All my cockateil (Buster) eats is bird seed. Is he gonna die prematurely?

Question

He's so picky and afraid of everything, it'd probably takes months of trying to get him to eat pellets. Plus pellets are way more expensive. How can I get him to eat fruit and healthy stuff?

Answer 1

Cockatiels are not friut eaters you can get them to eat freeze dried treats sometimes. But cockatiels are seed eaters, you can offer them wheat bread which they may gobble right up. And offer then MILLET SPRAY you buy at the store or feed store. It is no big deal for them to not eat friut sense they are not friut eaters. They more like greens like brocilli, spinach and lettus things like that. And its better for them too. I own 16 tiels right now please see my link below and join us there. Oh and mine love cooled pasta. never feed the pasta to them warm always make sure it at room tempature. And your bird will live longer on seed then he will fruit he wont eat LOL!

Answer 2

He will most likely die earlier than he might otherwise- a seed only diet is not only incomplete in nutrition, it is also very high in fat. Cockatiels are prone to obesity and fatty tumors, both of which will shorten your bird's life. Pellets, although healthy, are not *completely* necessary. A cockatiel can live a long life on seeds IF they are also given plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables, cereals/grains, nuts, etc. Follow the advice that others here have given about eating veggies in front of your bird and making lip smacking noises, "Mmmmmm" noises, and just generally a big deal about whatever it is you are eating. Start with something that you know the bird likes (try Cheerios or Chex cereal- my cockatiel LOVED those) and eat them with the bird, feeding him with your fingers. Then, you can try introducing other yummy foods- a favorite veggie for my bird was carrots, cut into tiny pieces. He also loved corn, apples, oranges, broccoli, green beans and Romano lettuce... try a bunch of different things!

Answer 3

does buster like to eat what you are eating? Like fritos or french fries ect? Thats how I get my tiels to try different things. Also they have cocateil seed with friuts and vitamins. Try that.
They need more than just seeds. My first bird (baby, the best bird ever and he also talked) died at 2 years old. I think he had been sick from the start because he was always under weight and had big poops. He would never eat anything but seed. Do your best to get your bird the nutrition he needs, maby u should ask a bird vet. Good Luck, David Williams

Answer 4

Your bird buster with care will not die prematurely. My advice would be to slowly introduce the various fruits that you would like him to eat. You can also help strengthen your bird by finding out what kind of vitamin you can mix in his water to help supplement his diet of only birdseed. Thier is a liquid vitamin for birds. I give my little daschund (dog) who is a picky eater vitamins once a day to help suppliment her diet.

With certain animals especially more exotic ones you have to go ahead and get quality food. In your case I would get good quality bird seed since he likes it.

The way to start him liking fruit is to always have a little bowl of it available in his cage or area that he eats. Leve it there for him to try. Don't be discoraged if he doesn't eat it on the first day. After seeing it for a while he will be interested in seeing what it is.

Answer 5

well just keep offering the food that you want him to eat and eventually he will pluck up the courage to eat it. Depending on the bird, it could take EXTREMELY long or a few weeks. Also i have heard it helps to keep putting in the same kinds of food everyday so he can get used to them. This will definitely make the process faster. Also i have heard it works really well if you let your bird join breakfast or someother meal where you tend to eat the foods your own bird is able to eat. Seeing their owner eat the foods with obvious delight will arouse the birds interest in trying it. A couple months without healthy food is still better than never tyring and ending up with a whole lifetime without healthy food. So I advise that you just keep trying! =] I hope this helps and good luck!

Answer 6

He's not going to die prematurely. I have 2 teils (one is 21 years and the other is 22) and all they eat are seeds and I found out they like the Gerber Fruit puffs in the baby food asle. They are star shaped fruit puffs flavored snacks for kids. They love the banana one. I also give them the vitamins in their water. Hey give it a try, you never know.

Answer 7

I feed mine an extruded seed mix from Kay Tee. He picks through it but still he he poops the correct colors so it tells me he is getting the mix. My teil is a picky eater too. The conure will eat anything you set down or wave in front of his face. I feed both birds anything they want and keep offering them something new. So just keep trying and you will find out what he likes. He just needs to know it is food. I found I can use a bull clip like is used to bundle paper together and clip it by his fav purch. He will nibble on it just because it is there.

Answer 8

Most likely yes, but when I had parakeets we didn't know about pellets and veggies, and those birds lived a long time (one 13years, the other 20 years).

If it eats only seeds it will probably have liver problems later on.

Answer 9

try cereals like rice krispies and the corn rice and chex mixes,you can also try something called zupreem its a small pelleted food with a lot of vitamins and minerals from fruits cockatiels are more fruit eaters than they are vegetable eaters. the larger species of birds like the African greys and macaws like the veggies.

Answer 10

Try giving fruit, veggies, breads, crackers, etc in different ways. My bird only eats carrots if they are cut up real small. He won't eat bread, but likes toast. Just try as much of a variety as you can and you'll soon find out what he likes. I think. :)