How can I fatten up a 3 year old cockatoo I just got?

Question

he only ways 1 lb took him to the vet today he was giving a vit a shot and is on antibiotics. He came to me on a sunflower diet.He has to have vits twice a day they are from the vet. I got him to eat corn but would like to find out what else I can get him to eat. That wont really hurt his throat

Answer 1

My medium sulfur crested came to me after being fed an exclusively seeds and nuts diet. Getting him to try new things was a nightmare, and I soon discovered that he would only try new foods if I chewed them first and let him eat out of the corner of my mouth. Fortunately, we've advanced past that in the three and a half years since he came to live with me.

My cockatoo LOVES Ritz and Cheeze-it crackers, pasta, mac and cheese, a bit of cheddar cheese once in a while, and chicken cooked with anything (no onions or garlic, though). Raw nuts in moderation(particularly brazils, pistacios, and walnuts) are favorites.

You can try sweetened cereals, like Apple Jacks, Honey Nut Cheerios, and Chex.

My guy also likes peanut butter and jelly (which he has for lunch every day) on whole-grain bread, and cinnamon toast with a bunch of butter. Coconut macaroons, pancakes, snickerdoodles, raisins, and buttered (but unsalted) popcorn are treats, also.

He also likes fruit juice, particularly guava nectar. Of course, he eats fruit and veggies, but only a few kinds and the veggies have to be hot (he likes his water hot, too-- weird).

Cockatoos take such tiny bites that nothing will hurt their throat.

Answer 2

I had a similar problem with an amazon I rescued.  Sick, underweight, and poor immune function.  Unfortunately, he also didn't recognize most other food as food.  When we got him, he'd only eat sunflower seeds, peanuts, grapes, and almonds. If that's the case with your cockatoo, it may take a fair amount of work and time before he's willing to try new foods.  Ours was more willing to try food he saw our other amazon eat, so modeling might help if you have another parrot.  Watching you eat things may work, too.  Our bird now demands to share many things we eat and clamors if we're late serving their daily vegetables, so it is possible.

Almonds, peanuts, and pecans are good weight-gain food.  Pasta, grapes, apples (no seeds) and bananas are good.  Some of our birds like oatmeal (it's a weight-gain food if you buy brown sugar/maple flavor).  Yogurt would be good after the antibiotics are done, to replenish his gut with good bacteria.  Meats are a good source of protein as well as calories.  Cheese is OK in small amounts.  Eggs are good.  Corn and potatoes are good - corn on the cob is a good toy as well as a food.

Junk food such as Fritos (which our birds love), Crackerjacks or 'Nilla Wafers would also cause him to gain weight, but you should mostly avoid them.  They're OK as an infrequent treat. You also want to get him to eat healthy vegetables like broccoli, even if it they don't increase his weight.

(story:  Shortly after we got him, I wanted him to try oatmeal, which our other amazon loves.  I held some up on a spoon, but he ran away from it.  He'd eat almonds, though, so I scooped a little onto an almond and held it up for him.  He still ran away from it.  He's more likely to try food on his own than when I hold it, so I figured I'd try that.  I put the almond with oatmeal in his food dish and backed away.  Sure enough, he ran down to the food dish and grabbed the almond.  As I was starting to congratulate myself for being clever, he took the almond to his water dish, rinsed the oatmeal off, and ate the almond.)