Home · Natural History · Socialization & Taming · Nutrition · DNA Testing · Basic Care Types of Cockatoos · Biting · Our Outdoor Aviary · About Us · Links Nutrition for your Umbrella Cockatoo! A diet of simply seed, nuts, and water for your Umbrella Cockatoo is like feeding a child bread and water only. It will survive but not thrive. A cockatoo also needs fruits and vegetables. Many people don't feed their birds any extra food because they simply don't know what to feed them. Certain foods are bad for cockatoos such as avacado, greasy foods, chocolate, carbonated drinks, and anything that contains caffiene, nicotine, or alcohol. Junk foods high in fat, salt, or sugar should be severely limited. Dairy foods should be fed sparingly, but low-lactose dairy foods like skim milk, yogurt, and most cheeses are usually OK. You can also feed your cockatoo meat! Feed beef and pork sparingly, rather feed him turkey or chicken. Here's a list of recommended foods that is safe for cockatoos. In general, you should feed a diet of 90% nuts/seeds/fortified pellets, and 10% fruits and veggies. Feed about 3-4 tablespoons of dry food per day. Avoid feeding a lot of lettuce as your bird can get 'the runs'. Also be cautious of sprouting your own seeds as this can invite unwanted bacterial growth and make your birds sick. Be sure to clean his dishes every day. It's best to have two sets of dishes - feed with one while the other soaks in a mild bleach solution. Experiment with different foods. Sometimes he won't eat a certain food until after you offer it to him several times. Make sure you always offer fresh seeds and nuts to your cockatoo in addition to the foods listed on this page. Treat your cockatoo to different foods and you will see he will have brighter, tighter feathers and if you breed they will raise more young. Treat your birds and they will thank you! These fruits and veggies are OK to feed to your cockatoo. Apple Apricots Asparagus Banana Chic Pea Kidney Lentils Lima Navy Beans Soy Beans Beets Blueberry Broccoli Brussel Sprouts Cabbage Cantaloupe Carrot Carrot Tops Cantaloupe Coconut Corn Cucumber Dandelion Leaves Endive Fig Grapes Grapefruit Kale Kiwi Melons Mango Nectarines Orange Papaya Parsnip Peaches Pear Peas Peppers Pineapple Plum Pomegranate Potato Pumpkin Rappini Raspberry Rice (Brown) Romaine Lettuce Spinach Sprouted Seeds Squash Strawberry Sweet Potato Tomato Zucchini Click on the links below the banner at the top of the page for more info! "So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good!" Genesis 1:21 Copyright 2007 Site Posted on March 31, 2007 Site Designed and Constructed by Chris Hardwick All photographs on this site are protected by copyright law. Do not copy any photographs from this site without permission of the owner of the photograph.