I purchased a cockatiel born on nov. 1, 2022. Breeder told me to put paper dish on bottom of cage with rice or pasta and veggies. He would not eat. I tried putting it in various places since he doesn’t,t go on bottom. He will not eat it. He will only eat millet. I have also tried mixing with some seeds. He now trusts me to get on me, however, I need him to eat.
Hi,
Getting a bird to eat better requires tough love most of the time. You need to stop offering millet. That is a junk food he is filling up on. The veggies are less imporant than him eating better for his main diet. He needs a nutritionally balanced diet like pellets or our foraging diets sa 80% of his diet. He should not have loose seeds at all. They are rarely very fresh and have lost most of their natural nutrients. Plus if you add vitamins, they are lost when the bird removes the hull. Our foraging diets, Nutri-Berries and Avi-Cakes, have fresh, human grade, whole seeds with the hulls removed. A nutritionally balanced coating is added so he gets complete nutrition in every bite. They are formulated the same as a pellet, but not ground up. Most birds will convert easily to them if you begin by crumbling them and adding to their loose seeds. You can feed them along with or instead of pellets. You need to be consistent and not give in. He will not starve – if he is hungry, he willtry new foods. You may need to leave the room so he doesn’t beg you for what he prefers. All kids would eat nothing but junk food if we let them! LOL
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
