Best bird food for cockatiels ?

SafamirzašŸ¤

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2022
283
365
Parrots
Cockatiel
Hello! šŸ‘‹ I have a male cockatiel named Kiko, and I needed some help and advice on cockatiel diet :)

Kikoā€™s diet consists of his bird food (seed diet) and vegetables everyday, and fruits and millet/some bigger seeds like sunflower as treats occasionally.

Below I am going to attach a picture of the food that he eats. Has anyone heard of this brand, and do you know if it is okay for my bird? I have also attached the ingredients list below. This bag consists of a lot of sunflower seeds, which shouldnā€™t be consumed in large quantities by your bird, so I remove them when I put out his food and give them as treats.

I want to change his food to only pellets, but I donā€™t know which brand is good and I also donā€™t know how to transition him to pellets only. Can someone pls help me on this? Or should I continue giving him what he already eats? When we got him, he came with a bag of some bird food which was all seeds mixed with zupreem fruitblend. We were told that once his food runs out, we should get the fruitblend and similar looking seeds and mix it. We only got the bag of seeds but not the fruitblend because it has too much artificial flavouring and dyes. It was easy to give Kiko this new food because he was already eating the same stuff before his whole life, Iā€™m assuming. But, if we transition to all pellets, then I wonder if he will eat it or not šŸ¤·ā€ā™€ļø Because I donā€™t think he has ever tried them.

I have heard of the brand ā€œHarrisonā€™sā€ and ā€œTropicanā€ but I donā€™t know the best ones for cockatiels. If you live in Canada and get your pellets from a store rather than ordering online, can you reccomend some good brands? I think itā€™s more convenient to buy the food from a store rather than ordering it.

Thanks to anyone who replies :) ā¤ļø
 

Attachments

  • 6500ECF9-CE1E-4A2E-B798-18969176B78A.jpeg
    6500ECF9-CE1E-4A2E-B798-18969176B78A.jpeg
    110.7 KB · Views: 98
  • 50F82972-B2B9-4637-B344-106A8DB598EF.jpeg
    50F82972-B2B9-4637-B344-106A8DB598EF.jpeg
    116.1 KB · Views: 84
OP
SafamirzašŸ¤

SafamirzašŸ¤

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2022
283
365
Parrots
Cockatiel
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #2
Hello! šŸ‘‹ I have a male cockatiel named Kiko, and I needed some help and advice on cockatiel diet :)

Kikoā€™s diet consists of his bird food (seed diet) and vegetables everyday, and fruits and millet/some bigger seeds like sunflower as treats occasionally.

Below I am going to attach a picture of the food that he eats. Has anyone heard of this brand, and do you know if it is okay for my bird? I have also attached the ingredients list below. This bag consists of a lot of sunflower seeds, which shouldnā€™t be consumed in large quantities by your bird, so I remove them when I put out his food and give them as treats.

I want to change his food to only pellets, but I donā€™t know which brand is good and I also donā€™t know how to transition him to pellets only. Can someone pls help me on this? Or should I continue giving him what he already eats? When we got him, he came with a bag of some bird food which was all seeds mixed with zupreem fruitblend. We were told that once his food runs out, we should get the fruitblend and similar looking seeds and mix it. We only got the bag of seeds but not the fruitblend because it has too much artificial flavouring and dyes. It was easy to give Kiko this new food because he was already eating the same stuff before his whole life, Iā€™m assuming. But, if we transition to all pellets, then I wonder if he will eat it or not šŸ¤·ā€ā™€ļø Because I donā€™t think he has ever tried them.

I have heard of the brand ā€œHarrisonā€™sā€ and ā€œTropicanā€ but I donā€™t know the best ones for cockatiels. If you live in Canada and get your pellets from a store rather than ordering online, can you reccomend some good brands? I think itā€™s more convenient to buy the food from a store rather than ordering it.

Thanks to anyone who replies :) ā¤ļø
This is the tropican brand I was talking about. Btw the pic of the ingredients list is for the bag with the cockatiel on it.
 

Attachments

  • 9EEB7A15-7A79-4038-A7FA-5B29C2B39158.jpeg
    9EEB7A15-7A79-4038-A7FA-5B29C2B39158.jpeg
    210.3 KB · Views: 93
  • 2427E897-FC12-422F-9294-55BD9B719AD6.jpeg
    2427E897-FC12-422F-9294-55BD9B719AD6.jpeg
    87.6 KB · Views: 82
  • 8327C067-753F-4F68-8054-4717637D626F.jpeg
    8327C067-753F-4F68-8054-4717637D626F.jpeg
    128.1 KB · Views: 90

