{"id":7822,"date":"2017-12-15T22:55:02","date_gmt":"2017-12-16T04:55:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/windycityparrot.com\/blog\/?p=7822"},"modified":"2017-12-15T22:55:02","modified_gmt":"2017-12-16T04:55:02","slug":"explore-4-cockatoos-unique-nutritional-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/?p=7822","title":{"rendered":"We Explore 4 Cockatoos Each With Unique Nutritional Needs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">Yay!! I can&#8217;t wait to read the article. By the way, do you or anyone you know have experience with Galahs (aka Rose-breasted cockatoos)? <\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I have one that I got as a baby (It was about 6-9 months old). She is just under 2 years old now. I wasn&#8217;t impressed when <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/blog\/2014\/06\/07\/traveling-bird-heres-tos\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I drove out of state to buy her from the breeder<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that came with great recommendations. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">She was in terrible shape&#8230;her wings had been clipped (too severely in my opinion) and they had to pull 2 blood feathers (or so I was told) so she had a lot of dried blood that they couldn&#8217;t wash off. It took me nearly a year to get her to perch on the dowels that are in her cage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1140\" height=\"642\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-NdKkFcr5JQ?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">Of course she will not come to me either. I spent a lot of money at the vet and he couldn&#8217;t find anything broken that would account for the fact that the muscles in one wing were somewhat emaciated compared to the other wing. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">He thought it might have been from it not being used but we do not know why it wasn&#8217;t being used.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">She would run slightly lop-sided when she had her wings out. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">Now, she seems stable but doesn&#8217;t seem to realize that she can fly. It is not an easy task to get her out of her cage and I have tried everything and let her take her time but after a couple of months without being out of the cage I decided it was time that she get out and run around&#8230;she needed exercise in my opinion.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\"> The good news is that once I do get her I can put her under a blanket with me or hold her against me and rub her head and watch her go to sleep. She is very cuddly. I am giving you this information wondering if you have ever experienced such a situation with a bird.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1140\" height=\"642\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0jJ5Z8Ul-EQ?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\"> I did research on these birds for a couple of years and based my decision to get one because most of the things I read said that they were playful and were not as loud as some of the other Cockatoos. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">By the way, she has a <a href=\"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/blog\/2017\/11\/17\/cockatiels-are-more-similar-to-cockatoos-than-you-might-think\/\">cockatiel in the cage next to her<\/a> which she totally ignores despite his attempts to get her attention. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">If you think of anything or know of some resources to go to, I would greatly appreciate it. She isn&#8217;t a perfect bird and definitely not what I was expecting but I would never consider re-homing her. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">Lorie S<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">Hi Lorie<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">In that you got her at the age she was, there&#8217;s a good chance that her wings were clipped too early and she was\u00a0<em>never fledged,\u00a0<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">birds needs to be fledged<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\"><strong>editors note:<\/strong> When a young bird has enough initial flight feathers and and is ready to fly then does, it has fledged.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">This may be why she &#8220;<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">doesn&#8217;t seem to realize that she can fly.&#8221; E<\/span>xperts will tell you a <em>bird can never fly if it never fledged.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">We beg to differ, our 8 yo rescue female Senegal Peaches never fledged. She spent 22 hours a day in her cage &#8211; she had never flown &#8211; for 7-1\/2 years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">We know this from her care giver who acquired her at 6 months old.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">When you argue with the internet as much as I do you best have proof like in the video below<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1140\" height=\"642\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_dB--06PA_4?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yes, <a href=\"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/25\/wing-clipping-range-options-not-just-choce\/\">wing clipping<\/a> especially with birds we know that are about to be sold is a mechanical process typically that does not address the needs of the bird (ability to control what little flight may be left) nor does it recognize <a href=\"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/blog\/2017\/04\/27\/long-take-cockatiel-grow-back-clipped-wing-feathers\/\">the time that a bird needs\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/blog\/2017\/04\/27\/long-take-cockatiel-grow-back-clipped-wing-feathers\/\">to grow it&#8217;s feathers<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0if the new caregiver <em>decides to have a flighted bird.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\"> Many species of cockatoos are referred to as &#8220;Velcro&#8221; birds. We all need a mate don&#8217;t we? Problem is two&#8217;s company and three&#8217;s a crowd.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">There can be jealousy. Catherine can only handle Peaches on a stick. She will accept food but it is an ingratitude when it comes to care from Catherine, the other woman &#8211; you&#8217;ve been warned.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">Speaking of which,<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0the cockatiel in the bird cage next to her, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">why pay attention to other bird when she (the galah) has you?