Tiel Foods

[chrissycat21]

Well, Buttons doesn't seem to be a big fan of any fruits or vegetables. He won't eat any of them! My mom and I have tried to get him to eat fresh foods. We have put them in his cage, have held it up to him, let him eat it out of a plate, etc. But he won't eat it. So, I was wondering what are your birds favorite fresh foods? And how do you feed it to them?

[My Peanuts]

Everyday I feed my tiels a variety of foods. They eat a lot of scrambled eggs with cheese in them. They also like plain pasta, green beans, bread, peas, corn, and pretty much whatever we eat. They really don't go too nuts over fruits, but I still offer them some on occasion. The trick is to get them to at least check it out, even if they don't eat it. The way I did it was I put the food on a plain white paper plate (my tiels sometimes get freaked by a lot of colors at first), then I sprinkled millet on all the food. Then millet was enough for them to gradually go and check it all out. After that they started eating the millet, and after that eventually the food underneath. Now I don't use any millet to entice them. It might take a lot of time depending on your tiel. They all have very different personalities. I have some bold tiels and some timid, so the timid ones followed the bold ones lead. As soon as I put that plate on the bottom of the cage all four of them go running. It's actually really funny.

[flamepony12]

-sigh- Baybi wont eat fruits and veggies either! She likes popcorn though. It's good for them too. But we cant get her to eat healthy! (Just like any little kid)

[CathyBogart]

My bird likes his veggies best HOT! I usually mirowave them for about 40 seconds before I give them to him, and he comes running for them! He also likes it when I sprinkle chili flakes (The same kind you put on pizza) on them.

[chrissycat21]

Thanks! I'll try out some of your tips.

Buttons likes popcorn a lot, too. He also likes this dark green lettuce, I don't remember the name.

[Logan]

Green leaf lettuce is a hit, here, as well as fresh brocolli and cauliflower. We tear it up and put it in a bowl, or just weave the lettuce it the bars of the cage to make them work a little harder. Mine have no interest in fruit, either, so I quit trying. They love cereal (Cheerios, Chex, Total, etc) and boiled eggs smashed up. They make a mess with Millet, but they do love it, so they get that as a treat on occasion.

[popcornbird]

My tiels LOVE brocolli, cauliflower, lettuce, carrots, peas, corn, celery, and other veggies. When I first got them, they didn't eat veggies. I slowly introduced them to peas and brocolli by giving them some in a plate, and trying to 'tempt' them by holding a pea, putting it near my mouth and saying *Mmmm yummy!* That ALWAYS got them interested, and they wanted to try it too! Once they got used to brocolli and peas, I introduced them to more veggies, which they accepted almost right away. They love their veggies and get a nice veggie lunch everyday.

[chrissycat21]

Ok, thanks again everyone! I think I have some broccoli down stairs, I'll go check.

[Giselle]

Make sure you wash and rinse the veggies multiple times. This is true with spinach (don't feed in large amounts. Spinach can obstruct calcium absorbtion), apricots, and many types of lettuce. IMO, I don't feed iceberg lettuce. Waste of money. If I want my birds to drink water, I'll hand them a dish of water instead of giving them iceberg lettuce. Broccoli seems to mimic fresh green seeds, thus, naturally motivating the birds to eat the veggie. I haven't had much success with any type of fruit. Apples have worked a little, but it's rinse-rinse-rinse because of all the pesticides.

In the beginning, I had a hard time converting them to veggies and fruits. I basically fed them fruits and veggies for breakfast instead of seeds and pellets for a few days. They were 'forced' to eat it, and quickly enjoyed the fresh foods. Now, they fight for vegs and fruits!

[tikeyas_mom]

my tiel doesnt like fruits or veggies, because he has been on a seed diet his whole life...

[sirrahved]

Tandoori seems to like anything that I'm eating! She thinks if I'm eating it then it must be good.

She won't eat vegetables in her cage, but she'll eat them out of my mouth!

[My Peanuts]

Originally posted by tikeyas_mom
my tiel doesnt like fruits or veggies, because he has been on a seed diet his whole life...

I hope you are trying to change that. All seed diets make for a very sick tiel at one point in their life or another. Alex was on a mostly seed diet and she almost died. It cost hundreds of dollars to get her well and I really hope I didn't shorten her life. Her x-rays showed she had thin bones, but we are working on that. She eats a wide variety of foods and takes calcium drops daily. It's hard to get tiels to eat pellets, veggies and fruits, but it the most important thing you can do for them. Plus, it really easy to cook for them or give them what you are eating and it's a lot cheaper than the vet bills.

[chrissycat21]

Buttons is on a seed diet right now, but I'm in the process of finding a good pellet brand to switch him over to. Do any of you know of a good brand to buy? I'm probably going to get whatever my uncle gets his cockatiel because she has been in good health for her whole life. (almost 21 years!)

[tikeyas_mom]

Originally posted by My Peanuts
I hope you are trying to change that. All seed diets make for a very sick tiel at one point in their life or another. Alex was on a mostly seed diet and she almost died. It cost hundreds of dollars to get her well and I really hope I didn't shorten her life. Her x-rays showed she had thin bones, but we are working on that. She eats a wide variety of foods and takes calcium drops daily. It's hard to get tiels to eat pellets, veggies and fruits, but it the most important thing you can do for them. Plus, it really easy to cook for them or give them what you are eating and it's a lot cheaper than the vet bills.

Cheeko is 18 years old and i have tryed to change his foods in the past with no luck.. he is considerably old for a tiel, abd he is kickin it still. he seriouly wont even look at fruits and veggies..

[My Peanuts]

Originally posted by tikeyas_mom
Cheeko is 18 years old and i have tryed to change his foods in the past with no luck.. he is considerably old for a tiel, abd he is kickin it still. he seriouly wont even look at fruits and veggies..

Oh well then that makes sense. He's probably too set in his ways to change like a little old man . I wasn’t trying to tell you how to feed your tiel, but I know firsthand what can happen and I was just trying to give you a heads up.  I had a tiel live to be 23 years old, but I only had her for the last 6 years of her life. To my knowledge she didn't eat anything but seed and when I had her I didn't know any better either. Alex is 8 years old now and I am still trying new things with her, but she is so stubborn. I feed Alex, Danny, Milton, & Evie together. Evie is only a few months old and she has been eating fruits and veggies all her life so she is always the first to check out the plate. Since she is so "brave" and eats first it sparks everyone else's interest.