BEST FOOD FOR COCKATIELS
What is the best food for cockatiels? Your birds need a nutrient rich, varied diet featuring seeds, fruit, vegetables and garden greens. Same as you get bored eating the same food all the time, so will your birds. Add new foods every couple of days. Always remember to remove and discard left overs.
Here’s a list of foods your cockatiel can and can’t eat!
THE BEST FOOD FOR COCKATIELS
The best food for cockatiels must replicate what they would get in the wild. Birds eat a lot of different seeds as they come into season. Seeds are their diet staple. I use Higgins Safflower Gold Natural Food Mix for Conures and Cockatiels. This is their main seed mix. They actually get quite excited when they see me coming with the packet!
I often throw in Harrison’s Adult Lifetime Super Fine bird pellets for the birds to pick at. I regularly mix the seeds and pellets with fresh, seasonal fruit and vegetables. Garden greens and grasses are also offered a couple of times a week.
Giving a variety of foods covers their vitamin and mineral requirements. This will keep them in good health.
Vitamins
Vitamin A is one of the most essential vitamin birds need. Vitamin A improves vision and can also boost immunity. Eggs and meat are good sources of Vitamin A as well as different types of vegetables like carrots, kale broccoli, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe and squash.
Amino Acids
Cockatiels need high levels of protein or amino acids to build their tissues, feathers, muscles and skin. Birds in general can produce their own amino acids.
There are some amino acids such as threonine, tryptophan, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine and valine that some cockatiels are not able to produce or sustain in its body. Fortunately, the sources of these essential amino acids are available in today’s bird diet products.
Here is the list of recommended protein for your pet cockatiels to feed on:
- Beans (cook small amounts as needed)
- Chicken (cooked, preferably shredded not fried)
- Eggs (cooked/hard boiled)
- Nuts (all types)
- Spinach
- Seeds (birdseeds provide protein)
- Sprouts
- Turkey (cooked, preferably shredded)
- Meal Worms (feed it occasionally)
Calcium
Calcium’s primary role is to make bones grow stronger and it also allows calcification of eggshells in birds. You can provide calcium in the form of a cuttlebone or calcium treat that is attached inside your bird cage. You can also offer a powdered supplement such as packaged oyster shell which can be added directly to your pet’s food. Follow the instructions on the supplement package. Calcium is also vital for muscle contraction, blood clotting and heart functions.
Your cockatiels can be exposed to a UVB light for 3-4 hours a day. If your bird can wander outside its cage, it will usually seek out the sunny spots to rest.
Water
Hydration is important for birds, especially during hot weather. Cockatiels may drink 10 times their normal water intake during summer. They should be given access to clean, fresh and cool water. Do not use tap or distilled water because this can cause the bird to be ill. Use unflavored bottled drinking water or bottled natural spring water. If tap water is used, treat it with a de-chlorinating treatment.
Water is vital to maintain cells, digestion, feathers, and metabolism.
All water given to birds for drinking, misting, soaking or bathing must be 100% free of chlorine and heavy metals.
Treats
Give your cockatiels a reward every time they do something right. When teaching them tricks or how to speak, repeat the action a couple of times then treat them. Feed them with different types of nuts such as almonds, macadamias, and walnuts. 
Some examples of homemade treats are carrot muffins (minus the sugar), popcorn, corn, unsalted pretzel sticks with fruits and brown rice with berries. They love something appetizing to eat and this is also a positive reinforcement for the bird, especially when training them. Another treat my birds really enjoy is Kaytee Spray Millet.
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