February 8, 2021
Weaning a cockatiel
My cockatiel is still wanting to eat formulas I have soaked seed and egg and biscuit and normal seed in his cage but he still wants to be fed, pretty sure hes eating a little bit of seed
Question:
Answer:
Hi Margaret,
This is probably nothing to worry about. Most hand fed cockatiels are weaned by about 12 weeks, but some wean faster and some take longer to wean. There is no set time frame and it’s best to let the bird wean naturally and at his own pace. It’s been my experience that the slow weaners end up making the sweetest pets. 🙂
As to how to wean, it’s best to wean him to a nutritionally balanced diet. Loose seed mixes are not adequate because the seeds do not have enough nutrition and any added nutrients are lost when the bird hulls the seeds. Pellets or our foraging diets are the best way to go. When weaning a bird, you want to make sure they have a variety of foods to try, as well as fresh water. You should offer the nutritionally balanced daily diet, chopped veggies, a small amount of fruit, and soft foods – cooked brown rice with mixed veggies, soaked pellets, or even some of the hand feeding formula mixed thicker, so he can pick at it from a small dish. You will see a lot of wasted food, but this style of abundance weaning is the best method for a healthy, confident bird who will eat a variety of foods. First thing in the morning, before preparing his formula, prepare some warm soft food like the cooked rice & veggies. Place that food and the other food items in his cage, and then leave the room where he can’t see or hear you. Return in an hour and offer his handfeeding formula. By offering the warm soft foods and other foods when he is at his hungriest, he is more likely to try them. Do the same thing before each handfeeding time. The reason for leaving the room is he will focus on begging you rather than sampling the solid foods. Continue this daily until he starts refusing the handfeeding formula. If this baby is constantly begging and you can’t see to satisfy him, this can be a sign of an infection and you should take him to the Vet. But if he stops begging when you leave the room, and starts to explore the foods, this is normal, even if he doesn’t eat any the first few days and still wants to be hand fed. Soon he will be more interested in eating on his own than waiting for formula.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
