Hi, Im sorry That I would have to disagree with you about your opinioun, My bcockatiel has always refused to eat anything other than seads and he loves an occasional pasta noodle, he wont even indulge in grit if you can believe that. He turns up his beak at any friut or vedgits and I can happily report that Georgie is 21 years old and hopefully many more.So when I saw that you had stated seads makes your bird fat it blew me away because he is actually smaller than usual for his breed and always has been. Ive had him since he was weened from his mother and he talkes alot but womt come out of the cage, he used to fly free in my bedroom when I lived home and when I was forced to take my grandads dog in I had to put him in his cage and after doing that he became less than friendly when touching him when I used to handle him all the time, so if anyone has any ideas for getting him to come out would be great, so see he has not had great excersise and only eats seads and is still not fat,
Hi there! Seeds don't necessarily make cockatiels
literally fat-- they can be a contributing factor to fatty liver disease, and nutritional deficiency. It is entirely possible to raise a cockatiel on seeds its entire life and have it live to a ripe old age-- I'm simply saying that it's a poor diet and only some cockatiels will survive to an old age on a poor diet. It's like saying that Grandpa Joe lived his whole life eating mostly junk food, and he lived to be 98. Some people's bodies can take the worst that they throw at them, but if you fed 10 people nothing but junk food their entire life, 1 out of those ten might live to be 98, but the rest will develop health problems somewhere along the way.
It's wonderful that your bird lived so long, he must have a fantastic constitution and I'm really happy that you two shared his long life together.
However, it is folly to think that every cockatiel would do so well on that diet.
It's very, very hard to get most cockatiels to try a different diet after they have had a seed-only diet for any period of time. I adopted a pair of cockatiels that are at least 15 and 17 years old, and they were raised on seeds by a loving owner. Trying to get them to eat differently has taken over a year and I'm still struggling with it. Mine won't eat greens so for now we are compromising with sprouted seeds, orange veggies, and a little bit of pellets. One of the cockatiels had serious health problems from her previous diet, and ended up costing a lot in veterinary bills because of her vitamin A deficiency.
As far as getting your cockatiel to come out for you, you will have to make it a rewarding experience for him.
I know this is silly to suggest given what I just wrote about, but in moderation treats are okay so figure out his favorite treat (mine like millet spray) and offer it every time he starts to come out. Eventually you can teach him that coming out and being pleasant is worth it. He might like coming out so much that you might have to do the same thing in reverse to get him in again!