<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">There are no &#8220;perfect&#8221; birds but she seems like a lovely companion. Simply give her time to bond with you when feeding and the <em>cuddly times.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">It doesn&#8217;t take a lot to keep your bird engaged without spending every waking hour having to do face time with a beak and two beady little eyes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1140\" height=\"642\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/AYrrnQoxfBM?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/train-c-189_679\/clicker-training-for-birds-includes-target-training-sticks-p-123.html\">Consider clicker training<\/a> to get her attention and begin to behave based upon positive action. Ensure that her cage has plenty of foraging and enrichment opportunities as well as the places she man&#8217;s outside of the cage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">Take your time and report back to us next month<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">best<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">mitchr<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\"><b>Snixpop21<\/b><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\"><a href=\"https:\/\/secure.helpscout.net\/conversation\/474983783\/6126?folderId=985309#thread-1289440662\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Nov 26, 11:18am<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">have 26 yr old goffins&#8230;wonderful bird lately won&#8217;t eat his roudybush pellets,,, vet suggested zupreem since they use fruit to color pellets instead of dye (hopefully he is correct) which of your zupreem products would u suggest<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\"><b>mitchr responds<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">Zupreem uses natural, artificial colors and artificial flavors then adds sugar for palatability, which gets your vet off the hook &#8211; what species doesn&#8217;t like sugar?<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1140\" height=\"642\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3_zt3ZqcVKE?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">\u200b<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">\u200b<\/span><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u200bPellets in general are a counter intuitive bird food as <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">there are no pellet trees in the rainforest.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Birds can&#8217;t relate to the consistent texture of the food.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">Colored pellets can pose issues with parrots much like an autistic child. I&#8217;ve had a number of captive bird keepers tell me the bird likes all the fruit shapes and and colors &#8211; &#8220;except the yellow bananas, tosses &#8217;em right out.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">\u200bBirds are never <em>not communicating,\u00a0<\/em>knowing what food is exclusionary helps you ask questions like, &#8220;what about corn, it&#8217;s yellow?&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">Test for everything,\u00a0 we can always add supplements, fruits and veggies if our bird is content on a certain diet.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u200bI would advocate something like <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/safflower-gold-c-484_379\/higgins-safflower-gold-parrot-size-no-sunflower-3-lb-1361-kg-p-1044.html\">Safflower Gold from Higgins<\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> which has fruit veggies, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/intune-c-484_377\/higgins-intune-bird-food-pellets-conure-cockatiel-2-lb-907g-p-5607.html\">InTune pellets<\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">\u200b<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">\u200bYour food delivery system may be a little boring (for the bird) as well &#8211; here&#8217;s a video that illustrates a bird&#8217;s nutritional mind set.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">\u200bKeep us posted<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">\u200b<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">\u200bbest<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">\u200bmitchr<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">Hi Mitch<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">I just rescued bare-eyed cockatoo. He\/she is malnourished and I\u2019d like to learn the best way to get her on a pellet diet<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">Juanita \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\"><b>Mitchr replies<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">Kudos for the rescue we know how you order so we know you\u2019re up to the task<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1140\" height=\"642\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uZHX2RViUwo?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/blog\/2012\/11\/26\/bird-food-pellet-conversion-made-easy\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A pellet diet is a very good choice, here\u2019s a great method of converting to pellets.<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">Basically, it involves providing only pellets first thing in the morning and waiting until later to provide other food. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">A slightly hungry bird will try things that a mostly full bird will not. A little while later, mix some of whatever diet she is used to into the pellets. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">Also, some birds prefer damp pellets (think orange juice), but you have to remove them promptly because the damp environment can foster bacterial growth if left for all day. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">We believe a bird&#8217;s diet should contain a lot of different veggies and fruit and you can easily introduce new items by letting her see you eat them while making a really big deal about how great they are. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1140\" height=\"642\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3VkcJm5mJ4Q?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">Then offer her a taste. Her curiosity will get the best of her and she will try them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A couple of pelleted diets we feel are very good and well balanced that you should try are <a href=\"http:\/\/goo.gl\/6RM9zB\">Hagen Tropican Lifetime Parrot Granules<\/a> available at\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0and <a href=\"http:\/\/goo.gl\/SfmWIV.\">TOPS Bird Food Pellets for All Hookbills.<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you prefer a seed mix, two good ones are: <a href=\"http:\/\/goo.gl\/BYZmPM\">Volkman&#8217;s Avian Science Super Hookbill No Sunflower.