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Yes, parakeets can eat cockatiel food. These birds come from the parrot family and have similar dietary requirements. Parakeets need a seed-based diet, which means it is safe for parakeets to eat cockatiel food.
However, since parakeets are smaller than cockatiels, they may have trouble consuming larger seeds. Also, their tiny beaks are not suited to crack open hard-shell seeds like sunflower seeds.
But what do parakeets and cockatiels eat? Read on for more.
What Do Parakeets Eat?
Before we can answer this, we need to answer one more question:
What is a parakeet?
There is often a bit of confusion when it comes to parakeets, as sometimes the word is used to describe the Budgerigar, or ‘budgie’ (Melopsittacus undulatus), which is one species of parakeet. In other words, all Budgerigars are parakeets, but not all parakeets are budgerigars! Parakeets are mostly smaller than parrots, but one parrot species that is very close in size to many parakeets is the Cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus).
Although parakeets are often considered to be relatively easy birds to keep, they have very specific habitat and food requirements that need to be met in order to ensure they stay healthy and happy. In terms of diet, parakeets need to eat a mixture of:
Seeds
A parakeet’s diet should consist of tiny seeds. Millet, safflower, and groats are great because they are like what your bird would eat in the wild. Seeds have low amounts of amino acids, vitamins, and minerals. However, they are high in fats and carbohydrates. For this reason, never offer your parakeet a seed-only diet as it can lead to nutrition deficiency.
Pellets
Some avian nutritionists recommend a pellet diet for parakeets. They are an alternative to a seed-based diet and are more nutritious. Pellets are developed to meet all nutritional needs, and they come in different shapes, colors, and sizes.
When choosing parakeet pellets, choose a high-quality product free from artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives.
Fruits and Vegetables
Parakeets need fruits and vegetables, too, in their diet. However, they should make up no more than 20% of the daily diet.
Fruits are rich in natural minerals and vitamins. For example, berries contain antioxidants that fight free radicals and improve overall immune health. Grapefruit, mango, papaya, and cantaloupe are high in vitamin A, while citrus fruits have vitamin C.
On the other hand, fresh vegetables are tasty and rich in essential vitamins like vitamins A, B, C, E, and K. You can include leafy greens like lettuce, kale, or spinach. Beans, carrots, cucumber, peas, and beans are great options too.
What Do Cockatiels Eat?
Like parakeets, cockatiels need a well-balanced diet to meet their nutritional needs. Approximately 80% of their diet should be made up of pellets and seeds, at a ratio of around 3:1. They can eat small and large seeds like millet, canary seeds, safflower, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds.
Cockatiels also need dark, leafy greens and veggies to constitute 20% of their diet. You can include calcium-rich vegetables like Swiss chard, kale, spinach, and broccoli.
You should offer fresh fruit, occasional treats, and access to fresh water, too. Since fruit is rich in natural sugars, it makes an excellent snack for your bird, but they shouldn’t have too much.
Differences Between Parakeet and Cockatiel Food
Parakeets and cockatiels have a similar diet. The main difference to be aware of is that a parakeet will need to consume fewer calories than a cockatiel, and will struggle with large seeds. Sunflower seeds should not be fed to parakeets as they are difficult to eat and particularly high in fat. If you are housing these small parrots and parakeets together, you may want to consider feeding sunflower seeds to your cockatiels separately, as a treat.
Can Cockatiels Eat Parakeet Food?
Yes, they can. Both birds have a similar diet, which means they eat the same type of seeds. However, since cockatiels have a bigger body, they should receive more seeds and calories to meet their higher nutritional needs.
What Foods Should a Parakeet Avoid?
Parakeets can eat cockatiel food but in small proportions. However, there are certain foods that should be avoided, either because they are potentially toxic, or are simply unhealthy for them. They include:
- Avocado: Avocado leaves contain persin, a substance that causes heart damage, respiratory problems, weakness, and even death when ingested.
- Fats: High-fat foods can result in atherosclerosis, a condition where cholesterol builds up on the walls of your bird’s arteries. Atherosclerosis leads to heart disease and stroke. Your bird is also prone to obesity from consuming high-fat foods.
- Fruit Pits & Apple Seeds: It is best to avoid feeding apple seeds, pear seeds, cherry pits, apricot pits, and peach pits to your bird. They contain traces of cardiac-toxic cyanide compounds.
- Caffeine: You should not offer caffeinated drinks to your parakeet as they can increase its heart rate, cause hyperactivity, arrhythmias, and even cardiac arrest. If your bird is thirsty, opt for water.
- Salt: Salt is not great for parakeets. It causes an imbalance in the electrolyte and fluid balance, resulting in dehydration, excessive thirst, kidney failure, and worse death.
- Chocolate: Yes, sweet chocolate is toxic to parakeets. It contains theobromine and caffeine, which cause vomiting, diarrhea, increased heart rate, tremors and seizures, and sudden death.
- Onions & Garlic: These spicy veggies are also toxic to parakeets. The sulfur compounds in onions cause ulcers and may rupture the blood cells to cause anemia. Garlic contains allicin which causes weakness and anemia.
- Xylitol: This artificial sweetener can cause hypoglycemia, liver damage, and death.
Summary
Parakeets and cockatiels can eat the same food, provided parakeets are not being fed large and fatty sunflower seeds. This means that you can easily house these two social birds in the same aviary without worrying too much about who is eating from which food bowl. It’s important to make sure that your parakeet isn’t eating too much as these tiny birds can be prone to obesity if we’re not careful.
You may want to read:
- Can Parakeets Eat Peanut Butter? What You Need to Know
- Can Cockatiels Eat Mango? Nutritional Facts & FAQ (Vet Answer)
Featured Image Credit: Kolotygin Igor, Shutterstock
