cockatiels

[priyawarekar]

Hi i have a pair of sulphur colored cockatiels they are simply adorable there is no dull time when they are around.I want to know what kind of food will be a complete diet for them i currently feed them french beans some pulses etc. at times i even give them some boiled vegetables (is it bad to give them boiled food). My problem is they want new food items everyday and i'm running out of ideas they dont eat the same thing  (they are stubborn). I had them when they were babbies and use to feed them new items everyday i guess i spoiled them but now someone please tell me what should i do they completely refuse to eat if it is not new and also tell me for how much time should i leave them out of their cages

[andyjevs]

They should really be eating a seed mix suitable for parakeets and cockatiels. Treats of millet sprays and fruit such as apple is fine too. I also used to put fruit tree branches and twigs into my aviery and they would chew it to bits. You can leave them out of their cages for as long as you feel comfortable with.

[brooklyn77]

Seed mixes should be their staple diet as its designed with all the right things they need. The rest should be given sparingly and as treats. Your birds may refuse to eat certain things but it will only be for a while. Their natural instinct will over take them eventually. If the only food available is seed mix, they will eat. They wont let themselves starve if that is all is on offer. As for the time spent out of the cage? As much as possible, keep them in their cage too much and you run the risk of them becoming aggressive and fearful of human contact. Besides if your cage is only a standard size they need to exercise in a large space. So the more time spent out of the cage the better.

Just a little story I thought I would add. I had three cockatiels once. One was friendly the other two (purchased together) were untamed. I never did get them tame, they would peck at you if you went anywhere near them and become very aggressive. But a starnge thing happened one day. I had bought them a toy to hang in their cage, attached was a piece of string in a loop, i thought nothing of it. The next morning I found one of the birds had got its head caught in the loop and could not get out it was almost strangling itself. I tried to get hold of the bird to help it, but it attacked me and became more strangled. I got a pair of scissors to cut the string through the cage. It was only Just in reach and had to try and cut the string from an awkward angle and distance. It was just not quite working the bird for ages kept moving along its perch away from me. But it was on tiptoes and would surely have strangled itself to death.

[brooklyn77]

contd...

After about fifteen minutes of the same problem the bird suddenly grabbed part of the string in its beak, tiptoed along the perch towards me and effectively allowed me to cut through the string, it was as if he knew I wanted to help him. After that incident he still was aggressive and would not let you near him. Which goes to eveidence even more that what that bird did was very strange yet, for that one moment, he seemed to connect and understand. If anyone can explain that. I would be more than grateful.