Baby cockatiels are not capable of eating all the foods that cockatiels can easily eat. So it is important to know their eating behavior, foods, and what do baby cockatiels eat.
Baby cockatiels can eat baby birds’ formula. Also, you can feed them moistened dog foods with some other foods such as raw liver as a great source of proteins. Let’s dive into the details and know-how to feed baby cockatiels with their favorite food.
What To Feed Baby Cockatiels?
Feeding baby cockatiels is a very crucial part of caring for them. There are specific requirements needed to be fulfilled for foods.
When you find baby cockatiels that fell out of the nest, and you are thinking to feed a baby bird that fell out of the nest, you should feed baby cockatiels moistened dog food, cat foods, raw liver, boiled eggs, etc. After some growth of baby cockatiels, you can try feeding them insects, seeds, and fruits.
How To Make Baby Cockatiel Food?
Before making baby cockatiel’s food, make sure all cooking utensils are sterilized and cleaned properly. For this purpose, use boiled water. It will help in removing harmful bacteria from the utensils.
It is very important to wash the fruit, vegetables, and utensils properly because the immune system of baby cockatiels is very delicate. Harmful bacteria can be very dangerous for them.
After washing the cooking utensils, it’s time to cook food for your baby cockatiels. For this, take a small bowl and add 2/3 cup of cereal (baby bird food) to it. There is no need to use any specific flavor; you can use any of them as they are full of protein.
After that, add one teaspoon of peanut butter and one teaspoon of apple sauce to that bowl. It would be good to use these things from a good brand and buy them from a good store.
Now it’s time to add plain (1 capful). All ingredients are added and now mix them with the help of a spoon.
To get food of proper consistency, add boiled water to it. For your baby cockatiels, the prepared mixture should be very thin and runny so that they will eat it easily.
What Do You Feed Newborn Cockatiels?
You can feed moistened dog foods, cat food, hard-boiled eggs, and raw liver to newborn baby cockatiels. This food will add value to the growth of newborn baby cockatiels.
Can Baby Cockatiels Eat Fruits?
Baby cockatiels can eat fruits, and they love to eat almost every type of fruit. Fruits that baby cockatiels can eat are as follow.
- Fruits are available almost throughout the year.
- Blueberries
- Cherries
- Apple
- Banana
- Seasonal fruits
- Nectarine
- Peach
- Apricot
- Pear
- Strawberries
- Orange
- Grapes
- Tropical fruits
- Mango
- Papaya
- Guavas
- Kiwi fruits
- Melons
- Cantaloupe
- Watermelon
- Citrus fruits
- Oranges
- Grapefruit
These fruits are full of vitamin C that are good for the health of baby cockatiels. Along with these fresh fruits, you can also feed dry fruits to your baby cockatiels which include.
- Raisins
- Cranberries
- Prunes
The dropping of baby cockatiels turns dark red and looks similar to blood after eating cherries, but it is not harmful. Along with cherries, baby cockatiels can eat bananas.
They can not eat the whole peel in one bite. That is why cut banana skins into small pieces, which are easy for them to eat. These banana peels are not harmful to your baby cockatiels, so do not worry while feeding them.
Make sure that these fruits are free from all types of harmful chemicals. Along with fruits, feed your baby cockatiels other things also, like some snacks and vegetables.
But, before giving anything to your baby cockatiels, wash them properly, cut them into very small pieces, and then remove all seeds that are large and not good for your baby cockatiels.
Fruit seeds also contain cyanide in them, which is not good for the health of your baby cockatiels. That is why avoid giving fruit seeds to your baby cockatiels.
Can Baby Cockatiels Eat Seeds?
Yes, baby cockatiels can eat seeds. You are allowed to serve seeds to your baby cockatiels. But as they are very young, you can feed them moistened millet seeds in the beginning.
You can also feed them vegetables and corn peas along with these seeds, but make sure they are boiled well. Never go for fruit seeds, as many of them are toxic for your baby cockatiels.
As baby cockatiels are very small, they sometimes play with their food, but it is completely normal. You can also feed them some other types of seeds like sunflowers, bits of hemp, grains, etc.
Seeds are considered to be a very good diet for baby cockatiels. Like fruits, seeds should also be free from harmful chemicals, fungi, pesticides, and other substances.
Before serving seeds to your baby cockatiels, wash them thoroughly with warm water and then dry them.
When Can Baby Cockatiels Eat Seeds?
Baby cockatiels can eat seeds at the age of four weeks, but you have to hand-feed them. At this age, they can be introduced to thawed corn peas and moistened millet seeds.
Can Baby Cockatiels Eat Insects?
