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 Post subject: Foods I feed.
PostPosted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 8:13 am 
Cockatiel
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I'm going around all these boards..slowly... :cheery:
I'm wondering what members feed their tiels as a treat?
I have the usual millet but an looking for something different.
I've tried quite a lot of stuff peppers, eggs, hard boiled and scrambled, pasta, rice, veggies of all descriptions, nuts mixed and seeds,they get a mix of this most days, but once in a while Id like something totally different..
Any idea's? :fireworks:



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 Post subject: Re: Foods I feed.
PostPosted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 8:22 am 
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Name: Carolyn
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My guys LOVE dried cantaloupe seeds. You can't buy them except as a very minor ingredient in a fancy seed mix. But it's fairly easy to make your own. I do it in a dehydrator, but you should be able to do it in the oven similar to the way you'd bake pumpkin seeds. I can't give any specific instructions for oven baking because I've never made them that way, but if I was going to experiment I'd look at a pumpkin seed recipe and bake them for about half the time the recipe says.

I've tried offering fresh cantaloupe seeds but they all agree that wet seeds are ICKY.



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 Post subject: Re: Foods I feed.
PostPosted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 10:29 am 
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Thank you I'll be trying this..



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 Post subject: Re: Foods I feed.
PostPosted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 11:20 am 
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If you have a dehydrator you can make dried kiwi fruit, which my birds adore. I don't think that one would work in the oven though. It's actually the dried seeds that they love. They're not interested in the fruit part at all, so I tear that part off and eat it (delicious!!) and give the seed part to the cockatiels. Once again they think that fresh seeds are disgusting because they're wet, and I think the fruit part tastes better when it's dried.



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 Post subject: Re: Foods I feed.
PostPosted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 4:20 pm 
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I started giving them sprouts... it's not a huge success yet, but they start pecking at hem now and then.



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 Post subject: Re: Foods I feed.
PostPosted: Mon Dec 23, 2013 4:36 pm 
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It takes time for birds to learn to eat wet food if they're only used to dry. When I taught my birds to eat sprouts I started out with cooked grains which aren't as wet as the sprouted kind, then moved on to the actual sprouts when they were eating the cooked grains well.



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 Post subject: Re: Foods I feed.
PostPosted: Sun Apr 13, 2014 4:16 pm 
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Jan wrote:
I'm wondering what members feed their tiels as a treat?

In terms of actual bird treats, they get yogurt dipped sunflower seeds, spray millet, treat sticks and treat bars, Nutri-Berries, Avi-Cakes, treat bits, birdie popcorn and the like.

I've tried bird biscuits, bread, muffins and cookies and they don't really eat any of that stuff. Nor do they like dried fruits and veggies. I've tried cook and serve food and there's been mixed reaction to that.


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 Post subject: Re: Foods I feed.
PostPosted: Sun Apr 13, 2014 6:11 pm 
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Nutriberries and Avicakes are nutritionally equivalent to pellets. Birds just THINK they're treats because they look like treats.

A super cheap way to make popcorn for birds: get some plain popcorn for humans. The kind that comes in a clear plastic bag, not the microwave popcorn that's loaded up with oil, salt and flavorings. Count out a few kernels into a microwave-safe container and nuke it, counting the pops so you know when it's done. Cool and serve.

My guys LOVE the Just Tomatoes brand dried corn and peas. They're easy to eat, unlike most dried corn and peas which are too hard for cockatiels to eat. They like the dried blueberries too because of the tiny seeds inside, they discard the outer shell.

If you own a dehydrator you can make your own tiel treats. We're basically talking seeds here lol. They LOVE dried cantaloupe seeds. I dehydrate thin-sliced kiwi fruit, then tear off the fruit part and eat it myself (the tiels won't touch it but I think it's delicious), and give them the seeds. I have a pomegranate tree in the backyard and I dehydrate that too. The birds love the seeds inside the arils, and I think it tastes better dehydrated than fresh.



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 Post subject: Re: Foods I feed.
PostPosted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 2:22 pm 
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My tiels love any kind of crackers....ritz, saltine, oyster crackers, even animal crackers!



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 Post subject: Re: Foods I feed.
PostPosted: Fri Apr 25, 2014 4:02 pm 
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Those crackers all fall into the "junk food" category so don't feed them too much or too often lol.



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