Are seeds or pellets better for my cockatiel?

Question

I have a cockatiel and i'm wondering if seeds are better for her, or the Exact food pellets that are formulated for cockatiels. If I give her seeds she only eats her favorite kinds, not everything available with the mix i give her. (she eats the millet only mostly..)

Answer 1

I feed a mix of seeds and pellets in my home. They tend to eat their favorite seeds and their favorite colors among the pellets. I feed seeds as a regular part of their diet because I feel parrots need it to stimulate their minds at feeding time. Parrots would be foraging all day and seeds have the variety, among with fruits and veggies, that help them exercise their minds. Seeds contain similar textures and harvesting attributes they would find in the wild.z Pellets don't provide this mental/feeding workout. However it does provide a decent diet containing most of the nutrients birds need.

I wouldn't feed a diet exclusively of seeds or pellets. Cockatiels have come down with severe liver problems due to a diet exclusive in pellets and a seed only diet breeds severe malnutrition. Pellets seem to be too rich for most and more research needs to be done on pellet nutrition to be perfectly safe. Seeds lack most nutrients and protein to be good for most anything.

Answer 2

Seeds and pellets both have their positives and negatives. Ideally birds should be fed a diet that is made up mainly of fresh fruits, veggies and grains. But not every one has the time or budget for that. Cockatiels are notoriously picky birds that prefer to eat seed over any other food. In the wild Cockatiels are mainly seed eaters and this carries over. But seed tends to make cage birds obese or have other health problems. Pellets can also cause health problems in the smaller birds. You may consider a half pellet and half seed diet or buy a seed with a low millet content. If you switch to pellets you may consider feeding seeds on one or two days of the week after your tiel is definitely eating pellets. Try adding a few veggies or whole grains in there also.

Answer 3

Well I have two cockatiels and both were given to me. The female from a home that didn't know how to treat her or feed her and the male from a home that loved and fed him properly. They have started mating (or trying to; no fertile eggs yet). She was looking really bad. Losing feathers and everything. I was giving calcium supplements and everything and nothing seemed to be working. Then I found the website www.cockatiels.org and they suggested I try feeding her pellet food instead of seeds. I started slowly changing her food and now her crest stands up and she is looking so much better. They also get a lot of human food. Fruits and veggies are great for them except for cabbage and lettuce. My birds love fresh broccoli and green beans. They get treats of stuff like cereal every now and then but mostly its fresh fruits and veggies and just a little seed and a good bit of pellets. Fresh water every day is a must also. Good luck.

Answer 4

Seeds should only be given as a snack, and pellets as their base diet. Millet is also a treat, and shouldn't be overdone, Lots of fruits and veggies are great for everyday as well as the pellets. Do be careful which pellets you buy, they are not all created equal. You want to avoid anything with added colors, salt or sugars.

Answer 5

Millet is junk food for birds. Tasty potato chips or cake. That's while you can buy millet stalks as treats. I would stick to the pellets then since your bird is not getting the proper nutrition just picking out certain seeds.

Answer 6

we give our cockatiel the pellets..the multi colored stuff

Answer 7

SEEDS ARE BETTER