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Learn how to take care of large Hookbill, recommended diet and housing setup. Find the right food, supplies and equipment at your neighborhood Petco.
Updated on October 23rd, 2025
Learn how to care for parakeets (budgies), recommended diet and habitat setup. Find the right food, supplies and equipment at your neighborhood Petco.
Updated on October 23rd, 2025
Learn how to care for small hookbill parrots, recommended diet & bird cage setup. Find the right food, supplies & equipment at your neighborhood Petco.
Updated on October 23rd, 2025
Learn how to take care of Conures, recommended diet and housing setup. Find the right food, supplies and equipment at your neighborhood Petco.
Updated on October 23rd, 2025
Learn how to care for a medium-sized parakeets, recommended diet & bird cage setup. Find the right food, supplies & equipment at your neighborhood Petco.
Updated on October 23rd, 2025
If you have a local pet store in your location, that's a great place to check for commercial bird foods. You may also need to check online if you don't have anything available. Cockatiel foods are often a blend of seeds and pellets that are nutritionally balanced. Millet seeds, and other small seeds, and some dried fruits and vegetables can also be substituted to balance the diet if a commercial brand isn't available. Fruits such as dried berries, applies, peach, can be tasty, and dried veggies such as spinach and other leafy greens make a great treat.
Feed a commercial pelleted diet (Harrison's, Roudybush, Lafeber, Pretty Bird or Exact) supplemented with a small amount of a fortified seed mix, fresh greens and vegetables and cooked foods such as grains, beans and pastas. You can even offer a bit of scrambled eggs, shells included, occasionally.
I am not sure what foods you have available in your area but my favorites are Lafeber Nutri-Berries/ Avi-Cakes and Mazuri small bird feed: https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/bird-food/classic-nutri-berries/ https://lafeber.com/pet-birds/bird-food/avi-cakes/ http://www.mazuri.com/mazurismallbirdmaintenance-2.5lb.aspx Fruits, vegetables and greens should account for approximately 20 - 25% of the daily diet. Avocado is reported to be potentially toxic so avoid feeding this. Fruits and vegetables must be washed thoroughly to remove chemicals. Cut them into manageable pieces depending on the size of the bird. It is not necessary to take the skin off. Offer fruits and vegetables in a separate dish. If your bird appears to develop a particular fancy for one food item, reduce its volume or stop feeding it temporarily to promote the eating of other foods. Treat your bird like a small child; offer a small piece of a variety of food items daily and never stop trying. Hope this answers your que
Here are a few products that may be similar for you to try out for James (cute name!) [Lafeber's Nutri-Berries](https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/lafebers-nutri-berries-parrot-food): while not entirely pelleted, they are a nice mix of nutrients that are fun to eat and can be broken down to smaller sizes. [ZuPreem Avian Maintenance Natural](https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/zupreem-avianmaintenance-natural-bird-diet-for-parrots-and-conures): a good pelleted food that may be of a similar size to what you were feeding prior. They also offer[ ZuPreem Classic](https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/zupreem-classic-avianmaintenance-natural-bird-diet-for-large-parrots) which is a slightly larger size of the formulation, you may want to try out both to see if James prefers one to the other.
If you cannot find measurements for the cage type you are looking at, I would go with a different company or location to one that offers measurements such as bar sizing, cage sizing etc, before purchasing. Birds can be picky eaters, and very messy ones, and they may throw food just for the fun of it. Continuing to offer a variety of fruits and veggies in addition to his regular food can help him become more interested in trying (and hopefully liking) more things. Cage guards can also be useful in helping contain the normal mess birds make as they eat.