How to get your cockatiel to eat healthier foods such as, fruits and vegatables?

Well, my cockatiel LOVES to eat pretzles and all that other junk.. we dont give her any junk food, although once she started nibbling on the crums and now each time she sees us eating pretsles that%26#039;s what she wants.. she dosnt eat any vegatables or any fruit.. Iv%26#039;e had Lily for about 2 years and she still wown%26#039;t even look at vegatables or fruits!





How can i get Her to eat some healthier foods?..





also my whole family has a virus flu sickness or somthing like that.. are there any risks that my cockatiel will get it too?





And.. how can you tell if your cockatiel is a boy or girl? Im pretty sure mines a girl.. but i want to double check. :)

How to get your cockatiel to eat healthier foods such as, fruits and vegatables?
Well!!! that%26#039;s alot of questions all at once. Sort of %26quot;Killing two birds with one stone%26quot; are we. (yes the pun was intended) But ok here goes. Flu - not likely birds have a different system than we do. But don%26#039;t cough or sneeze on he/she (we will try to determine its sex here in a min.) because your coughing and sneezing does have germs and we are not sure what you have. These germs and viruses could cause some sort of problem with the bird even tho it may not get the flu as we know it.


next: boy or girl. Well what kind of cockatiel is it? if it is a grey, the sexing is very easy. Any other type is more difficult and may need a vet to do a test. Grey males under-tail is Dark Grey. Females have yellow with stripes running horizontally. This only true of Greys. Females don%26#039;t talk or mimic this is true of all types of cockatiels. Without a picture that%26#039;s as much as I can tell you.


And last... NEVER let her/he eat anything with salt on it. Junk food is a no no. ie pretzels, chips. Potatoes will poison her. To get her to eat fruit try cutting an apple and placing it between the bars of the cage. She may or may not peck at it and may or may not like it. It is fine. There are special combinations in the pet food stores that have raisins and other dried fruits in them. See if she likes those. Some DEFROSTED frozen (frozen because there are no additives) or fresh mixed veggies may tickle her. If not tho don%26#039;t worry, Give her vitamins in her water according to directions. If she doesn%26#039;t like fruits and veggies it won%26#039;t kill her not to eat them. But it may kill her to eat junk food or food that has any seasoning at all. So make sure she gets a good cockatiel bird food mix.


OK ... I see you added more questions: Keep her out of drafts. This could be why she is shaking. If you are running the air conditioning, cover her cage. Also try placing a lamp with a low wattage 40watts. so it shines on her in the cage. Or you can place a heating pad on low UNDER her cage. and cover her cage. Watch to see that she does not get too warm tho.(She will fluff up). Are her droppings extra runny if so this could mean that she isn%26#039;t feeling well. The warmth will help but you may want to see a vet.


OH yeah, and if SHE sings songs you have taught her? She is probably a HE.
Reply:Explain better about the bird shaking around her butt-??


DNA is only way to be certain of a birds sex, or if you know birds when they become hormonal.





Wild birds are taught by the parents what foods are safe after they are fledged, the whole flock teaches them to forage ( find food) by example of what the flock memebers eat.


In other words by sight of certain plants and grains, etc. they learn what is safe to eat and what isn%26#039;t safe to eat.





Our pet birds are prgrammed by those same instints.


Sooo,any new/strange THING%26#039;S in their food dishes are not though of as food by the bird. And may scare the bird.





Best way with an older bird like your%26#039;s is -


Use some frozen Mixed Vegetables,put a small amount in a bowl, pour hot water over them to defrost and warm. Draon off the water, check my touching to ensure they aren%26#039;t hot.


Put a small amount in th ebirds food dish -- and give to the bird -- while you sit beside the bird eating some of them.


Let the bird see you eating them and make over it,oh good!


Hmmm, isn%26#039;t this good and you eat. Do this daily until one day he will eat them. You are teaching him they are good food.





Also chop real small washed, fresh vegetables, like celery,carrots,broccoli,apple ( NO SEEDS! Toxic to birds)


Or hand the bird a small piece of vegetable, apple,pear, or, or.** Do Not leave fresh foods on cage more than 2 or 3 hours, depending on house tempature. Spoiled foods contain bacteria!!





Always - always wash your hands real good before touching a bird or the toys,food dishes or food - a;ways!





Keep food and water dishes clean and change newspaper%26#039;s every night.





Go here and read about diet and bird care, etc.


http://www.birdchannel.com/
Reply:Hi Sweetie,


So simple, just add some Lil faves of hers to the whole lining of the carrot, fruit, veggies %26amp; see how smart she really is? And r try steam cooking the veggies with a tad of Omega Margerine, fruits, maybe a dash of cinnomen, pure honey, her favs.





LOL, Diana D
Reply:wow. Shes a cute cockateil :) I%26#039;m pretty sure she%26#039;s just normal. Try to get her to eat watermelon//corn my cockateil loves that. you should just put it in her cage and leave it there to see if she likes it



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