donnelly@cbnewsj.att.com (jeffrey.m.donnelly) (02/15/91)
I'm beginning to get worried about my tiels diet. He's about 6 months now (we've had him for 2) and we can't get him to eat anything but the yellow millet in the tiel food (with vitamins) or millet spray. He will eat a little lettuce but only if hand fed. He will pick at other food and chew it but I think he is just making smaller pieces out of bigger ones. He LOVES to hull peas but doesn't eat them. We've tried lots of tricks like eating things in front of him (Crazy corn is acutally quite tasty :-) ) but he just looks at us. Oh, I forgot, he will eat wheat flakes with us at breakfast. He likes to grab a flake off our spoon and nibble it to death. We would like to get him to eat the Crazy corn and eat the other seeds in his mix. He'll hull the other seeds but won't eat them. One thing of note is that it took about a week for him to get off baby food onto the adult tiel millet. Any advice? Will his tastes expand with age? Will we succeed with persistance? Will he get sick on just millet? Any similar experiences? Thanks, Jeff
ooblick@intercon.com (Mikki Barry) (02/16/91)
In article <1991Feb14.184259.15771@cbnewsj.att.com> donnelly@cbnewsj.att.com (jeffrey.m.donnelly) writes: >Any advice? >Will his tastes expand with age? >Will we succeed with persistance? >Will he get sick on just millet? >Any similar experiences? First thing in the morning, when the bird is most hungry, put a plate of whatever you consider to be "good" food in with the bird. Leave it in for two hours. Then take it away. Return in the afternoon with his favorite food on the bottom of the bowl, and the "good" food on top. Watch carefully to make sure he figures out to pick down to the bottom. Repeat this for at least 3 weeks. The bird will learn that all he gets in the AM is the "good" food and if he is hungry, he'd better eat it or he gets nothing else until the PM. Birds aren't stupid. They'll figure it out. My suggestions for good food are: Kale (often a favorite) shredded cheese or carrots cockatiel crumbles or pellets any other fresh fruits and veggies Mikki Barry
greg@uc780.umd.edu (02/16/91)
>I'm beginning to get worried about my tiels diet. He's about 6 months >now (we've had him for 2) and we can't get him to eat anything but >the yellow millet in the tiel food (with vitamins) or millet spray. Good reason to worry. Tiels get set in their ways about food early. >He will eat a little lettuce but only if hand fed. He will pick at >other food and chew it but I think he is just making smaller pieces >out of bigger ones. He LOVES to hull peas but doesn't eat them. Lettuce unfortunately has litle or no nutritional value for birds, as it is mostly water. My wife and I have found that dark green veggies are generally a good bet. Start with broccoli, as it is mild in taste, and its flowerlets are shaped like seeds. Spinach and kale are also favorites for our kids... they'd been eating spinach, and when we introduced kale (to vary the diet as they are feeding their first brood), they immediately picked up on it. Baby corn is something they really like, and you might even try some roasted unsalted peanuts. Another thing you might try is Lafeber's Avi-Cakes. These are pellet and seed cakes that are billed as a "complete diet" - they make a good supplement, and they seem to be tasty (bird reaction). A caution with them is to keep them in a cool place - sometimes they get buggy. >We've tried lots of tricks like eating things in front of him >(Crazy corn is acutally quite tasty :-) ) but he just looks at us. >Oh, I forgot, he will eat wheat flakes with us at breakfast. He >likes to grab a flake off our spoon and nibble it to death. Cereal is good. There is nothing wrong with including a few wheat or corn flakes in their food dish. In general, almost anything that is good for humans is good for birds. >Any advice? >Will his tastes expand with age? >Will we succeed with persistance? >Will he get sick on just millet? >Any similar experiences? Patience is definitely the foremost ingredient - and yours will be taxed. It will take a fair amount of persistence, and tiels are the pickiest birds I have met. If you don't already have a subscription to Bird Talk, I would highly recommend it - I never would have thought about the kale if it hadn't been for last month's issue. Above all, I wish you luck. >Thanks, > Jeff Gregory Wright BitNET: greg@uc780 Internet: greg@socrates.umd.edu
marie@gtisqr.uucp (Marie Rydberg) (02/21/91)
I've had good luck feeding my cockatiel things like bread, unsalted crackers, some spagetti (which if not to spicy good for them). I also tried walnut meat and she goes nuts (excuse the pun) She will also eat other nuts like filberts, brazil and niger-toes. I break the meat in small pieces because she does not like the outer coating on most nuts. Be sparing on how much of this stuff you feed them because most nuts, like peanut contain a high level of fat. She does like broccoli, lettuce, peas and corn. You might try growing some of the small birdseed. I have tried this and the baby greens are a treat to my bird. I hope this helps! Marie (Owner of 9 birds) -- Marie A. Rydberg _?___|~| My-CAD Co. | __ | A picture is worth a thousand words P.O. Box 1174 | (__) | and like people, they too turn Woodinville, WA 98072 |________| yellow and wrinkled with age. -MAR