Article From SubmitYOURArticle.com: What to Feed Your Cockatiel

Cockatiel food is simple and their nutritional
needs are not great, which is why they are such
popular pets.

They can exist on a diet of water and dry seed if
need be. During recent years their nutritional
needs have been more closely studied, and it is
now evident that if you want to keep your
cockatiel in top condition and achieve great
breeding results, you need to offer them a wider
range of foodstuffs.

Seed contains carbohydrates, fat and protein,
certain vitamins and minerals, as well as a
variable percentage of water. Cockatiels in the
wild forage on the ground and eat grass and seeds
as a major part of their diet. Similarly, our
pets often get a seed mixture of plain canary
seed and a variety of millet seeds. Groats,
which are oats without the husks are very popular
for breeding cockatiels.

The above seed varieties do not offer a complete
and balanced diet for cockatiels, and other foods
are essential to compensate for the vitamin and
protein deficiencies. All of the above seeds are
cereal based. You will need to give your
cockatiel oil based seeds as well.

Sunflower seed is an oil based seed, that is rich
in fat, low in carboyhydrates and a valuable
source of protein and essential amino acids.

Another seed with a high oil and mineral content
is hemp, and it is normally fed to cockatiels
during winter. Too much hemp on the other hand
can lead to obesity.

The best way to supplement your birds diet is to
use fresh foods that are moist and can be eaten
in their entirety. Carrots, carrot leaves,
apples and banana's can also be included in your
cockatiel's diet. Although cockatiels prefer
greens, very few of them will resist a slice of
sweet apple.

Pelleted food is very healthy, if you can get
your cockatiel to eat them. The best way to go
about getting your bird to eat the pellets is
reducing the amount of seed gradually and
increasing the amount of pellets.

Try to find a reliable supplier for your
cockatiel's seed. Fresh seed is always bettter.
Old seed will loose a lot of its nutrients. The
only way to check if the seed is fresh is to try
and sprout it. If it grows, it is fresh. Don't
keep the seed for more than three months.

----------------------------------------------------
Michel Maling has enjoyed having cockatiels as
pets all her life.

Find out everything you need to about these
fascinating pets at http://cockatielsaspets.com

EasyPublish this article: http://submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=125491

>