Safe Foods
Fresh foods can offer variety and nutrition that commercial seeds and pellet diet can not. We believe that Pellets should consist about 20% and Seed 10% of your cockatiels diet. The remaining 70% of the diet should comprise of safe plant material, sprouts, raw vegetables, herbs, flowers, nuts, and fruits. We have a section here called safe table foods, these are the common foods that you will find on your dinner plate, cooked, processed foods.
Some table foods (beans) should never be served Raw and pseudo-grains like amaranth, buckwheat, quinoa, teff should be puffed or sprouted. When feeding fresh fruits and vegetables to a bird, offer them raw unless otherwise advised. A few vegetables are better served steamed or boiled cooking sweet potato, broccoli makes the nutrients more bio-assailable.
Safe Table Foods
Generally fresh and raw is better, packaged human foods tend to be full of sugars, salts, preservatives and should be avoided. So what table foods are safe for your bird?
Safe (in moderation)
wholemeal spaghetti and pasta
whole grain, multi-grain bread
boiled eggs
boiled/steamed chicken/turkey
boiled fish
boiled brown rice (don't feed to breeding birds)
cheese (most are lactose free)
greek yogurt
bee pollen
couscous
sweet potato (steamed)
Not Toxic but not recommended
pasteurise honey
white breads
white rice
potato (steamed)
cereals (organic, unsalted, unsweetened, unfortified)
peanuts
peanut butter (possible alfatoxins)
pop corn (unsalted)
red meat
mushrooms - human grade in moderation
onions - in moderation only
garlic - in moderation only
If cooking make sure to prepare it in cookware that does not have a non-stick coating. Stainless Steel or Cast Iron is best, as it won't contaminate the food.
Toxic
Alcohol
Avacado
Caffeinated drinks
Chocolate
Coffee
Beans - Kidney, Lima
Dried Beans
Dried fruits (containing sulfides or sulphates)
Processed Olives (salt)
Products containing lactose
Salt
Some Mushrooms
Raw honey (botulism)
Processed meats
Tea
Tomato Leaves
Potato greens stems and peel
Never serve foods that have been cooked and refrigerated then reheated.
Avoid foods containing added vitamins and minerals. Added supplements formulated for humans may not be safe for birds, it is difficult to find products that don't contain added calcium, folic acid, and iron.
Avoid high fat, high sugar, high salt, artificial sweeteners
Avoid foods containing preservatives.
Always wash and rinse feeding/cooking utensils properly
Always remove fresh foods according to expected spoilage times.