Food/Nutrition
Your cockatiel, when newly purchased, was probably used to an all seed diet. That is also what the pet shops will send you home with. Birds love the seeds, but they don't meet all of the daily nutritional requirements... what to do? First off you need to get your cockatiel onto a nutritious, natural diet. However, if you were to do a search on the internet, or even ask your avian vet and people who have owned cockatiels, you will recieve all manners of conflicting answers. Ylou will end up confused or unsure of just what to feed your cockatiel. I am of the belief that you should have the most natural foods you can find. You could always go to Australia and gather up the foodstuffs that the wild cockatiels eat, or you could try and find a natiural source near you. I have fed my cockatiels seeds (hey that was what I was told and the pet store shelves are lined with bags of bird seed). Then one of my "fat" cockatiels was diagnosed with vitamin definciency (vit A) and malnutrition. She was a great eater! Then I switched to pellets (per my avian vets recommendation). But I continued to research. It didn't seem natural to feed my birds the same thing daily, I felt they needed variety. The other option was going to the organic section of the food store and buy foods to prepare for my birds. There are several companies out there that produce natural diets for your cockatiel. You do need to decide which source/brands to use and maintain consistency, you don't want to keep changing your bird's diet every month.
A knowledgable brand/source to switch your cockatiel over to is:
Bird-elicious - I found their website to be very informative, they list ingredients and even nutritional content, have basic mixes (even species specific blends). They do all the food preparing by themselves, taking the time to ensure that the foods are very palatable and nutritious for your bird. (and they answer emails very quickly). I have placed an order with them and will being trying this new diet on my birds. One important fact is their involvement in bird rescues. which I applaud them for. All of their proceeds are invested right back into nutritional research, cost of business and especially their foundation, Passion's Tree Of Life Foundations, Intl. which supports their many other foundations, including, but not limited to, Passion's Tree Of Life Avian Rescue & Sanctuary Affiliation, Intl. They help financially support independent 501c3 animal rescues and sanctuaries.
A food food brand that I have fed my cockatiels is:
Beak appetit-Beak Appetit needs cooking though so I use it as a supplement. I do know several bird owners that feed their birds only Beak appetit.
If your veterinarian (and you) insist on pellets, go for the organic blends with as few preservatives as possible, such as:
Harrisons
Roudybush
Zupreem
If you do go with pellets, the diet should consist of no more than 60-70% pellets and the rest made up of seeds, veggies, pastas and other natural nutritious foods. Be careful of pesticides/poisons on store bought produce... go for the organic or buy from a pet store, products made especially for birds. Fruit seed/pits, such as from cherries, apples, peaches are toxic, as are some houseplants. Avocados are also toxic. Potato eyes too. avoid caffeine and chocolate as they are very bad, No salt either.
Don't forget to have a mineral block and cuttle bone hanging near the food, for your cockatiel... These items will supply needed calcium and minerals to your cockatiels diet as well as helping to groom the beak. If your bird (especially females) don't seem to use the cuttlebone, you may want to add powdered calcium to your birds food... the calcium will protect your female's bones as well as her eggs. You don't want soft-shelled eggs and a weak bird.
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