Yes, baby cockatiels can eat insects. Baby cockatiels who live in the wild almost depend on insects. They can get calcium, vitamins, and proteins by eating insects. The insects that they can eat include bugs and mealworms.
How To Feed A Baby Cockatiel?
Parent cockatiel feeds their young baby cockatiels day and night for a few days (at least for the first seven days). A variety of food is served to baby cockatiels many times a day, but the amount is very small.
If you see that the parent cockatiel is not taking care of its baby cockatiels, you have to take care of them.
But, as baby cockatiels are very delicate, try your best to leave them with any parent cockatiels because they can feed them well and take good care of them.
But if that is not possible, then you have to feed these baby cockatiels. One of the popular ways is to feed baby cockatiels by hand. The hand-feeding method using a syringe is one of the popular methods that you can use for feeding baby cockatiels.
You have to mix probiotics and Pedialyte as the first two feedings for your baby cockatiels.
After this, you can use any baby cockatiel’s food to feed them. Never use the microwave to give heat mentioned on baby cockatiel’s food as the microwave can burn their food.
Do You Need To Hand-Feed Baby Cockatiels?
Parent cockatiels who refuse to feed their baby cockatiels are often not experienced enough to take care of them. So, in this situation, you have to take care of and hand-feed baby cockatiels as they are someone at that time.
If there is another pair of parent cockatiels, then there is a high possibility that they will accept those refused baby cockatiels. But if nothing is helping, you have to hand-feed them.
How To Hand-Feed A Baby Cockatiel?
For hand-feeding baby cockatiels, remove them from the nest and grab the baby cockatiel with your cupping hands. Support should be adequate to come in the position to eat anything.
You can use an eyedropper and syringe to feed baby cockatiels. Serve many times a day in small portions.
Overfilling of baby cockatiel’s mouths can cause death. After feeding them, remove excess food material with the help of warm water from their beak or any other area.
How Often Do Baby Cockatiels Eat (Feeding Schedule)?
You should feed a one-week-old baby cockatiel every two hours from day one to day four in the first week, and in the last three days (day five, six, and seven), the food should be fed after every three hours.
| Baby Cockatiel’s Age (in Days) | Feeding Per Day |
|---|---|
| 0 to 7 | 7 to 9 times |
| 8 to 15 | 5 to 6 times |
| 15 to 24 | 3 to 4 times |
When the second week starts, the cocktail birds are required to be fed after every 4 hours. You will see significant changes and growth in the body and size of the babies by week three.
The cockatiel will start developing interest in seeds and millet spray by around 4th week. As the babies reach week five, they are only required to be fed three times a day, and by week six, only two feeds will be enough throughout the day.
During the time from 7 to 8 weeks, only night-time feeding is required. After this time passes, you should feed cockatiel twice a day till the point they start feeding themselves.
Make sure that the food you are giving has a balanced amount of millet spray, a mixture of seeds, or pelleted food of high quality.
How Much Should A Baby Cockatiel Eat?
Baby cockatiels should be served many times a day according to their age. The maximum amount you can hand feed your baby cockatiels is almost ten percent of their body weight.
For example, if your birds weigh 500 grams, the food you are serving should be 50 ml. A baby cockatiel of weight 500 grams should be fed three times a day. This feed is for baby cockatiels of five weeks of age.
The food served to a baby cockatiel should be in small portions and very well chopped and shredded.
But before serving anything, hand-feed your baby cockatiels a very small amount of that particle food and see if they like it or not. Change the food if the baby cockatiel does not like it, and never forcefully feed them anything.
How Long Do You Hand Feed A Baby Cockatiel?
You have to hand-feed a baby cockatiel for almost five weeks after the day they are born. After that, weaning time starts. Some baby cockatiels start eating on their own after ten weeks of age, and some take more time, like about twelve to thirteen weeks of age.
Do Baby Cockatiels Drink Water?
Yes, like every other bird, baby cockatiels also drink water. But the quantity of water intake varies from bird to bird. Baby cocktails are very small and young. So they can not drink water in large amounts.
Their daily water intake is almost one teaspoon, not more than that. Baby cockatiels do not have sweat glands; that is why they do not need more water to drink.
The more sweat glands a bird has, the more water intake is done by them. The water that baby cockatiels drink removes from their body by excretion.
Final Words
Feeding baby cockatiels is slightly different than feeding adult cockatiels. It requires proper caring and choosing the right foods for baby cockatiels. The first thing you should know about is what baby cockatiels eat and how to feed them.
It is suggested that you should get assistance from an experienced breeder. It is also suggested that you should leave the babies with their parents for at least the first 2 or 3 weeks so that they are grown enough to be handled easily.
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