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Conference 7.286::pet_birds

Title:Captive Breeding for Conservation--and FUN!
Notice:INTROS 6.X / FOR SALE 13.X / Buying a Bird 900.*
Moderator:VIDEO::PULSIFER
Created:Mon Oct 10 1988
Last Modified:Tue Jun 03 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:942
Total number of notes:6016

767.0. "TIPS" by CARTUN::MISTOVICH () Mon Feb 01 1993 13:15

    This note is for sharing tips you invent or discover that help get
    things done that otherwise wouldn't get done.
    
    I finally got my cockatiels to eat carrots and bread by grating the
    carrots, turning the bread into fresh bread crumbs and mixing them both
    with fresh sprouts.  I then spread the mix over their regular
    seed....they ate all of it!  Since then, I've been able to leave out
    the sprouts (although I still make them once/week) and just spread the
    carrot and crumb mixture.  My zebra finches like it to :-)
    
    Mary
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767.1Picky Eater?GUCCI::BBELLTue Feb 02 1993 10:569
    My Umbrella Cockatoo would only eat dried corn when I got him.  Never
    knowing whether he would ever eat a good variety of foods, I wanted to
    put him on pellets since that was better than corn only.  Of course he
    wouldn't eat the pellets at all.  Even if that's all he got for three 
    days.  I noticed there were pellets in Avi-Cakes so decided to give 
    them a try.  Sure enough, he eventually went for the Avi-Cakes and then
    finally switched to pellets.
    
    Bob
767.2What a grocery bill!ALFA2::PEASLEEWed Feb 03 1993 15:2012
    With my lovebirds, presentation is important.  It doesn't matter what 
    the food is, if it is placed in the treat cups, they investigate 
    immediately.  They must reason that if it is the treat cup, then 
    it must be treat!  ;^)
    They love broccoli and could eat a whole bunch of it, if I was
    foolish enough to leave it within their reach.
    I also spoil them with pine nuts, which they absolutely adore.
    
    Just curious, has anyone ever fed their little ones peanut butter?
    I was thinking of it but thought I'd ask here first.
    
     Chirp!
767.3foodstuffUSHS05::VASAKSugar MagnoliaWed Feb 03 1993 17:1320
    
    > Just curious, has anyone ever fed their little ones peanut butter?
    > I was thinking of it but thought I'd ask here first.
    
    
    My cockatoos do not let me leave the house in the morning unless they
    have had their peanut butter and crackers!  It is fine, but has a high
    fat content.  Feed it in moderation, as a treat, and only feed
    regularly to birds (such as cockatoos) that are not prone to
    overweight.  I would not, for example, regularly feed peanut butter to
    my little amazon, who tends to be chubby.  (This is an understatement -
    he is a chowhound, and his favorite position is butt-end up, head 
    in the food bowl :-)
    
    I find that my birds will try a new food more readily if an old
    favorite (cheetos comes to mind :-) is finely ground over the top.
    
    
    						/Rita
    
767.4Fussy Tiels/Lazy TielsVAXUUM::COMPTONLinda DTN381-0687 ZKO1-2/C21Thu Jul 15 1993 13:078
    Put soft foods in hanging cups high in cages or flights.  Tiels are
    more likely to go there than dishes lower down or on the floor of
    flights, so that's a better place for the seed component of their
    diet.  This way, they get the best stuff for sure and don't rely
    on seed in dishes that are too easy to reach.  This is not an original
    idea on my part.  The credit goes to Linda Rubin of Newton, MA, who
    has raised and judged cockatiels for years. /LC
    
767.5Cuttlebone/Millet Spray *IN* the NestboxesVAXUUM::COMPTONLinda DTN381-0687 ZKO1-2/C21Thu Jul 15 1993 13:137
    Put a cuttlebone (or chunk of one) *inside* the nestbox for your
    hookbill hens while they are laying/sitting on eggs.  A millet spray
    is a good idea too, especially if you don't see the hen come out of
    the box very often.  Check the box to see if the cuttlebone is
    consumed, and how quickly (same with the millet spray).  My tiel
    hens have done much better when offered these easy-to-reach 
    supplements.  /LC