[allen]

sorry for asking so many questions but like i said i like to research and ask questions before i get any pet. any way i was at the pet store and got one of those suction cup perches for the window and shower. some say you need to bring the tiels in the shower but would that hurt them with the water coming down on them and she is going to do his wings just so he gets use to me i,m not to sure about that. now with the pellets the one petstore here just started selling pellets as it was just taken over bye petsmart it use to be owned bye superpet(hagen) if the cockatiel has never had pellets how do you introduce them to it

 

[birdieness]

for the shower part of this you do not put them under the shower water. You let the mist that falls off you go to them or you can get in with a spray bottle and just spray them without having to turn the shower on.


For pellets io just mixed a bit in with my seed and some times feels pellets to mine by hand. I don't think it really matters if they eat pellets or not. Veggies are better then pellets any day.

 

[Laura]

When I take mine in the shower they usually just sit on the shampoo rack or on top of the shower stall but they prefer to sit on my head...lol as long as there not directly under it.
as far as the pellets I would definetly give them A diet of seed plus vegetables is not bad but is still high in fat and can be very difficult to provide consistently.
Current diet recommendations for cockatiels usually suggest that half the diet consist of pellets, and that the other half consist of things such as bird bread, bean mix, healthy people food, and not more than 10% seed.
As far as clipping the wings its all a personal choice I didn't clip mine but found that she was flying crazy all over the house and for her own safety I got them clipped she can still fly wherever she wants but its not the crazy flying she was doing before.
Some people say you should mix the pellets in the seed at first to get them use to them for me I just bough a seperate cup holder and put them in and they loved them.

 

[birdieness]

I don't know about 1/2 being pellets. I'm not with pellets as a big part of the diet. i belive pellets is about 10% of the diet and the rest would be veggies and seeds( a lot more veggies then seeds though. Maybe thats just me. Also when feeding pellets be sure to add no citris(spelled wrong =P) ( oranges ect). Pellets and citris don't mix well together.

 

[Laura]

50 % is just what is recommended by the "experts" I am sure everyone that gives pellets doesn't really follow it to a "t" mine get the zupreem fruit blend I tried giving them the natural pellets and they wouldn't touch them but they love the fruit blend I do only give them about 10% seeds although seed is important its really not that great for them.

 

[birdieness]

All i can say is different people have different opions. I've read 10% and some people are just toally against pellets. But if feeding pellets no citrus please. I'll dig up the info with pellets and citrus and try to get it posted some time this week if not next.

 

[Laura]

Yup I agree everyone has there own opinions I give mine pellets because they love them but I would never push anyone to use them if they don't want to.
Do pellets come in citrus? I never heard of that, I have only ever seen the fruit blend ( no citrus) and the natural ones

 

[birdieness]

Pellets and citrus should never be fed together. The message board i got this info had been plushed down. I'm going to try and email the person to get the info.

 

[Laura]

ok forget my earlier post do pellets come in citrus I was thinking you meant just a citrus pellet I think I was miss reading your post...lol wouldn't be the first time I have done that the fruit blend pellets have citrus in them (ex.. orange) so I am not quite sure what not feeding them pellets and citrus means the pellets have citrus in them already do you mean added citrus on top of the pellets? or are pellets with citrus not good?

 

[birdieness]

I think its feeding citrus ontop of pellets. I'll look into it more later on.

 

[Bea]

My guys all love a shower with me. They sit on the shampoo rack until i've washed my hair and they i let them play just outside the full stream from the shower. They love it!!

Pellets, as you can see, are still a matter of debate. In the US they have taken off like crazy and most people swear by them - in Australia they're still new and people either don't bother or use them to supplement a good diet of high quality seed mix, tons of veggies and lots of cooked foods like egg, wholegrains, legumes, etc. If you want to find out more maybe ask in the Food and Nutrition forum.

 

[Laura]

If you want to find out more maybe ask in the Food and Nutrition forum.

good point Bea sometimes you get so focused on a question or answer you forgot there is the right places to put these posts