Zoruace

Well-known member
Sep 21, 2021
5,246
Media
26
Albums
3
3,576
I used to use the prestige big parakeet mix and it was good imo
I removed all the peanuts even tho tiki has no idea how to eat them
These are the ingredients
96787FC0-3B9B-4F5A-B6AA-727C917F2DD4.jpeg


For pellets I used harrsions adult lifetime fine and it seemed great but not sure about kiko since heā€™s still young

This is what the website said
E44BC90B-3506-4F64-945D-BC9D73C3116F.jpeg

I never tried tropican but Iā€™ve tried TOPs and Roundybush but my bird didnā€™t like either

For converting these videos can help


 

BirdyBee

Well-known member
Jan 7, 2022
3,748
Media
34
Albums
6
8,080
South Africa
Parrots
Current birds:
John
Snowy
Pippen

Past birds:
Grumpy
Sunny
Griffen
Jeff
Gertjie
Hello! šŸ‘‹ I have a male cockatiel named Kiko, and I needed some help and advice on cockatiel diet :)

Kikoā€™s diet consists of his bird food (seed diet) and vegetables everyday, and fruits and millet/some bigger seeds like sunflower as treats occasionally.

Below I am going to attach a picture of the food that he eats. Has anyone heard of this brand, and do you know if it is okay for my bird? I have also attached the ingredients list below. This bag consists of a lot of sunflower seeds, which shouldnā€™t be consumed in large quantities by your bird, so I remove them when I put out his food and give them as treats.
It's not the best, because of all the additives, such as vitamins, but if it's the best you can afford, then it's fine. You can always use the seed as a treat.
want to change his food to only pellets, but I donā€™t know which brand is good and I also donā€™t know how to transition him to pellets only. Can someone pls help me on this? Or should I continue giving him what he already eats? When we got him, he came with a bag of some bird food which was all seeds mixed with zupreem fruitblend. We were told that once his food runs out, we should get the fruitblend and similar looking seeds and mix it. We only got the bag of seeds but not the fruitblend because it has too much artificial flavouring and dyes. It was easy to give Kiko this new food because he was already eating the same stuff before his whole life, Iā€™m assuming. But, if we transition to all pellets, then I wonder if he will eat it or not šŸ¤·ā€ā™€ļø Because I donā€™t think he has ever tried them.
Yes, ZuPreem Fruitblend is not good. To be honest, I don't think pellets are necessary(they aren't). Why should a processed food be most of the diet? A small bit of Harrisons or TOPs is ok(TOPs being the best), but I highly recommend that if you can, to make a dry mix with a variety of grains, seeds, nuts(small amount), dry herbs and/or spices(optional, though they contain a lot of health benifits), flowers(optional), dry veg and/or fruit(optional), etc.
If he eats a lot of healthy veg, grain, sprouts, fruit etc. then pellets are not needed. Even a good seed mix is ok.
I have heard of the brand ā€œHarrisonā€™sā€ and ā€œTropicanā€ but I donā€™t know the best ones for cockatiels. If you live in Canada and get your pellets from a store rather than ordering online, can you reccomend some good brands? I think itā€™s more convenient to buy the food from a store rather than ordering it.
@Terry57 do you know any good brands in Canada?

Tropican is not the best. Harrisons is OK but better choices exist(such as TOP's). I've used Roudybush before but I stop using it because I started making dry mix instead.
Thanks to anyone who replies :) ā¤ļø
You're welcome :)
 

Terry57

Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Nov 6, 2013
47,515
Media
47
Albums
13
38,728
Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada
Parrots
Hawkhead(Darwin),YCA(Dexter),VE (Ekko),OWA(Slater),BHP(Talli),DYH(Calypso),RLA(Kimera),Alex(Xander)CBC(Phoe),IRN (Kodee,Luna,Stevie),WCP (Pisces),CAG(Justice)GCC (Jax), GSC2(Charley)
Thank you for the tag, Pipp!

We use Zupreme, both natural and fruit coloured, and Tropimix.
They say the best pellet is the one your bird will eat, and that is our situation. Pellets are not a huge part of their diet, fresh veggies are.
Tropican/Tropimix in my opinion are fantastic foods. I'd have all my birds on them if the stubborn ones would switch.

I had only one bird who would even try Harrisons. I had a 50 pound bag of it, so I tried it until it ran out. No one wanted it. I know others have had a lot of luck in switching to Harrisons but mine aren't a part of that group.

I also tried Roudybush, as did 2 other members of our bird club when it was on sale.
In all of our flocks, our pluckers started plucking again while on it. Now plucking can start for any reason and it could be a coincidence...but it wasn't worth testing it again for me.
 

