Copyright 2007 Cockatiel Foundation, Inc.
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Feeding a wholesome, varied, and healthy diet is paramount to a cockatiel’s optimum well-being, peak
performance and energy level.  Whether your goal is hobby breeding, raising exhibition stock, or keeping a special
companion, supplying a nutritious feed program is essential to maintaining a cockatiel’s optimal health, peak
vitality and increasing its chances for a full, healthy life.   

Feeding a balanced, nutritious diet is key to preventing dietary-related illness, building a strong immune system to
combat disease, and providing the stamina to endure environmental stresses that could otherwise overwhelm a
malnourished bird. The diet you provide can influence the potential longevity and lifespan of your special
companion or highly valued flock.  

Over the past two decades, leading manufacturers, universities, and researchers have conducted numerous
studies in cockatiel nutrition in an attempt to find the most nutritious, palatable, and easy to feed diets. Diets lower
in fat are frequently recommended to maintain long-term health in cockatiels and add years to their lives.

According to some avian veterinarians, cockatiels can be more prone to fatty livers and tumors. Active cockatiels
may do well on a diet that contains a fat ratio of 5 to 6 percent or thereabouts. However, some avian veterinarians
may recommend an even lower range for far less active birds, or for those cockatiels already experiencing
problems with obesity and overweight. A higher fat content is normally contained in cockatiel breeding diets for
parent birds that are in the breeding cycle and feeding out their young.  

During my trip into the Australian Outback of St. George some years ago as an invited speaker to three Australian
avicultural organizations, I had the privilege and opportunity to observe and track cockatiels in the wild. After
following a flock from the sorghum fields to a grain mill on the rural outskirts where the birds were feasting on a
sack of spilled grain, we noted two significant observations. First, a number of cockatiels in the flock were actually ..
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"Providing Resources
to the
Cockatiel Community"

The Cockatiel
Foundation, founded in
June 2007, began out
of a growing need in
the avicultural
community to offer its
members programs for
pet owners, breeders
and exhibitors, in
addition to services
never before
addressed in the
cockatiel  community.


CF is establishing a
Cockatiel Adoption &
Placement Program to
hrlp in the placement
and  rehoming of
cockatiels to new,
permanent
"forever" homes.


CF offers a wealth of
information on color
genetics, mutations,
and breeding research.


CF is addressing the
needs of our Youth
Members in the CF
Youth & Education
Program developed for
tomorrows' next
generation of cockatiel
afficionados.


Please visit our unique
LOST & FOUND Center
to report and reunite
birds with their owners!


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Linda S. Rubin is an aviculturist, lecturer and avian educator of 30 years, with an international byline in avicultural magazines around
the world and author of several books at www.CockatielsPlusParrots.com. She is the cockatiel expert columnist for Bird Talk’s
website, BirdChannel.com, writes as an overseas columnist for Cage & Aviary Birds (United kingdom), and she serves on the board of
directors as National Specialty Vice President for the American Federation of Aviculture, Inc. She is the founding president and genetics
consultant of the Cockatiel Foundation, Inc.  Linda is a certified panel judge for the Cockatiel Foundation, and the Society of Parrot
Breeders & Exhibitors, judging shows throughout the US, Puerto Rico, and Canada since 1984.
Disclaimer
Articles on this website are not meant to take the place of proper veterinary and other medical care. If your bird appears ill or shows
symptoms of illness, please contact your avian veterinarian as quickly as possible. Birds are prey animals and hide their symptoms in order
to survive; by the time owners see symptoms, a bird may have become extremely ill. Owners are advised to seek medical attention
immediately. To find an avian veterinarian in your area, contact the Association of Avian Veterinarians at  www.aav.org.
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Cockatiel Foundation, Inc.
DIET, OBESITY,  &  LONGEVITY
IN COCKATIELS

© 2007 LINDA  S. RUBIN
Cockatiel Foundation President & Panel Judge
Certified Avian Specialist, Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council

"All Rights Reserved"
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