Cockatoos Care & Feeding a cockatoo needs a well-constructed cage to not only prevent it from escaping but to prevent the bird from destroying it. A pet cockatoo will need a steady supply of appropriate items to chew and destroy. Cockatoos tend to be needier than other pet parrot species and an owner should set boundaries early on, otherwise the bird might scream for attention. A cockatoo new to the home should not be showered with non-stop attention, but rather given toys and other enrichment opportunities as well as intermittent attention so that the bird learns to keep itself entertained when the people in its life are not able to offer one-on-one time.
Cockatoo Species Snapshot
Food for cockatoos should be nutritious, but should also include a foraging element as well. Cockatoos are fun-loving, intelligent and energetic parrots, and their food should reflect those traits. Wild cockatoos forage all day for seeds and nuts, as well as coconuts and grain crops. Like all companion parrots, cockatoos do not thrive on birdseed alone. Cockatoo food shouldn’t be boring to eat, either, and will love foods like Avi-Cakes, Pellet-Berries, Nutri-Berries, and Lafeber’s Premium Daily Diet Pellets.
What Do Cockatoos Eat?
Cockatoos need a varied diet, including greens, vegetables, and fruits, with around two-thirds of a typical diet coming from nutritionally balance, formulate pellets.An exclusive, seed-only diet is not the best cockatoo food, as seed is deficient in nearly all vital nutrients. Seeds should make up no more than 10% of a cockatoo’s diet. Instead, focus on fresh vegetables, fruits, and cooked grains and legumes. Fruits and veggies should only make up 20–25% of a cockatoo’s diet.Cockatoos also benefit from calcium supplementation through cuttlebones to help keep them strong and healthy.