[Luna&Sonny&Cosmo]

I'm a new cockatiel owner, to two birds, Luna and Sunny.

We got Luna a few days before Sunny. Luna is supposed to be female, and I suspect Sunny is too. I have sent away for DNA testing.

About 2 days after Sunny came home, she started eating like nuts. Non stop eating. Luna does not eat anything like Sunny at all. The weather has snapped and gotten very cold here the past few days so I have had the heater on to create a warmer environment. I do not think Sunny has had a first moult yet, and I think she is younger than Luna by a few months.

TLDR: What can make a cockatiel just gorge itself on food? Stress? Weather? Moulting? Any insight appreciated.

 

[PhoenixJade]

Baby birds can be voracious eaters. Provide some fresh foods, seeds, and pellets. Also, consider a dewormer. Did you look at maybe giving her a cuttlebone or minerals/vitamins? My bird Bright was just like that when I first got him. He perked up after I gave him the preceding options.

 

[Luna&Sonny&Cosmo]

I am going to worm them both tomorrow, thank you for mentioning it.

Sunny is still eating like a champ, and has become protective over the food dishes so much so that Luna gets chased away every time. I’m having no luck with getting them to eat anything fresh. I have provided them with orange, kiwi, apple, tomato and capsicum (all seeds removed) and after the first tentative nibble it doesn’t get touched any further. I have mixed a vitamin blend food in equal amounts to their seed and they actually pick it out and drop it either to the floor or the bottom of the cage. Going to grab some extra greens tomorrow too and see if I have any luck with that.

 

[PhoenixJade]

Don’t give up. Keep giving them the same foods daily, also, just a tablespoon at a time. I introduced new foods slowly.