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What do you feed a newborn cockatiel?

Updated: 10/8/2023
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Enelly2424

Lvl 1
12y ago

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Cockatiels are herbivorous. They eat seeds of grasses, nectar from plant blossoms, and Australian native seeds and nuts. They have a strong, curved beak for cacking nuts and hard seeds.

Pet cockatiels should be given commercial small parrot food, supplemented occasionally with thistles, lettuce, small amounts of fresh and dried fruits. They should also be given bird grit or clean cuttlefish, which helps them digest their food.

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8y ago
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12y ago

i feed my two cockatiels apples cockatiel seed carrots and lettece but lettece is not that good for them (it hasn't got that much nutrience its mostly water) try to feed them lots of fruit and veg but don't feed them avocardo and chocolate there poisnes to them have seed in the cage at all times to fill them up ok that's all the info i got for now

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16y ago

Breeding cockatiels should be fed a well-balanced diet that includes lots of sprouted seed and soaked seed because it is softer and easier to digest than dry seed and the parents will be able to digest it more quickly and feed it to their babies. Sprouted seed also has higher nutritional value than dry seed.

Sometimes breeders also give their cockatiels egg&biscuit which is a handrearing formula you can find in pet stores for the same reasons as above. Remember that your birds are trying to feed themselves and their babies so make sure they eat plenty!

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12y ago

Hello, I have been raising birds since I was 9 years old.

With response to your question, I have an answer, plus all the IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO AND REMEMBER while raising a newborn cockatiel. If you let the parents feed the babies at least for 2 1/2 weeks before you take over the clutch. Remember to keep the nostrils clean because even the parents will plug the nose while feeding the babies. One of my cockatiel mommy's is a messy feeder. So I check in with her every few hours to make sure the baby is clean and warm. If you want tamed birds, Then you may start by feeding the Nutristart Baby Food after 14-16 days. The Baby formula can be found at Petsmart or Petco. SORRY..... here's a bit more info for you......

I could not resist because I love animals I try to give as much detailed of my own experiences as well as research on parrot survival.

So if a baby is being ignored and not feed properly you can help the parent by giving baby formula called Nutristart or Kaytee Exact Sometimes baby's become ignored if it ends up being the last one to hatch and is runt of clutch. It happens... sometime parents are good and do not have problems feeding the all of the babies as well as the last bird baby to hatch. But sometimes it's the oldest babies that are responsible to push themselves first to eat while the smallest of the clutch gets thrown aside. They can be greedy little fellows!!!!

Now getting back to eating:

In an emergency situation, you can also feed baby birds, human baby food dinners, stage 1 for infants instead of the recipe above. Choose a chicken, turkey, veal or beef dinner with noodles or rice. Serve with a syringe or a plastic spoon that has been dipped in boiling water then bent to make a little funnel.

So make sure the baby is warm. You can make your own incubator. Purchase a heating pad. You may put the baby in shoebox size plastic container, make it nice and comfy (I use folded paper towels folded in half and I will stack them together). I use 5-6 paper towels to make a little mattress. It is easier for me to change the soiled towels daily by replacing new towels everyday. Plus, paper towels or piece of flannel retains the warmth of the parent (while they are out gathering food for the clutch) It also retains necessary heat from a home made incubator. while mommy & daddy go grocery shopping.

Incubator, while assisting parents with feeding the babies

Place the box on top of the heating pad. Make sure you have it on the low setting. Otherwise if too hat, the babies will die of heatstroke. If I do not have paper towels, you may use plain white cotton (the softest you can find) or a couple of this flannel pieces (you can buy little pieces at Joann's Fabrics) or use old and (clean) flannel from a blanket, or pj's. You can change the fabric, while you wash the soiled piece. Wash with soap, (you can disinfect with a little Clorox), rinse, and dry.

Check the temperature of the bird and make sure it is warm because it is important to have the baby warm in order for it to grow normally. If I am dealing with an abandoned baby, or a baby that mommy and daddy need help with feeding and caring, I will pull out another baby that is bigger than the runt and let them be together. If you have a runt, it can regain the necessary heat quicker by keeping themselves together while mommy and dad leave the nest to obtain food and water.

A happy cockatiel or lovebird will always respond to your voice or hands and beg for food!

So in a nutshell- I added all the info because it goes in hand with feeding and saving a baby cockatiel's life for the parents.

A.) Warmth/Heat is necessary for the survival of a baby if you want it to gain strength accept proper nutrition. A baby that is cold, will not respond to eating and therefore it will die no matter how much you feed it.

Check out the websites in the related links - they're both good sources of info.

Now going back to food. This is also a great recipe:

2/3 cup of Gerber's or Beech Nut mixed grain or high protein baby food cereal,

* 1 teaspoon of peanut butter--only use a commercial, name brand , NOT organic.

* 1 teaspoon of baby food applesauce

* 1 cap full of unflavored Pedialyte

* Distilled or bottled water, enough for needed consistency

* Dip a plastic, disposable spoon in boiling water then bend the tip to make a little funnel for hand feeding. This will work if you do not have feeding syringes.

More Important facts:

Boil the water for 10 minutes to destroy any bacteria that may be present (this is for the baby formula food). Add enough water to make a very thin formula for newborns. For babies, thicken a little more. (Follow the directions in the box) the formula to the consistency of a soft pudding. If the formula is too thick, it won't go through a feeding syringe and makes it hard to feed a hungry baby. If you are having trouble getting the beak to open, sometimes they will eat out of the spoon if you guide the little beak to obtain tiny specks of food. The Formula temperature should be 104-106 degrees Fahrenheit, tested with a digital food thermometer or candy thermometer when feeding babies. I tend to use my clean pinky finger and test how hot the food is as well as the eyelid test. I will taste it to make sure it will not burn the baby's tongue/esophagus. So be gentle, A few degrees higher and you will burn the crop. A few degrees lower and the baby will have crop/digestive problems. If you don't have a thermometer, test the formula by putting a drop on your eyelid. For further and normal hand feedings, use a disposable syringe.

Be gentle while feeding, normally the babies will beg and open their beaks. When they do start feeding a disposable syringe is best. Get the smallest one you can find, you are gonna have to push the food (like when your getting a shot) but you have to be very gentle and slow. Do not feed the baby fast. You can drown, or kill it by suffocation. Press on the syringe little by little and the babies will do the swallowing. Be sure to have a couple lukewarm cotton pieces where you are able to wet the tip of q-tip to wipe the nostrils and face if it get a little messy. Practice good hygiene will prevent a baby from getting sick or drowned with food if the nostrils are plugged up !

Oh yeah, no avocado or sugary cereals! This will kill them as well as chocolate! I know TMI

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10y ago

It depends on your cockatiel. Mine HATE any fresh fruits or vegetables, so to get them the vitamins they need, I give them dried bananas and dried apples. But, some cockatiels love fresh fruit more than dried. It all depends on your bird. :) Try a different fruit or vegetable each day and see which ones he/she eats more of.

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12y ago

They usually eat pelleted foods.

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12y ago

Volcom cockatiel seed is about the best I have tried, you can also give them fruit like apples and bananas, cooked rice goes over really well, as well as spray millet.

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13y ago

food

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