/torn up lettuce, broccoli etc and put a small bowl in the bottom of his cage - curiosity will soon get the better of him and he'll investigate it Oh, and they love tinned (drained) sweetcorn - not too much just add some to the chopped fruit and veg or stir a few pieces into the cooled soaked seed pot

Hope this helps a bit

[fenwoman]

Originally Posted by gecko_steve

I currently feed my cockatiel an all seed diet, I am trying to get him to eat veg but dont seem interested, but I know this could take a while so I will persevere.
I have been reading that it is better to feed cockatiels a pellet diet, does anybody else feed there tiels pellets and if so where do you get it from. And is there any better mix you could recommend than just plain seed mix bought from a pet shop?
Thanks in advance
Steve

In the wild, cockatiels eat mainly seeding grasses. I.e.seeds. DOn't listen to American websites which extoll the (dubious) benefits of pellets which are full of chemicals, preservatives, and artificial colourants. Try offering some seeding grasses from out in the garden, dandelion leaves, a bit of apple clipped to the side of the cage, a sliver of carrot and if you can get hold of some willow twigs, put a bundle of them into the cage for him to play with and nibble on. Small grass eating parakeets evolved to eat grass seeds, which is what you are feeding him on. Seedmix is fine. Many of my cockatiels live to a ripe old age on little more than that (16-1