Terry57

Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Nov 6, 2013
47,515
Media
47
Albums
13
38,728
Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada
Parrots
Hawkhead(Darwin),YCA(Dexter),VE (Ekko),OWA(Slater),BHP(Talli),DYH(Calypso),RLA(Kimera),Alex(Xander)CBC(Phoe),IRN (Kodee,Luna,Stevie),WCP (Pisces),CAG(Justice)GCC (Jax), GSC2(Charley)
I forgot to add that all my birds get a little seeds, and the cockatiels and Budgies get a little more than the other parrots.
 
OP
SafamirzašŸ¤

SafamirzašŸ¤

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2022
283
365
Parrots
Cockatiel
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #8
Thank you for the tag, Pipp!

We use Zupreme, both natural and fruit coloured, and Tropimix.
They say the best pellet is the one your bird will eat, and that is our situation. Pellets are not a huge part of their diet, fresh veggies are.
Tropican/Tropimix in my opinion are fantastic foods. I'd have all my birds on them if the stubborn ones would switch.

I had only one bird who would even try Harrisons. I had a 50 pound bag of it, so I tried it until it ran out. No one wanted it. I know others have had a lot of luck in switching to Harrisons but mine aren't a part of that group.

I also tried Roudybush, as did 2 other members of our bird club when it was on sale.
In all of our flocks, our pluckers started plucking again while on it. Now plucking can start for any reason and it could be a coincidence...but it wasn't worth testing it again for me.
Thank you everyone for the help! I wanted to switch to all pellets bc I heard that seeds are bad for your birds as a main diet and that pellets are better. I can afford to get him better quality seeds or pellets, the only issue is the transition to new food. I also want him to eat more veggies. He eats veggies every day but he only seems to like leafy greens such as kale, spinach, and he also likes parsley ALOT. I tried to make him chop once with a lot of different veggies and some fruits but he will not eat it. He eats a little bit then isnā€™t interested anymore. So now, I cut up some leafy greens and brocolli everyday and he eats maybe a tablespoon worth of it a day. I REALLY want him to eat more veggies through bird chop since he prefers veggies that arenā€™t leafy chopped finely, but he just wonā€™t eat the chop as much as I want him to and making a lot of chop is just going to waste :(
 

BirdyBee

Well-known member
Jan 7, 2022
3,748
Media
34
Albums
6
8,080
South Africa
Parrots
Current birds:
John
Snowy
Pippen

Past birds:
Grumpy
Sunny
Griffen
Jeff
Gertjie
Thank you everyone for the help! I wanted to switch to all pellets bc I heard that seeds are bad for your birds as a main diet and that pellets are better. I can afford to get him better quality seeds or pellets, the only issue is the transition to new food. I also want him to eat more veggies. He eats veggies every day but he only seems to like leafy greens such as kale, spinach, and he also likes parsley ALOT. I tried to make him chop once with a lot of different veggies and some fruits but he will not eat it. He eats a little bit then isnā€™t interested anymore. So now, I cut up some leafy greens and brocolli everyday and he eats maybe a tablespoon worth of it a day. I REALLY want him to eat more veggies through bird chop since he prefers veggies that arenā€™t leafy chopped finely, but he just wonā€™t eat the chop as much as I want him to and making a lot of chop is just going to waste :(
Have you tried beet/carrot/peas/sweetcorn? They're sweet so birds tend to like it.

A bit of seed is fine, just don't give 30,40,50%+ seed.
 
OP
SafamirzašŸ¤

SafamirzašŸ¤

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2022
283
365
Parrots
Cockatiel
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #11
Have you tried beet/carrot/peas/sweetcorn? They're sweet so birds tend to like it.

A bit of seed is fine, just don't give 30,40,50%+ seed.
He does like carrots sometimes when I peel them and give them to him very thin. Iā€™ll get the ones you recommended next time I go grocery shopping :)! But as for veggies and fruits in general, are there any kinds I should stay away from, any veggies/fruits that can be toxic for birds? For fruits with seeds insides such as apples, I remove them and only give the fruit. Do I need to do that with every single fruit and veggie?
 

BirdyBee

Well-known member
Jan 7, 2022
3,748
Media
34
Albums
6
8,080
South Africa
Parrots
Current birds:
John
Snowy
Pippen

Past birds:
Grumpy
Sunny
Griffen
Jeff
Gertjie
He does like carrots sometimes when I peel them and give them to him very thin. Iā€™ll get the ones you recommended next time I go grocery shopping :)! But as for veggies and fruits in general, are there any kinds I should stay away from, any veggies/fruits that can be toxic for birds? For fruits with seeds insides such as apples, I remove them and only give the fruit. Do I need to do that with every single fruit and veggie?
*I disagree with some points in the top links, such as parrots needing meat in the diet, they do need some animal proteins such as egg or mealworms*
 

Most Reactions

Latest posts

Top