<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">And <a href=\"http:\/\/goo.gl\/9m4N0m\">Higgins Sunburst Parrot Mix<\/a> (inclusive of Higgins InTune pellets) available at:<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. If you choose a seed mix, you&#8217;ll need to add supplements such as <a href=\"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/canaryfinch-c-484_244\/prime-vitamin-water-soluble-for-birds-by-hagen-hari-70-oz-20-g-p-523.html\">Hagen Prime by HARI<\/a> (Hagen Avicultural Research Institute<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">I hope this helps and if we can help you further, please let us know.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\"><b>On Mon, Aug 15, 2016 at 5:11 PM UTC, Cordelia B <\/b><b>\u00a0wrote:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">HI! I inherited a 10 year old cockatoo from my uncle about a year ago. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">She was caged for most of the time with him, but with me, she enjoys traveling in the car (she&#8217;s very good!) and a flight cage outdoors and her perch.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">She is well behaved and a bit shy of toys, but I think we&#8217;ll get there. I&#8217;m afraid she&#8217;s not getting the proper nutrition though. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">She is a VERY picky eater! I&#8217;ve tried to get her to eat pellets to round out her diet (she likes snap peas and apples and peaches and a few other things) but she would be happy eating toast with butter every meal. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">I try to get her organic nutty bread, but I still worry. Any ideas? Thanks!<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\"><b>Hey Cordelia<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">Please read some of my pellet conversion tips above. That said it sounds as though you are doing great but would advise baby steps.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1140\" height=\"642\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/v-UElRc5JSU?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">Your (he\/she species) probably has about 8000 feathers. Feathers are built from amino acids. Aminos are derived from protein.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">Let\u2019s step back and get the bird\u2019s diet stabilized. Higgins Safflower Gold Parrot contains InTune pellets that she will eat without knowing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">Hagen\u2019s Tropimix Large Parrot by HARI contains Tropican pellets, once again a win-win for you and the birds.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">If you see the bird picking out and tossing certain nuts or fruits, make a note and will look for a more defined food.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">Have you seen any of the cookable bird foods? They are &#8220;oatmealish&#8221; and will remind your FID of the good ole hand feeding days when everything was warm, gooey and yummy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/worldly-c-484_385\/\">Higgins Worldly Cuisines<\/a> has 6 flavors in small microwaveable bags that cooks in 3 minutes.\u00a0 Enjoy the &#8216;splainr&#8217;\u00a0the video.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1140\" height=\"642\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sf6vYR3D4Mc?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">I would also advocate serving a bird supplement like <a href=\"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/groom-c-372_312\/nekton-s-multivitamin-supplement-for-cage-birds-150-grams-529-oz-p-1155.html\">Nekton S<\/a> sprinkled on a <a href=\"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/lafebers-c-484_409\/lafebers-classic-avicakes-cockatiel-8-oz-227-g-p-477.html\">Lafebers Avi-Cake<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">Although considered a bird treat, Avi cakes contain 50% pellets making them a 100% comprehensive food a bird could live on for a lifetime.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">But wait &#8211; there\u2019s more!<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">Lafeber\u2019s Avi Cakes are bound by molasses making the not only yummy but sticky.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1140\" height=\"642\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Aqnkppk19XQ?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\"> Any powdered supplement \u201csticks\u201d to the treat making them an ideal delivery system for <a href=\"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/vitamins-c-484_653\/\">powdered bird supplements<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">best<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\">mitchr<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yay!! I can&#8217;t wait to read the article. By the way, do you or anyone you know have experience with Galahs (aka Rose-breasted cockatoos)? &nbsp; I have one that I got as a baby (It was about 6-9 months old). She is just under 2 years old now. I wasn&#8217;t impressed when I drove out [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7823,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","_thinkrank_schema_form_data":"","_thinkrank_selected_schema_type":"","_thinkrank_additional_schemas":"","_thinkrank_canonical_url":"","_thinkrank_og_title":"","_thinkrank_og_description":"","_thinkrank_og_image":"","_thinkrank_twitter_title":"","_thinkrank_twitter_description":"","_thinkrank_twitter_image":"","_thinkrank_imported_from":"","_thinkrank_focus_keywords":[],"_thinkrank_focus_keyword":"","_thinkrank_robots_meta_enabled":0,"_thinkrank_robots_meta":"","_thinkrank_advanced_robots_meta":"","_thinkrank_exclude_from_search":0,"_thinkrank_exclude_from_archives":0,"_thinkrank_primary_category":0,"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"page_builder":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[231,201],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conures","category-feeding-pet-birds"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":{"landsacpe":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/blue-eyed-cockatoos-1.jpg?resize=450%2C300&ssl=1",450,300,true],"list":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/blue-eyed-cockatoos-1.jpg?resize=450%2C300&ssl=1",450,300,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/blue-eyed-cockatoos-1.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1",300,200,true],"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/blue-eyed-cockatoos-1.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1",450,300,false]},"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phcfkq-22a","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/blue-eyed-cockatoos-1.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7822\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.windycityparrot.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}